I Focus And Concerned About The Expense Of A Long Term Care? 40th Anniversary PBS looks back to Israel's Six-Day War. Curt Schleier Special to the Jewish News T uesday, June 5, marks the 40th anniversary of the start of Israel's fabled Six-Day War. To commemorate the event, PBS airs a remarkable — though at times dis- ingenuous — two-hour documentary about the brief, albeit bloody, conflict. Appropriately called Six Days in June, the film airs 9-11 p.m. Monday, June 4, on PBS stations nationwide. Utilizing newly declassified materi- als (although it's not certain whether those are Arab or Israeli documents), the program is extremely well done. It combines archival footage and inter- views with participants from both sides — politi- cians, foot soldiers and generals — to provide an in-depth visual history of the events leading up to the war and the war itself. Much of the material was new to this reviewer. Ironically, this was a war that should have and could have been prevented. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser was ambitious. He envisioned a Pan-Arab nation with himself as its leader. Egged on by others, including the Syrian president, who argued that he could defeat Israel in six hours, Nasser mobilized his troops, moved them into the Sinai and blockaded the Straits of Tiran, effectively cutting off Israel's access to the sea. From there, matters escalated out of control. It was the middle of the Cold War; and the Soviets sent mixed signals to the Arabs, first encouraging Nasser's moves and then forbidding a first strike. But by then, Nasser had whipped the Arabs into such frenzy there was no turning back. Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister Levi Eshkol wanted to avoid conflict and delayed the war as long as he could. He sent Abba Eban to Washington to urge President Lyndon B. Johnson to intervene. But LBJ had his own problems in Vietnam. Had he sent a single American naval vessel to break the blockade, the clash might have been avoided. Eventually, Eshkol succumbed to the pressure from his generals, turned his Defense portfolio over to Moshe Dayan and approved a first strike. Within hours of the war's start in the early morning of June 5, the Israelis destroyed virtually every plane and airport the Arabs had. Without air support, the Arab cause was doomed. Interestingly, Arab radio at first announced victories for its forces. By contrast, Israel maintained a radio silence. It didn't want the extent of its achievement to get out so that outsid- ers would request a cease-fire. One of Nasser's aides said the Egyptian president told him that if he'd known how ineffective his troops were, he never would have instigated the fight. As much as this reviewer enjoyed the film, there is a quarrel with its principal conclusion: that Israel's refusal to go back to its original borders after the cease-fire has led to the current explosive atmo- sphere in the Middle East. It "mired the country in years of occupa- tion and violence,' the documentary intones. The Israelis occupy "one of the Muslim world's holiest sites:' the Noble Sanctuary, which "will stoke the fires of conflict for generations to come." What about the Arab occupation of the Jewish quarter in 1948, in which every synagogue was destroyed and defiled and access to the kotel limited? Further, the documentary alleges, as the press materials note, that the war "crushed the dream of Pan-Arab nationalism, undermined the Arab secular regimes and left the Arab world so traumatized that many turned to militant Islam." But the same kinds of regimes (often run by the same fami- lies) in power in 1967 still rule in Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. More to the point (with the excep- tion of Jerusalem), Israel did offer the land back, wanting only peace. The ini- tiative worked with Egypt and Jordan. The filmmakers (who are Israeli) are entitled to their opinion. But they also have an obligation to prove their point. In fact, they do the opposite. They note how the Arab League met shortly after the war, vowing to destroy Israel. One must ask, how would giving back land have changed that — or history? Here are four possible solutions: 1.Use up your savings 2. Borrow the money 3. Turn to friends or relatives 4. Buy LTC Protection ACT NOW TO HELP INSURE YOUR FINANCIAL SECURITY. For cost and details of coverage call or email: KAUFMAN INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL GROUP, L.L.C. REV I Six Days in June airs 9-11 p.m. Monday, June 4, on Detroit Public Television-Channel 56 and other PBS stations. Check your local listings. 29580 Northwestern Hwy. 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