Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 10:42 PM
Subject: Who started the June 1967 war? "Israel's leaders own
words."
Dear Producer, "Sunday Morning, CBC".
The interview of Michael Enright and Peter
Worthington was an incredible collection of mythology that bears no
relevance to facts.
Let me answer only one of the distortions that were stated in
this interview in relevance to who started the June 1967 war.
There is no better testimony to that than the statements by Israel's own
leaders at the time:
Yitzhak Rabin, chief of staff of Israeli
forces at the time, stated : " I do not think Nasser [Egypt's President] wanted
war. The two divisions he sent to the Sinai would not have been sufficient to
launch an offensive war. He knew it and we knew it" { Le Monde, Feb.
28,1968}. Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
stated: " The Egyptian layout in the Sinai and the general military
build up there testified to a military defensive Egyptian set-up, south of
Israel" {Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, Oct. 18, 1967}.
Mordechai Bentov, an Israeli cabinet minister at the time,
stated : " All this story about the danger of extermination [of
Israel in June 1967] has been a complete invention and has been blown up a
posteriori to justify annexation of Arab territory" { Le Monde,
Feb. 28, 1968}. Menachem Begin, who was a cabinet minister
in June 1967, stated, while prime minister, addressing Israel's Defence
College, on Aug. 8, 1982 : " In June 1967, we again had a choice. The Egyptian
army concentrations in the Sinai did not prove that Nasser was really about to
attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him" {The
New York Times, Aug.21,1982}.
Perhaps it is time that Israel's apologists should heed Mr.
Begin's plea and practice some honesty on this score.
Yours Sincerely,
Ismail Zayid,
President, Canada Palestine
Association.