Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

70 | JUNE 9 • 2022 

Remembering
the Six-Day War
F

ifty-five years ago, there was only 
one big story in the JN: The Six-
Day War. From June 5-10, 1967, 
Israel was once again engaged in a war for 
survival against a coalition of Arab nations. 
Egypt, Jordan and Syria were the main 
attacking forces. 
Israel had no choice but to 
win. If it lost the war, it was 
likely that its enemies would 
initiate a wholesale slaughter 
of Jews, another Holocaust. 
After all, their stated desire 
was to wipe Israel off the 
Middle Eastern map. After 
six days of hard fighting, 
however, the result was a decisive Israeli 
victory that ranks among the most brilliant 
military campaigns in world history. 
Although Israel won the war in a 
brilliant fashion, it paid a heavy price in 
material goods, military supplies and, of 
course, in human sacrifice. Nearly 800 
Israelis lost their lives; more than 2,500 
were wounded.
The Six-Day War also shaped the future 
of American-Israeli relations. “Between 
1948 and 1967, Israel wasn’t really in the 
news very much in the United States,” 
historian Eric Alterman recently surmised. 
“But Americans had a very rosy picture of 
Israel. They loved Israel, but they didn’t 
pay much attention to it. Then, after 1967, 
everything changed.” 
With the outbreak of the Six-Day War, 
for many American Jews, support for Israel 
became a primary component of their 
identity.
Beginning with the June 9, 1967, issue 
of the JN, the Six-Day War has a huge 
presence in the William Davidson Digital 
Archive of Jewish Detroit History. The 
war is mentioned on 3,822 pages in the 
Archive. Moreover, reports and stories 
in the Archive often speak to the Detroit 

Jewish community’s support for Israel in 
its time of need. 
The June 9, 1967, issue of the JN, 
published just before the war ended in a 
ceasefire, illustrates the above point. As 
one might expect, there are reports about 
the war itself, but the larger narrative 
is the Detroit Jewish community’s 
generous support for Israel in its time 
of need. 
The headline for June 9 first states 
Detroit’s commitment to Israel. It does 
not, however, speak to Israel’s pending 
victory or military actions. Instead, it 
reads: “Detroit Jewry Mobilized to Aid 
Israel; Dedicate this Sabbath for Action.” 
Moreover, “Israel Bond Sales Must Reach 
$2,000,000 Here Within a Week!” That’s 
$17 million in today’s dollars, to be raised 
in a hurry. 
There are additional advertisements 
urging Detroiters to give. The ad for the 
Israel Emergency Fund has a simple point: 
“You Must Help the People of Israel!” By 
“You,” it meant “Every Individual in the 
Jewish Community.” On the next page, the 
Fund implored readers to “Give As You 
Never Gave Before.” 
 The JN gave its own voice in support 
of Israel. The main editorial was titled: 
“All Together: To Israel’s Aid.” Publisher/
Editor Philip Slomovitz’s weekly “Purely 
Commentary” column was devoted to 
“The Emergency: A Jewish as well as 
Israeli Issue.”
The Six-Day War was a monumental 
turning point for Israel. The ramifications 
of the war are still debated today, here and 
in Israel, in the media and in hundreds of 
written histories. But, one fact is certain — 
Detroit Jews did their best to support Israel 
in its time of need. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation 
archives, available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Jewish community’s support for Israel in 

one might expect, there are reports about 

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

Israel Emergency Fund has a simple point: 

Jewish Community.” On the next page, the 

