#5 Patterns of Prophecy-Preservation of the Jewish State

Patterns of Prophecy The Supernatural History of Israel Session 5 The Preservation of the Jewish State Review of Where We Left Off 1. “Zionism” was a movement, which began in the 1890s, which had as its goal, “the creation of a Jewish State, secured by public law.” 2. The Balfour Declaration, issued in 1917, was a British attempt to gain Jewish support for WW1. It consisted of a declaration of British policy showing favor toward the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine. 3. World War 1 resulted in a British controlled Palestine, and British sanctioned immigration of Jews into Palestine. 4. The British Mandate officially ended, and the U.N. voted in favor of Resolution 181. The Jews declared their independence in May of 1948. U.N. Partition Plan Among those celebrating the U.N. vote was the soldier Moshe Dayan who would later write in his memoirs, “I felt in my bones the victory of Judaism, which for 2000 years of exile from the land of Israel, had withstood persecutions, the Spanish Inquisition, pogroms, anti-Jewish decrees, restrictions, even mass slaughter by the Nazis in our own generation, and had reached the fulfillment in this age to return to freedom and independence. We were happy that night and we danced. Our hearts went out to every nation and representative that had voted in favor of the resolution. We had heard them utter the magic word “yes” with all of their voices over the airwaves from thousands of miles away. We danced but we knew that ahead of us lay the battlefield.” Israeli Preparedness for War Though the U.N. had issued Resolution 181, no country from Britain to the U.S. or France was willing to back up the U.N. policy with its own troops. Only the Jews and Arabs were willing to spill their blood for Jerusalem, the rest of the world stood by and said so be it! When Ben-Gurion in April of 1947 totaled up the arms available to the Jews he found 10,073 rifles 1,900 sub-machine guns, 186 machine guns, 444 light machine guns, 672 2 inch mortars, & 96 three inch mortars. They only had enough ammunition for a 3 day fight. No cannons, no heavy machine guns, no anti-tank weapons, no anti-aircraft weapons, no tanks, no Air Force, and no Navy. David Ben-Gurion Israeli Declaration of Independence Ben-Gurion’s decision to declare statehood was a difficult one. The United States was calling for a three month ceasefire, and the U.S. Secretary George Marshal was calling for the U.N. to take control of the country until the political solution could be worked out between Jews and Arabs. The Jews saw this as an indefinite postponement of statehood. BenGurion knew that the declaration would bring an Arab invasion, yet was determined to do it anyway. His own cabinet was divided in half. Yet on the heels of the expiration of the British Mandate in Palestine David Ben-Gurion announced the independent state of Israel on May 14, 1948. The very next day the land of Israel was invaded by the combined Arab of armies of Egypt, Syria, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, & Lebanon. Israeli Declaration of Independence Though Israel declared her independence, her legitimacy required her recognition by other world powers. Ben-Gurion’s gamble paid off ! In “The Triumph of Survival” Berel Wein alludes to the story of the friendship between a Jewish man named Edward Jacobson, and the future President of the United States, Harry Truman. They both grew up in Kansas, and first met while working downtown Kansas City, MO. They were reacquainted when they met in bootcamp after joining the U.S. Army in 1917. After WW1 they went into business together. Though the business failed, they remained close friends. As a Jew, Jacobson became intensely interested in the plight of the Jews during WW2. Israeli Declaration of Independence After WW2 and the Holocaust, the world voted on November 29, 1947 for the formation of a Jewish state. Though this was highly controversial, the State of Israel declared her independence on the day the British officially pulled out, on May 14, 1948. Yet Israel’s existence entirely depended upon other nations of the world acknowledging her declaration and right to exist. On March 13, 1948 Edward Jacobson went into the Oval Office to plead the cause of the Jewish people, and beg his close friend, former business partner, yet current President of the United States to acknowledge the existence of the newly declared State of Israel. Israeli Declaration of Independence President Harry Truman led America to become the first country to openly support the new country of Israel, when they declared their independence. Truman was opposed in this decision by the majority of his advisors, his very