In the ninth video of our 12-part series, find out why Israel ascended the Golan Heights, and why the Egyptian public forgave Nasser for their defeat. Throughout the war Egyptian President Nasser falsely reported stirring military victories over Israel. But today, he publicly announced the truth – the Egyptian army had been defeated.
See all the videos as they are released: http://www.sixdaywarproject.org/.
Throughout the war the Egyptian media under President Gamal Abdel Nasser had been falsely reporting military victories against Israel. But on June 9th, Nasser could no longer hide the truth. He appeared on national television, and while primarily blaming the US and Britain for providing Israel with massive military support – which was a false accusation – he admitted the defeat of the Egyptian army, and resigned his office. But, after receiving an outpouring of Egyptian public sympathy the next day, Nasser promptly withdrew his resignation.
With Egypt and Jordan defeated, Israel turned its attention toward Syria.
For decades, the Syrian military looked down on Israel’s Galilee region from the Golan Heights, and regularly shelled northern Israeli cities, towns and communities. Since the end of the 1948 War, over 1,000 rockets and shells had been fired on Israel, with Syrian terrorists regularly infiltrating the border to attack Israeli civilians. Over 120 Israelis had been murdered.
With Syria still conducting attacks despite the defeat of Egypt and Jordan, Israeli troops moved on the slopes of the Golan Heights, taking control of all the roads and access points to the strategic plateau. But the battle for the Golan continued, with firing on Israeli communities still underway.
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This video was produced by Jerusalem U in partnership with The Jerusalem Post, the Jewish Federations of North America, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish National Fund, the Israel Action Network, the European Jewish Congress and the Center for Israel Education. For more on the dramatic events and impact of the Six Day War, visit sixdaywarproject.org.
