Six Days that Changed the Middle East: Documentary Review

Summary

The documentary explores the history of the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, highlighting its enduring impacts on the Middle East. The narrator outlines that the war started 19 years after the declaration of the establishment of the state of Israel on 14th May 1948 by Zionist leader David Ben Gurion. Five Arab armies entered Palestine with the Lebanese attacking from the North, the Iraqis, Syrians, and Jordanians from the East, and the most fatal threat was from the South. Historian Benny Morris explains that the Israeli army obtained weapons from the European black market. He argues that these armies enjoyed a mainstream supply of weapons from the states, with the Lebanese and Syrians getting their weapons from the French, while the Egyptians, Iraqis, and Jordanians got their weapons from the British. This ensured a constant supply of arms to the Israeli army. The imposition of the embargo by the United Nations in 1948 on the armed shipments to the Middle East led to the British and the French refraining from supplying weapons to the region. When the embargo ran out, the Israeli troops were focused on driving out the Arab armies from the region. The narrator argues that the Egyptian troops outlined the biggest threat to the Israelis, thus they made it a mission to conquer them by engulfing them in Palestine. This was stopped by the Israel-Egypt delegations, whereby a ceasefire was reached. The documentary outlines that the war led to the reduction of Arab territory.

The contribution of Egypt to the change in the history of the Middle East is outlined in the film as being significant. The narrator argues that the establishment of the free armies, which were officials previously engaged in the Arab-Israeli war, led to Egypt’s government of the time being overthrown and the mastermind behind the free armies' idea, Abdul Nasser, gaining leadership of the nation. This heightened the fear of Egypt turning the entire globe against Israel. Abdul Nasser sought weapon supply from the West with no avail, making him turn to the Middle East for help. As a result, Egypt signed a huge arms deal with Czechoslovakia, which strengthened the Egyptian army. The nationalization of the Suez Canal furthered the conflict as it made the French and British angry, as they were the owners of the international canal company, which was directly impacted by this decision. Further, the British and French sent their troops upon the rejection of the ultimatum they issued to NASA, as they felt that there was a need for military action to regain ownership of the canal. The narrator outlines that the French and British were forced to withdraw their troops upon the United Nations Assembly's decision over the issue. On 14^th May 1967, Abdul Nasser ordered Egyptian troops into Sinai. This action aimed to prevent Israel from attacking Syria. The history of the Middle East officially changed on 5^th June 1967 when the war officially started with Israeli attacks on Egyptian air bases.

Critical Assessment of the Findings

I believe the documentary adequately describes the origin of the Arab-Israeli war and the factors that facilitated the war. It gives an in-depth description of the war that ensures that its audience understands how it came to be. The documentary consists of interviews from historians, individuals who witnessed the war firsthand, such as the Egyptian pilot, members of the Free Congress, narration of the events that took place, and video clips of the war. These components enhance understanding of the documentary and demonstrate that the information offered is accurate and reliable. For instance, when narrating about the devastating impacts the airbase attacks had on Egyptian airbases, a video clip of the attack and its aftermath is shown. This provides a visual representation of the impacts, which enhances the comprehension of the war. By interviewing individuals who witnessed the war firsthand, the narrator obtains an accurate description of events that happened before, during, and after the war. The narrator uses simple language, making the documentary easier to understand. Also, the documentary promotes a somber mood through the incorporation of sounds that create suspense and sadness. This aligns with the subject being presented and makes the documentary enjoyable to watch. Overall, I liked the documentary. I enjoyed watching it from the start to the end, especially because of how captivating I found the narration and the suspense to be. Also, watching the documentary furthered my understanding of the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict that continues to this day.

Further, the documentary outlines how the media was used to spread false information about the war. Cairo media outlined false reports of the total failure of the enemy’s Air attacks. They made the public believe that Egypt succeeded in the air attacks. This led to Jordan, Iraq, and Syria launching their air attacks, which were ineffective. However, these attacks led to Israel widening its attack areas as it launched attacks in Jordan, Syria, and a significant base in Iraq. This shows how powerful the media is during war, as it may lead to negative or positive implications. In the case of the 1967 Arab- Israeli war, the media was a negative contributor as it led to misinformation that furthered the war, leading to severe damage. Also, the lack of collaboration in the decision-making process among the Egyptian officials during the war contributed to the devastating impacts the war had and the collapse of the Egyptian troops' fronts. For instance, the order to withdraw Egyptian troops by Marshall Amur from Sinai a day after witnessing Israel’s air supremacy firsthand led to a complete collapse of the Egyptian front. The decision was not reached after collaborative efforts, which led to severe impacts on Egyptian troops. This is similar to the decision to fly a passenger plane amidst Israeli aircraft, which posed a risk to the official traveling in that plane. On the sixth day, Syria had accepted the ceasefire. The ceasefire was broadcast on the news before informing the troops, which caused a collapse of the Syrian army. This furthers how the Syrian political leadership failed the nation during the war. It shows how poor political leadership impacts war outcomes. The documentary outlines that Israel only accepted the UN's ceasefire after it had achieved all its goals in the war on the sixth day.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the documentary outlines how the 1967 Arab-Israeli war led to the existing issues in the Middle East. The arguments that the 1967 war was not a war but a series of one-sided attacks, with the enemies withdrawing from the war, are adequately proven throughout the documentary. This provides in-depth insights into the start of the Arab-Israeli conflicts that are still haunting the region to date. Also, the documentary shows how the six-day war created a base for other conflicts in the region that have led to devastating impacts.