pro-Arab State Department, and every one of his key cabinet members resigned when he did it, but Truman announced America’s support for the newly formed State of Israel anyway. This U.S. backing gave global credibility to Israel. Truman’s personal statement on the matter was as follows, “I recognized Israel immediately… against the advice of my own Secretary of State, George Marshal, who was afraid that the Arabs wouldn’t like it… but I felt that Israel deserved to be recognized and didn’t give a darn whether the Arabs liked it or not.” President Truman holds a Torah scroll he received from Chaim Weizmann, first President of the New State of Israel (May 25, 1948). War Begins When first attacked, Israel had scraped together a total of one tank, 4 obsolete airplanes, and five canons, which weren’t even there yet because they were in transit. The Israeli army had inflated to about 60,000 troops, but only about 19,000 of them were armed and mobilized. The Jews were underarmed mainly because of the British blockade, and an American embargo on arms sales in the region, because the U.S. State Department did not want to provide the Jews with a means of defending themselves, naively hoping this would stem the violence. Most of the arms Israel had when the war began in 1948 had been smuggled into Israel by the Jewish underground groups, who had bypassed the British blockade. War Begins The Arabs on the other hand had no difficulty obtaining all the arms they wanted. They not only had access to arms by way of shipping routes from all around the Middle East, but also when the British left after the Mandate they literally handed over their arms to the Arabs, most importantly the artillery. The Arabs not only received British weapons, but even British leadership. The Arab Legion of Trans-Jordan was armed and trained by the British and even led by a British officer. At the end of 1948 and beginning of 1949 British Royal Air-Force planes flew with Egyptian squadrons over the Israeli-Egyptian border. The irony of the situation, however, is that the powerful British equipped Arab Legion became not only the envy of the other Arab nations, but also distrusted by them. The success of the Arab Legion in capturing several villages in Judea & Samaria made the other Arab nations jealous, who then refused to work with king Abdullah. As a result, the independent Arab nations surrounding Israel never worked in harmony and never coordinated their military strategies. This naturally aided the Jewish cause! Israeli Air-force The Israeli Air Force first went into action on May 29, 1948. They built an Air Force largely from imported aircraft from Czechoslovakia. The first four aircraft flown by Israel had been disassembled in order to be shipped overseas. When they arrived in Israel, they were quickly reassembled, but there was no time to test them. Rather, they assembled them, painted a quick Star of David insignia on the side, and launched them against an Egyptian outpost 20 miles south of Tel Aviv near the city of Ashdod. Ashdod had become the Egyptian staging area to prepare for their invasion of Tel Aviv. The maintenance mechanic who painted the first Star insignia, Benjamin Peled, was later to learn how to fly, and after a distinguished career in the Israeli Air Force, was to become its commander-in-chief in May of 1973. Israeli Air-force The first Israeli Air-force attack on Ashdod was a total success. Chiam Weizmann’s own nephew was one of the first pilots. With only four planes in action they attacked a large column of Egyptians with thousands of soldiers and hundreds of military vehicles lined up on the highway to Tel Aviv. After bombing the column Egyptian soldiers fled in all directions. The Israelis lost one pilot during the attack. Though this was an astounding initial success, the Israeli perspective was that they had lost 1/4 of their Air Force combat planes in one attack! After the war, several stories surfaced where Israeli aircraft caring bombs were so illequipped that Israeli soldiers literally had to hang out of the bomb bay with one hand and trigger the releases of the bombs with a screwdriver in the other hand! (Gilbert page 201) Strategic Victories On page 202 of his book, Gilbert recounts how officer Yadin, like BenGurion, understood the power of morale. In 1940 Winston Churchill had spoken with confidence of victory at the time when no logical mind could conceive it, but only the specter of defeat. Yadin told journalists that interviewed him on June 3, that although the fighting around Israel was bitter he had just received a dispatch from Israeli command that indicated that the bulk of the Egyptian invasion force was under continuous Israeli attack from the air and from artillery barrage, and