Early in the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, the terrorist group controlling the Gaza Strip, Hamas, launched an audacious attack on Israel. The attack, on the Jewish holy day of Sheminie Atzeret, caught Israel by surprise. Though ruling Gaza despotically for many years, Hamas remains a non-state actor and its military can be classified as an irregular force. A meticulously planned attack, by land, sea and air, led to the murder of approximately fourteen hundred Israelis of all ages, the kidnaping of approximately two hundred people of all ages and the wounding of thousands. The Hamas attack was particularly atrocious, and included the killing of babies and their beheading, the burning of victims still alive, raping and killing parents in front of their children and the cold blooded murder of two hundred and sixty unarmed young people at a music festival. It is noteworthy that no leader of any country called for a cease-fire at that time. Israel quickly reacted and called up three hundred and fifty-thousand reservists and started bombing Gaza. Only on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 8), after a Times Square NY rally sponsored by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in praise of Hamas and its atrocities, did leftist politicians feel some concern. Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) called for an immediate cease-fire. Rep. Bowman also claimed that his membership in DSA had lapsed. The other “squad” members, including Reps. Omar (DMN), Tlaib (D-MI) and Bush (D-MO) were now worried. As long as Israelis were being butchered, there was no need for a cease-fire, but an aroused, vengeful Israel was another story. Now a cease-fire was urgent, particularly after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu declared war and said that Hamas members were dead men. As the war continued, missile continued to fall on Israel, Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy controlling Lebanon, made menacing gestures with both rocket fire and attempts to infiltrate into northern Israel, and a faulty Islamic Jihad rocket hit a hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds. The Islamic world erupted into anti-Israel and anti- United States protests worldwide. American academic institutions reacted feebly to pro Hamas demonstrations on their campuses and the United Nations and its Secretary General sprang into action, worried suddenly about a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Mind you, not in Israel, but in Gaza. President Joseph Biden made a lightening trip to Israel to stress that he had Israel’s back, yet he warned Israel against occupying Gaza. Today, two American hostages held by Hamas were released; Hamas gave notice that an Israeli invasion, already almost two weeks in preparation, would cause them to release no more hostages. The stage has been set. The US and European Union, in a Washington summit today, called on Israel not to enter Gaza and announced aid programs for the residents of Gaza, emphasizing that the Palestinians were not Hamas members; they were just victims of Hamas in the same manner as the murdered Israelis were. The world media seized on this equivalency with glee.
If any of this sounds familiar, it should. Both in 1967, (the Six Day War) and 1973 (Yom Kippur War, known to Muslims as the War of Ramadan) had similar histories. Egyptian aggression in 1967 consisted of closing the Straits of Tiran, blocking Israel’s access to international trade and commerce and positioning its army at the border. Egypt demanded that the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), which served as a buffer between the two countries, be removed. UN Secretary General U Thant immediately complied. These actions did not arouse a word of protest from the international community. In intensive diplomatic contacts, President Charles de Gaulle of France and Lyndon Johnson of the US both warned Israel against any preemptive action, emphasizing that Israel must take the first blow. Israel, facing attack from Egypt, Syria and Jordan disregarded this “advice” and attacked .After Israel destroyed the Soviet supplied Egyptian air force on the ground, the world suddenly awakened. Heaven forbid that the Jewish state should achieve a victory. False early Egyptian claims of victory led its allies, the USSR and the Communist bloc to vigorously oppose any cease-fire. However, it soon became clear what the situation really was and the UN urgently demanded a cease-fire in place. It was agreed to. Th UN quickly passed Resolution 242 calling for return to the pre-war borders of June 4, 1967. Israel offered to return all conquered territory in return for peace. The Arab League met in Khartoum, Sudan and issued its famous three no’s: No negotiation, No recognition, No peace. This war was followed by a three year border war called the war of attrition. Nothing was accomplished by either side.
By 1973, a new Egyptian president was in office. Gamal Abdel Nasser, an implacable enemy of Israel died of a heart attack in 1970 and was succeeded by Vice President Anwar Sadat. Various diplomatic moves by Sadat towards Israel were met with skepticism by Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Sadat, frustrated by diplomatic failure, launched, together with Syria, an attack on Israel on Yom Kippur 1973, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Egyptian troops crossed the Suez Canal, penetrated the Bar Lev line and advanced into the Israeli held Sinai peninsula. Syrian troops, too, met with initial success and entered northern Israel. The Muslim world and the Soviet bloc opposed any cease-fire that was called for, confident that an Arab victory was coming. Israeli scouts noted a break in Egyptian lines, and Israeli troops poured through this break, crossed the Suez Canal, surrounded the Egyptian Third Army and was now sixty miles from Cairo (Kilometer 101). Similar action occurred in the north as Syria faced defeat. Again, a loud roar of a demand for a cease-fire erupted in the UN General Assembly. An Israeli victory could not be tolerated. The Arab oil producers accused the United States of fighting for Israel and began an oil boycott against the United States which lasted for many months. Israeli victory was again stolen, as in 1956, and 1967. Resolution 338 was adopted.
Intensive shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger led to disengagement of the opposing forces with relief for the trapped Egyptian Third army. Books have been written about Secretary Kissinger’s diplomatic efforts so there is no need to recount it here. What does need to be discussed is why, after seventy-five years this state of bellicosity still exists. Wars, unfortunately, do occur even in our so called advanced state of civilization which we claim to be in today. Wars should have a resolution; usually one side being victorious and the other side acceding to the will of the victor. World War I saw the German Empire surrender and sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. However, many, perhaps most of the German people could not believe that they lost the war. How could they lose when there were no Allied troops in Germany and major parts of France and Belgium were occupied by the German army? How quickly they forgot that their General Staff, led by Generals Ludendorff and Hindenburg, had demanded of Kaiser Wilhelm that they surrender as allied troops were on the move and would soon enter Germany. We learn from this that a victor must occupy the loser’s capital and impose his will on the unfortunate side. This did not happen at Versailles and Marshal Foch said to Premier Clemenceau “They’ll be back in twenty years”. They were. President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, learned the lessons of war and demanded “unconditional surrender”. Germany and Japan were defeated, occupied and governed for a number of years by an allied military governor. No German or Japanese could have any allusion of who won World War II. German and Japanese militarism were dead.
With this background, one can reasonably ask if Israel ever won a war against its Arab opponents. All Israeli Arab wars ended in cease-fires and armistice agreements. Israel never occupied any Arab capital nor did it ever impose its will on its enemy. Through diplomatic efforts, Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan and has established diplomatic relations with them. These relations, at best, can be described as a “cold peace”. More recently, the so called “Abraham Accords” were negotiated with several Arab countries, establishing mutual diplomatic relations, yet none of these Arab countries can be called “front line states”. Peace with Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq remains elusive, even though progress seems to have been made in talks with Saudi Arabia. In fact, Hamas’ motivation for its attack on October 7 has been suggested as being directed by Iran to block such an agreement. Certainly, it is in Israel’s power to destroy Hamas and impose its will on Gaza. What we are seeing here is one more stolen victory as the US and EU work to prevent such an occurrence. The only result of such efforts will be more of the same. War and more war, as there is no resolution to the issue and the Palestinian terror movements know they will be bailed out regardless of what they do and how extreme their position may be.
It should be understood that war is a very serious thing. It’s not a school yard game with a do over in disputed plays. It is deadly. And no one should start a war unless they are completely convinced that they will win. The consequences of losing are disastrous. So it seems everywhere, except for the Middle East. The consequences of stolen victories are more of the same. War and more war.
Garry S. Sklar
October 20, 2023
Las Vegas, NV
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