Review: Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From 1919 "The forgotten men of Versailles" by Harry Hansen anthologized in The Aspirin Age: 1919-1941

The day after the Jewish representatives made their plea for Palestine, a remarkable letter, filled with the spirit of good will, was sent by the Emir Feisal to Felix Frankfurter. In it he spoke of the deep sympathy with which the Arabs, "especially the educated among us,” looked upon the Zionist movement, and said the Arab deputation considered the Zionist proposals both "modern and proper." "We will do our best," he continued, "in so far as we are concerned, to help them through; we will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home.... The Jewish movement is national and not imperialist; our movement is national and not imperialist; there is room in Syria for us both."

Was there a better way this could have gone?

Maybe, I don't know...

I do know that once the fighting started, but this history is a rather thrilling tale of underdog success as Israel triumphs over the distrusting and non-cooperative Arab nations. Israel captured and occupied the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. I wasn't aware of the Jerusalem reunification under de facto Israeli rule as an outcome of this conflict.

The story told brings in roots from the Mandate era and later.

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