that it had been completely surrounded by Israeli troops. Yigael Yadin would later become a renowned archeologist mostly responsible for the excavations at Masada. Strategic Victories This was a complete bluff. There was not a single word of truth to it at the time Yadin gave the statement. But he understood the enormous power of the international news media. The next morning he recalled, “we intercepted a radio transmission between the high command in Cairo and the field commander.” The high command was raging, “what is your situation? Why are you not reporting in?” The commander responded, “we’re being attacked fiercely, but we’re holding our ground!” Yet the Egyptian high command responded from Cairo, “You don’t even know your own situation! You’re completely surrounded!” With that false report, the Egyptian troops flew into a panic and fled! Yigael Yadin would later become a renowned archeologist mostly responsible for the excavations at Masada. Aftermath After around a year of fighting, all the Arab countries signed armistice agreements with Israel in 1949. Iraq was the only country that did not sign an agreement with Israel choosing instead to withdraw its troops and handover it’s territory to Trans-Jordan’s Arab Legion. Ironically, because of their aggression, the Arabs wound up with less territory after the war, then they would have had if they had just excepted the Partition Plan of Resolution 181. Note in both the War of Independence as well as in the Six Day War, Israel won land defensively. Parallel this with Deuteronomy chapter 2, when Og & Sihon came out against Israel to battle and Israel defended themselves, won, and received more land than they had before! Mathematical Prophecy in Ezekiel 4? In Ezekiel 4:1-8 God foretells of 430 years of punishment, which He will level upon Israel, which began with the Babylonian Captivity. Biblical scholars have long debated the exact fulfillment of this prophecy. All agree that the 70 years of the Babylonian Captivity count as years of punishment. So subtracting 70 from 430 brings us to 360 years of punishment remaining. However, no agreement exists among scholars as to how the remaining years are fulfilled. Perhaps the most common view is that these years of punishment were fulfilled while Israel was beneath Persian, and then Greek oppression. The Maccabean revolt, therefore, would end the years of punishment. Though this is definitely a possibility, most note that the timeline is inexact. Mathematical Prophecy in Ezekiel 4? Though the suggestions of how these remaining years of punishment have played out in history vary, and although it is by no means certain, I would like to share with you an interesting possibility, which is a combination of multiple factors. First, one must bear in mind the so-called “Biblical year,” of 360 days, rather than 365.25 days. Second, one must allow for a literal interpretation of Leviticus 26:18, 21, 23, 24, 27, & 28, where six times in a row God says that if Israel would not repent of their sins while He was punishing them, then He would multiply their punishment by seven. Mathematical Prophecy in Ezekiel 4? Allowing for these two interpretive factors, the 360 years of punishment left for Israel after the Babylonian captivity would be multiplied by 7, and would come out to 2,520 years of 360 days each. Or 2,483.8 years of 365.25 days each. Beginning with the end of the Babylonian Captivity in the spring of 536 B.C. and counting out 2,483.8 years, one would arrive to the month of May in 1947. Yet accounting for the fact that there is no year zero, we would come to May of 1948, which is the very month Israel declared her independence. Coincidence? The Six Day War (1967) Background for the War The decades after WW2 are well known to history as the “Cold War,” which pitted East against West, particularly the U.S.S.R. vs. U.S.A. However, this war was most often fought by proxy. Many of the conflicts in the Middle East were really a Cold War face-off between the big powers. In line with this arrangement, the Soviets pumped billions of dollars worth of technology and personnel into the Middle East. Egypt received almost half of these resources. The rise of Egyptian President Nasser, the “Suez Crisis,” and a number of other events clearly illustrate this “Cold War” tension. Background for the War Nasser, President of Egypt, behaved belligerently against the West ever since he took power, he forced their hand by seizing control of the Suez Canal in 1956. Nasser’s confidence came from his Soviet alliance and Soviet arms. So Israel teamed up with England and France in a joint effort to retake the canal. The operation turned out to be stunningly successful militarily, but disastrous diplomatically. The