How The British Press Reported '67 War

by Marc Shoffman - Thursday 31st 2007f May 2007


“We have returned to these to the most sacred of out shrines, never to part from them again.” These were the sentiments of Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Dayan splashed across the British press 40 years ago this week.

The Six Day War made the front pages of newspapers across the political spectrum throughout the conflict. The Times reported the beginning of the war on June 6 1967 with the headline “Israel claims Sinai gains.” It documents battles between Israel and the “combined forces of the Arab nations” alongside pictures of injured Israelis below Jordanian army tanks.

The Sun describes the start of the war on June 6 1967 as “Bigger than Alamein,” referring to fierce fighting between Allied troops and German forces in North Africa during the Second World War.

The Guardian prints a map on the front page to highlight the key battle points.

By the 7th June 1967, Israel had reunified Jerusalem, the Sun celebrates with the headline “Israel’s hour of triumph.”

The story refers to Israel as a “conquering, rejoicing nation.” It describes crowds celebrating on the streets of Tel Aviv.

A possible ceasefire is discussed on the front pages of the Guardian and the Times a alongside Dayan’s victory statement.

“To our neighbours we offer even now perhaps more firmly now our hand in peace,” he said.

According to the Guardian reports, Israeli soldiers crowded outside the wall to hear Rabbi Shlomo Goren sound the shofar marking the return of the city to Jewish rule for the first time in 2000 years.

Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol is quoted on the Times and Guardian front pages as saying, “This is a great day in Jewish history.”

The papers highlight Israel’s resolve and defiance at the end of the war on June 12 and also mark a change in tone of reporting with the first mention of the issue of the Palestinian territories. The Sun headline reads “Dayan: We keep what we’ve won.” The report said: “General Dayan recognised that the Gaza Strip, with more than 300,000 Arab refugees was a problem.”

The Times runs with “No Concessions on Jerusalem” and includes a vow from Dayan “never to give back the Gaza Strip to Egypt nor the West Bank to Jordan.”

A new map of the Middle East is printed on the Guardian front page illustrating Israel’s territorial land gains alongside the headline “Israelis harden attitude on territorial demands.”

Many critics pinpoint the Six Day War as a turning point in the reporting of the Israel-Arab conflict. Palestinians are mentioned for the first time and in just 6 days Israel goes from being reported as the oppressed nation fighting the invading Arabs, to an occupying state refusing to give back the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Despite criticisms of anti-Israel bias in the UK press nowadays, the Jewish state can at least take comfort in the fact that four decades later Dayan’s legacy lives on and Jews can live safely in Jerusalem.