The Time of the Burning Sun

The Time of the Burning Sun
By: Michael Bernet
Published: 1968

June 1967: After several months of tension and provocations by her neighbors, and fearing an iminent invasion, Israel strikes first, bombing Egyptian airfields. This is the begging of the Six Day War, in which tiny embattled Israel faced an defeated the combined might of the Egyptian, Jordainian and Syrian Armies. By wars end the Arabs would be humilaited on the battle field and Israel would have won control of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai, and the Golan Heights.

A year after the war Michael Bernet traveled to the Middle East to interview the particapents in the war. The Israeli soldiers and civilians who had lived under constent threat of extermination by their Arab neighbors. Arab soldiers who soon became cruelly dissillusioned with the propaganda of their leaders and the Arab civilians who began the war cheering on their armies only to find themsels living in Israeli territory by wars end.

Not the best book on the Six Day War, however Bernet offers some good stories of the average person who was caught up in the conflict. Most important of all for todays reader are the final chapters where Arabs and Israelis offer there views on the uncertain future they faced and continue to face to this day.

Special Note: Bernet reports that the Israeli's captured a handful of Russians in the Golan Heights and reports claims by Israeli troops of hearing Russian voices over the radio, raising the possability that the Soviets where acting as military advisors for the Syrian Army.

Six Day War at Wikipedia
The Laws of Armed Conflict and Israeli destruction of Arab Homes During the War
Six Day War
Summery of the UN Resolution regarding the results of the War
Overview of the Six Day War
Six Day War at Encarta
During the war a US Navy vessel, the Liberty, was sunk by Israeli Aircraft after beng mistaken for an Egyptian supply ship.
When Did the U.S. and Israel Become Allies?

A documetry examing how the Israeli Forces where able to gain such a victory.



Old News Footage from 1967







Montage Time (Song: Counterstrike by Sabaton)


Counterstrike Lyrics