Soviet Union, infuriated by British and French alliance with Israel and the resulting action against Egypt, made nuclear threats. America in turn denounced the Soviets, but also told Israel, Britain, and France to “cease and desist.” This “Suez Crisis” continued to stoke tensions, which would eventually lead to the Six Day War. Israel learned many lessons from this “Crisis.” They not only saw the strategic nature of geographic buffer zones to their north and south, but also the need for rearmament in order to face the growing threat from Egypt. Background for the War Then, in May of 1967 Russian produced false intelligence reports for Egypt and Syria, informing them that an Israeli attack was imminent. This stirred the pot. Already itching for a fight, Nasser mobilized his troops in the Sinai in May of 1967, and expelled the U.N. peacekeeping force, which had been stationed there since the Suez Crisis. Then a week later Nasser re-closed the Straits of Tiran. The U.N. peacekeeping force broke protocol by bypassing the U.N. General assembly, and simply bowing to Nasser‘s demand. This boosted Nasser’s prestige among the Arab nations, which further cemented his leadership of the Pan-Arab League. He continued his heated rhetoric. Leading up to the war he said explicitly, “we will not enter Palestine with its soil covered in sand, but we will enter Palestine with its soil saturated in blood!” A Cairo radio program known as, Voice of the Arabs, announced, “Every one of the hundred million Arabs has been living… to see the day Israel is liquidated.” Background for the War Israel had drawn up a very clear list of criteria (a.k.a. casus belli), which would cause it to consider itself in a state of war. The withdrawal of the U.N. peacekeeping force, as well as the closing of the Straits of Tiran, were both on the list of criteria. In early June of 1967 Israel also got word, by capturing Jordanian intelligence, that an attack was imminent. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol of Israel relinquished his position as Defense Minister giving it to Moshe Dayan. This public appointment signaled to the Israeli public their readiness for war. Israeli media outlets announced the prospects of a war to her people, and most of the public parks in Israel were being set aside to become graveyards. The term “Second Holocaust” was bandied about. Bomb shelters were prepared, and students dug bunkers across the land. Levi Eshkol Statistics at the Outset 1. Israel stood alone against the combined armies of 6 Arab nations: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. 2. Israel had a population of 3 million, while the surrounding Arab countries had a population of 100 million. 3. Israel had an army of around 264,000 (including reservists, which could not be mobilized for long), 300 aircraft, and 800 tanks, yet she faced armies that numbered around 472,000 troops, 2,380 aircraft, and 898 tanks. War on the Southern Front Israel vs. Egypt War on the Southern Front At 7:45 a.m. on Monday, June 5, 1967 Israel began with a preemptive strike against Egypt. This Israeli tactic was considered essential, due to their limited resources, and vulnerable borders. Offense was itself the best form of defense. “Operation focus,” was the name of this strike against the Egyptian airfields. The meticulously planned and drilled operation turned out to be perfectly timed and executed. Israeli intelligence uncovered the vulnerability of the Egyptians to an air attack because of their unprotected open air airfields as well as a predictable personal pattern. Right after their morning air patrol’s, the pilots would eat breakfast, and the main commanders were not yet present on base, but still driving to work. The early morning attack also allowed Israeli pilots to get a full night sleep before they began a long grueling day of constant air battles. Nearly all Israeli aircraft were committed to the operation. Only 12 Israeli planes stayed back to defend Israeli air space. War on the Southern Front The operation consisted of two waves of attack, first focusing on the 10 primary Egyptian airfields, then secondly focusing on the rest. The goal was to destroy the Egyptian Air Force while still on the ground. Rather than coming in from the east, the Israeli airstrike came from the west, after circling wide out into the Mediterranean Sea. As a result Egypt was largely disoriented believing even that British or American aircraft carriers had lunched the attack. Egypt centered its forces down near the Gulf of Aqaba, believing that would be the center of Israel’s attack. The previous day Israel had feinted that direction by sending petrol aircraft down there. Feints, deceit, and preemptive strikes are classic Israeli