1968_4_arabisraelwar

Middle East
Israel
A
ALL aspects of Israel's life in 1967 were dominated by
the explosion of hostilities on June 5. Two decades of Arab-Israel tension
culminated in a massive combined Arab military threat, which was answered
by a swift mobilization of Israel's citizen army and, after a period of waiting
for international action, by a powerful offensive against the Egyptian, Jordanian
and Syrian forces, leading to the greatest victory in Jewish military
annals.
During the weeks of danger preceding the six-day war, Jewry throughout
the world rallied to Israel's aid: immediate financial support was forthcoming
on an unprecedented scale, and thousands of young volunteers offered personal
participation in Israel's defense, though they arrived too late to affect
the issue (see reviews of individual countries).
A new upsurge of national confidence swept away the morale crisis that
had accompanied the economic slowdown in 1966. The worldwide Jewish
reaction to Israel's danger, and the problems associated with the extension
of its military rule over a million more Arabs, led to a reappraisal of attitudes
towards diaspora Jewry. It was generally agreed that immigration from
the free countries now was of more vital importance than ever before, and
much thought was given to adapting the machinery of government and the
structure of the Zionist organization to the tasks of attracting immigrants
from the West and facilitating their integration.
In the international arena, Israel successfully withstood Arab and Soviet
pressure for the unconditional withdrawal of its forces from the areas occupied
as a result of the six-day war. But, although there was practically unanimous
national support for the government's insistence on peace treaties with
the Arab states as a condition of any settlement, there was much public debate
on whether Israel should be prepared to barter territories for peace in
the event of direct negotiations.
An important by-product of the crisis was the formation of a Cabinet of
National Unity and the agreement between Mapai, Ahdut Ha-'avodah and
Rafi for the establishment of a united Labor party.
The total population of areas under Israeli control at the end of 1967 was
115