The anniversary of the Six Days War aka 1967 War passes this year in a very bitter way in the Arab world, especially in Egypt. With all that is happening in Palestine whether in Gaza especially in Rafah or in the West Bank, especially in East Jerusalem, it is a very bitter anniversary.
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| The Israeli ultranationalist flag parade entering the Al-Aqsa complex on Wednesday 5 June 2024 in Occupied East Jerusalem by Activestills.org |
In cooperation with the Al-Mawkef Al-Masry political news Facebook page, renowned Egyptian historian Dr. Khaled Fahmy presented a series of episodes about the Six Days War in 2022.
It is a must-watch series.
Unfortunately, it is in Arabic. I wish it were translated into English one day.
Until now, the official documents of the Six Days War in Egypt have not been released.
Fahmy depends on foreign sources as well as the transcripts of Nasser’s cabinet meetings that were released by his family, in addition to the memoirs of Egyptian officials.
People must see it to understand how totalitarian policies not only lead to defeat but also create a grim future, our present.
Israel did not win in 1967 because its military commanders
were superior geniuses, but because, fortunately for them, the wrong kind of
leaders and commanders were the decision-makers on the other side.
The 1967 defeat was the direct result of dictatorship.
It did not start on October 7, 2023, for sure. It goes back to 1917, then to 1948, but things went from bad to worse, paving the way for the worst in 1967.
I apologize if the rant below seems unorganized, but honestly, this is how my mind thinks without any organization.
Yes, I am one of those Egyptians who believe that June 5, 1967, is one of the worst days in Egypt’s modern history if not its entire history—and the history of this nation is incredibly long.
Up till now Egypt and the Arab world especially Palestine have been paid heavily for this
If you think Egypt restored its territories through the peace agreement and that it’s over, think again. Egypt’s national security, as we have learned, begins in the north at Syria’s Taurus Mountain range.
In reality, we know that Egyptian national security also starts in Yemen, where ships pass through the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and in Ethiopia, where Egypt’s sole source of water—the Nile—originates, as well as in Ukraine, from where we used to import most of our wheat at affordable prices.
It’s 2024, and we hear people in Israel and the West openly discussing displacing Palestinians from Gaza into Sinai. There are also Israeli Jewish ultranationalists who believe they should reclaim not only Sinai but also the East Bank of the Nile as part of Greater Israel. These ultranationalists include members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s current cabinet.
Gaza has always been, and remains, our buffer zone and last frontier.
Since 1967, Gaza has been occupied because of Gamal Abdel Nasser’s totalitarian policies, including his original sin of keeping his best friend-turned-worst enemy, Abdel Hakim Amer, as Minister of War.
It is 2024, and Egypt is still paying the price of those totalitarian policies regardless of what the Nasserites claim on many levels including what happened in 1967.
On 9 June 1967, Nasser delivered his famous resignation speech, crafted by late Journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal.
In that speech, he coined the term "Setback" as a reference to "the defeat in the Six Days War" to avoid negatively reportedly impacting the morale of the Egyptian and Arab people.
By calling it a "setback" he framed it as a minor delay rather than a major defeat that resulted in the foreign invasion of one-third of their territory and the loss of an entire strip under their control.
The “setback” had become since then the synonym for the Six Days War in Egypt.
Nasser and Heikal critics say that making “Setback” mainstream instead of defeat was another attempt to evade the responsibility of the greatest defeat in the 20th century.
Another historical fact: Until June 9, 1967, the Egyptian press, which was completely owned and controlled by the state after being nationalized seven years earlier, kept falsely claiming that the Egyptian army was on the verge of invading Tel Aviv. Ironically, by the 9th, most Egyptians had turned to foreign radio stations. It was then that mistrust in Egyptian state media was born.
It was during this time that the term “The setback media” was coined to refer to the failed state media.
Anyhow, Nasser began to rebuild and restructure the Egyptian army after getting rid of Amar and his “gang”.
Unofficially, the army admitted that it was defeated in that war but it would not be the end of wars or the end of times. It was a matter of weeks when the War of Attrition started in parallel with rebuilding an army for another upcoming major war.
The Egyptian people dealt with it as a defeat that was being nicknamed a “setback” but it was a defeat and they knew it was a defeat.
Egyptians began to deal with the matter as a defeat whether it was officially nicknamed or not. They got their act together to deal with a bitter reality.
By the way, I believe that Israel as a state has been living its “Setback” moment rejecting to admit it was defeated on 7 October as a government and as a military for fear of being held responsible and bearing consequences with Western support.
Unfortunately, the Israeli public is insisting on living in that “setback” too due to decades of their own ultra-religious-nationalist propaganda
In a way, Israel seems in June 2024 to be more integrated in the Middle East ironically living in denial. The only difference they are backed by the US which does not want or care to wake up them.
Israeli people should be exactly as non religious as Egyptian people are.
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