tactics (think book of Joshua). The initial attack took 80 minutes consisting of 8 waves of 4 aircraft each. Each squad would fly over target area for about 10 minutes, followed three minutes later by the next squad. The second major wave of the attack also took about 80 minutes. War on the Southern Front Egypt was not militarily prepared at all. President Nasser was high on rhetoric, but low on planning. He was naturally suspicious of his own country, particularly the educated elite, because he was afraid of another coup, which is actually how he had brought himself to power. This suspicion, however, caused his mid-level commanders to be of a very low-quality. In addition to this, Nasser would constantly micromanage his war plan even up and to the last minute. This led to great confusion in the field, because no one quite knew what the plan was. Israel on the other hand had incredible trust in it’s lower command structure, and much more flexibility for decisions to be made in the field. Another evidence of providence was the fact that Jordanian intelligence detected the Israeli aircraft taking off early on June 5 and reported it to Egypt, yet the decoding personnel on June 5 were not yet given the new decoding information and therefore could not decode the message in time! War on the Southern Front In the initial 3 hours of the war Egypt lost 300 of its aircraft, and Egypt was by far the largest Arab air force. When Syria and Jordan did become aware of the Israeli attack, they were slow to respond. This allowed Israel to finish demolishing the Egyptian air-force, and then turn to Syria, destroying 60 of their aircraft, as well as destroying all of Jordan’s air force. Israel destroyed a total of 452 planes, while only losing 19 of their own. The lack of cohesion in the Arab armies was obvious. The Arab nations’ total lack of strategic timing and overall unity allowed Israel to deal with them one at a time rather than on all three fronts simultaneously. The Israeli air strikes on June 5, allowed Israel to gain total air supremacy for all three fronts on the first day of the war. This allowed the IAF to provide ground support for her troops throughout the rest of the conflict, giving them a tremendous advantage over their enemies. War on the Southern Front The land campaign began immediately after the air campaign. The Sinai campaign of 1967 is generally regarded as one of the greatest tank battles in the history of mechanized warfare. The smoothness and swiftness of Israeli tactics is incredible. The Sinai peninsula was occupied by over 170,000 Egyptian troops, as well as hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces. However, Egyptian forces were almost entirely concentrated in the south, assuming the Israeli attack would focus on reopening the Straits of Tiran. Egypt was totally unprepared for Israel to strike in the center of the Sinai. A large range of sand dunes in central Sinai were considered impassible, thus left undefended. So that is exactly where Israel struck first. War on the Southern Front Egypt postured itself defensively, digging in and waiting, attempting to draw Israel into the Sinai, envelope, and crush them. Israel, however, inferior in numbers, relied heavily on speed, and maneuverability. Israel had to win a quick, violent, but decisive victory. Israel was not capable of a protracted war. Israel struck quickly with their tanks, which were backed up by total air superiority. Israeli tanks aimed primarily at controlling the key passes and roads through the Sinai, often speeding right past Egyptian fortified positions, in order to gain access to the passes, surround the Egyptians, cut off their communications and supply lines, and force a surrender. While Israel had to stretch their own supply lines in order to surround the Egyptians, they nonetheless had total air superiority, and thus could supply themselves by aircraft. War on the Southern Front As Israeli troops pressed on in the Sinai front, they captured the Egyptian eastern outpost of Abu-Ageila. The next day they approached the major southern outpost of Sharm-el-Sheikh, which was much more heavily fortified. As the Israelis drew near they heard massive explosions. When they arrived they saw that the Egyptians, for no apparent reason, had destroyed their equipment, abandoned the base, and retreated to the Suez. Egypt lost an estimated 12,000 men and 700 tanks in the Sinai campaign, which lasted for a total of 6 days. Israel lost 275 troops, and 61 tanks. The Sinai campaign is considered by many to be one of the most decisive victories in the history of mechanized warfare. War on the Southern Front Israeli Mossad (intelligence agency) is largely credited with the victories of 1967. By that time