Levi Eshkol (1895-1969), born Levi Shkolnik, was Israel’s prime minister during the Six-Day War.
In the lead up to the war which started on June 5, 1967 war drums were beating with increasing volume. Egypt closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, blockading the port in Eilat. Egypt and Jordan signed a defence pact that put Egypt in charge of Jordan’s army in the event of war. A Kuwaiti infantry brigade was airlifted into Egypt. Morocco, Libya and Sudan dispatched soldiers to Egypt. Egypt evicted United Nations peacekeeping troops from the Sinai.
During this period, Eshkol led a government that held 75 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. Nevertheless, recognizing the importance of unity during a time of national emergency, he agreed to expand the government to include three other parties including Herut bringing its leader, Menachem Begin into the government for the first time. As part of the unity government agreement, Eshkol passed the important defence minister position to Moshe Dayan.
Eshkol is on the cover of the June 9, 1967 edition of TIME Magazine which went to print before the war started with an Israeli preemptive strike that destroyed the airforces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Before the war was over, Israel had captured the Sinai from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank from Jordan including reunifying the city of Jerusalem. This miraculous victory came at a great cost with more than 800 soldiers killed and 4,500 wounded.
In this magazine, Eshkol is quoted as saying “We must try and try and try again to find a modus vivendi with our neighbours. A small state has to work hard for friendship.”
The banner on the cover reads: ‘Israel: The Struggle to Survive’.
Moshe Dayan was on the cover of TIME the next week. The banner on that issue read ‘How Israel won the war.’
How Israel wins the peace remains a work in process.
