JUNE ‘67 - SIX DAYS OF WAR PART 2: The Road to War

In six days, Israel attacked and defeated the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, redrawing the map of the Middle East. Why did the war happen? Why did Israel win so decisively, despite being outnumbered and surrounded? How does this war impact the current state of affairs with Israel and its neighbors?

This episode covers the rising tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors from the end of the Suez War in 1956 to the start of the Six Day War in 1967. This includes the rise of Nasser and his efforts to use Arab nationalism to unify the Arab world against Israel, Soviet support and arms to equip Egypt and Syria, Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel, and even efforts to divert the Jordan River waters to prevent Israel from using it for irrigation. These actions and Israeli reprisals eventually lead to a crisis, where Egypt kicks out the United Nations peacekeepers along the border with Israel and blockades Israeli shipping into the Red Sea.