Israeli intelligence had become one of the most admired in the world. It was largely forged by the Nazi hunting efforts after World War II. Egyptian intelligence on the other hand was almost nonexistent. They grossly under-estimated Israeli strength and response time, especially of the air force. Israeli military was built much like the British army. The cohesion of the army was clearly seen on the battlefield. Israel field officers had a very high level of autonomous action. This contrasted sharply with the tight control of the Egyptian army by Nasser himself. Little could occur without direct permission from Nasser, which resulted in slow response time, and cumbersome communication. While plan secrecy was achieved by the Israelis, the Arab coalition loudly voiced their battle plans, believing this would intimidate the Israelis. Yet this only emboldened Israel, because they knew the enemy plans! War on the Eastern Front Israel vs. Jordan War on the Eastern Front Israel actually first opted for a defensive posture toward Jordan, hoping that Jordan would remain neutral in the fighting and allow Israel to only have to fight on two fronts. However, President Nasser cleverly deceived Jordanian president Hussein by telling him to engage the Israelis on the Eastern front, when Hussein himself was hesitant to do so. Nasser even went so far as to say that Egypt had won the initial conflict against the Israelis. He arrogantly refused to report the destruction of his own air force, and even convinced Hussein that the aircraft the Jordanians saw flying on radar, were actually Egyptian aircraft heading for Tel Aviv. So at 9:45 a.m. on June 5th, Hussein launched at artillery attack against Jerusalem, and occupied the abandoned U.N. headquarters on eastern edge of Jerusalem. By 11:50 a.m. Hussein sent 16 Jordanian planes to attack targets in northern Israel. The Iraqi army also joined Jordan in sending fighters. President Hussein War on the Eastern Front The Jordanian attack actually ended up giving Israel an opportunity that they could not pass up, namely, the retaking of Jerusalem. So by 12:30 p.m. on June 5th, the IAF began bombing Jordanian targets. The small Jordanian air force was quickly destroyed, and the IDF then moved toward Jerusalem. The bloodiest battle around Jerusalem was for the fortified position of ammunition hill, which was an old British supply depot. The Jordanian army strategically entrenched themselves in this defensible position. 36 Israelis, and 71 Jordanians lost their lives in this battle, but Israel prevailed. War on the Eastern Front After taking ammunition hill and some other key strategic areas around Jerusalem, the Israelis encircled the Old City, but did not go in, because of a respect for the holy sites, the desire to preserve them, as well as the fear of being censured internationally. President Hussein, however, soon asked for a cease-fire, which tipped his hand and emboldened the Israelis to achieve the sentimental goal of taking the Old City before the cease-fire could be put in place. So on June 7, Moshe Dayan ordered the taking of the Old City. Only paratroop brigades went in. No tanks, and no artillery were allowed in order to try and preserve the holy sites. As Israeli forces entered the city, the Jordanian resistance crumbled. Within hours, the city was within Israeli hands. The flag of Israel flew atop the temple mount, and soldiers wept at the western wall. In one of the most emotional moments in Jewish history, Israel rejoiced over Jerusalem regained! This Documentary Chronicles the Israeli taking of Jerusalem 4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, And every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls Playing in the streets thereof. 6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, Should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. 7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, And from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: 8 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, In truth and in righteousness. (Zechariah 8:4-8) War on the Eastern Front After taking the Old City of Jerusalem the Israelis paused. President Hussein of Jordan decided to withdraw his troops to the east side of the Jordan River, whereupon Moshe Dayan ordered Israeli troops to occupy the West Bank. Though this move has brought a tremendous amount of international tension and pressure against Israel, it was originally a response to an Arab retreat, NOT a desire for Israeli conquest… Many sources today want to rewrite this part of history! War on the Northern Front Israel vs. Syria War on the Northern Front The Israelis were originally reluctant to invade the Golan Heights. It would be an uphill battle against