On 1967's Six Day War

“The Sinai victory of 1956 put Israel on the map as a military force. But that triumph was rendered inconclusive by the perception that it had been effected under the aegis of the allied powers, England and France. The Jews, it was believed by many even among our own people, could not have achieved this victory alone.

Now in June 1967 this perception has been overturned. On her own, the forces of Israel have repelled powerful enemies bent on her destruction and have prevailed over these foes in spectacular fashion. A new archetype has been born in the eyes of the world: the Warrior Jew…

This will change, however. This new conqueror, the Warrior Jew, finds himself responsible now for a million and a quarter Arabs who hate him, who will never be reconciled to his rule, and who would eat him raw in the night…”

(Steven Pressfield’s description of Moshe Dayan’s thoughts following the Six Day War, The Lion’s Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War published 2014, pages 378-9)

“Israel had won war, but a new war had succeeded it. There would be more wars after tht. The need to defend our people was never going to end.

Less than three months after the cease-fire, on September 1, 1967, the leaders of the Arab world met in Khartoum. At this summit they declared in regard to Israel the notorious ‘ Three No’s.’

No recognition, no negotiations, no peace.

Waves of terror had already begun.”

(Nechemya “Cheetah” Cohen, as quoted by Steven Pressfield, The Lion’s Gate: On the Front Lines of the Six Day War published 2014, pages 393-4)