We are commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Six-Day War. Though it was our biggest military victory, not only in the history of the state of Israel but in our history since King David’s reign, there is no cause for celebration. This great military victory was never translated into a permanent political settlement and it did not bring about a stable formula for peace and security.
The events of May-June 1967 found Israel with no coherent policy or ideological approach to meet the new challenges. Until that time Israel followed the lead of its founding father, David Ben-Gurion, who accepted the principle of partitioning the land west of the Jordan River between Israel and Jordan, based on the armistice lines of 1949.
After 1967, Israel could not make up its mind as to what it really wanted to do with any of the newly conquered lands. On all three fronts — in the south with the Egyptians regarding the Sinai desert, to the east with the Jordanians and Palestinians, or in the north with Syria and Lebanon — there was no clear idea on how to proceed diplomatically.
Since then only one issue has been fully resolved — with Egypt. This was achieved thanks to the vision of Yitzhak Rabin, who started the peace process with Egypt in 1975, and Menachem Begin, who brought it to the final and successful stage of a full peace treaty in 1979.
The last 35 years are almost equally divided into 12 years of Labor-left governments, 12 years of Likud-right governments and 11 years of unity governments under joint Likud-Labor leadership.
Not one of these governments has fully succeeded in forming a coherent policy that will lead us into a comprehensive peace on all fronts.
Begin was the only prime minister who had a visionary plan to solve the conflict with Egypt already on the eve of his election. At the time, no one had noticed that he had quietly omitted from his party’s platform the previous formula against the return to the pre-1967 border with Egypt.
Luckily, Begin had met a partner ready to take the risk and reach a full peace agreement with Israel. Perhaps it was the change of leadership on both sides that made the difference — Anwar Sadat replacing Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Rabin and Begin succeeding Golda Meir. Unfortunately, Begin did not have the courage to try and continue the peace efforts on other fronts, especially in the north.
There was no ideological obstacle that prevented him from negotiating peace with Syria based on the principle behind the peace treaty with Egypt — a return to internationally recognized boundaries. Instead, he started the war in Lebanon and annexed the Golan Heights, two great mistakes that caused Israel more harm than good.
All our leaders knew full well that we could not hold all the territories acquired in 1967 because of international pressures, our own demographic needs and democratic values. Not even one right-wing coalition seriously tried annexing all these territories unilaterally, with the exception of Jerusalem and the Golan, because they understood these considerations.
Nevertheless, almost all our governments have lost more than a few opportunities for advancing peace, although part of the blame lies on the other side, on its lack of Sadat-like leaders who are truly ready to advance the cause of peace.
Soon after the 1967 war, there were a few courageous Labor-left leaders who suggested a unilateral withdrawal to borders reflecting Israel’s minimal vital security needs. Unfortunately, no one listened.
Our governments missed opportunities to reach agreements with Sadat that could have prevented the Yom Kippur War. We missed several opportunities to reach an agreement with King Hussein of Jordan that could have solved the Palestinian problem in a framework that would have resulted in only one Arab state on our eastern border. Those mistakes left us with only the option of a separate Palestinian state, with its lack of credible leadership. We even missed a chance to reach an agreement with Syria, when it was feasible.
As we pass the 35th anniversary of the Six-Day War, it seems that we are back at the same dilemmas and crossroads we faced on the seventh day of the war, the day to begin serious negotiations on a peaceful settlement.
We lack today the leadership that can give us realistic answers and pragmatic solutions that will direct us towards an era of peace and security. I do hope that we do not have to wait another 35 years for a completely new leadership to find the solutions that could even now prevent further bloodshed.