a well entrenched and well fortified position, which was immune to air attack, protected by somewhere between 40,000-75,000 Syrian troops, 260 tanks, and a system of artillery bunkers that covered 10 miles of territory. One noted Israeli General estimated that such a battle would cost 30,000 Jewish lives. Though the Israeli Air Force had already dealt a serious blow to the Syrian Air Force, they were still reluctant to take such a formidable position by using ground forces. Plus, most of the IDF ground forces were still in the Sinai dealing with Egypt, or in Jerusalem wrapping up the re-conquest of the city. War on the Northern Front Israel was not only intimidated by the fortifications in the Golan, but were also wary of international pressure should they invade Syria. The Golan Heights was clearly Syrian territory, and Israel hesitated to attack it for fear of international reprisal. Israel’s greatest fear was a Soviet entrance into the war. However, the strategic value of possessing the Golan eventually won out in their decision. With Egypt contemplating a U.N. brokered cease-fire, which would encourage Syria to do the same, and with a total Egyptian defeat in the Sinai allowing IDF resources to become available, Israeli leaders began to consider an attack on the Golan as more reasonable. War on the Northern Front So Israel moved against the Golan Heights on June 9. They attacked through the less guarded foothills of Mt. Hermon, because they were deemed impassible. Incredibly, after only 7 hours of fighting on June 9th, IDF commanders established strongholds in the northern and central sectors of the Golan. One account describes how after suffering significant casualties in the offensive to overtake the Golan, a platoon of only 25 men charged the most heavily fortified trench position of the Syrian army. The Syrian Captain commanded his men not to fire until the Israeli soldiers reached the razor wire, but by then it was too late. In the Syrian’s own words, “the Jews are already inside, and we’ve taken heavy causalities.” The taking of this position was hugely strategic to continue the offensive in the Golan. War on the Northern Front The next morning dawned with the Israel forces apprehensively awaiting another day of fierce fighting. However, in a sudden panic, before the Israelis even approached their positions, the Syrians pulled out of the Golan and fled in total chaos, even leaving behind much of their weaponry! Israel was able to take the entire Golan plateau, and control territory all the way to within 40 miles of Damascus. As Syrian troops retreated, Nasser was asked to send some of his commandos stationed in Jordan to the Syrian front, but Nasser had no fight left, and Syria retreated. The final offensive was complete and a ceasefire was signed, going into effect by 6:30 p.m. on June 10th. Historians believe that had they wanted to, Israel could have occupied Damascus, Amman, & even Cairo. The Arab armies could not stand in their way. When the final tally was taken, 115 Israelis lost their lives in the battle for the Golan, while 2,500 Syrians were killed. Aftermath Estimated Final Statistics: 1. Israel: 700-900 Dead, 4,517 Wounded, & 15 Captured. 2. Egypt: 15,000 Dead, 5,000 to 6,000 Captured. 3. Jordan: 700 Dead, 2,500 Wounded. 4. Syria: 2,500 Dead, 500 Captured. Aftermath Speaking three weeks after the war had ended, while receiving an honorary degree from Hebrew University, Yitzhak Rabin gave his reasoning behind the success of Israel. “Our airmen who struck the enemy’s planes so accurately that no one in the world understands how it was done, and people seek technological explanations or secret weapons. Our armored troops who beat the enemy even when their equipment was inferior to his. Our soldiers in all branches who overcame the enemy everywhere in spite the latter’s superior numbers and fortifications, all these revealed not only coolness and courage in the battle, but an understanding that only their personal stand against the greatest dangers would achieve victory for their country and for their families, and that if victory was not theirs, the alternative was annihilation.” Probability of Victory? Recall the Jewish investigative journalist Michael Greenspan, who put together the T.V. series, “Against All Odds.” This 13 episode series is a fascinating compilation of true life stories regarding the rebirth of the nation of Israel. In a couple of his videos he comments that West Point, and other military schools, refuse to study Israel’s wars, because they are considered a statistical impossibility! In other words, strategy does not, and cannot explain Israel’s victories in most of her wars… so they aren’t worth studying! But what would we say? Providence?