important events in Israel's time
By Joshua klatka
post ww2
in the wake of the Holocaust the world look to the Jews with pity and decided to finally grant the Jews their wish and give them a state of there own in Palestine. after the state of isreal is established, the war of independence breaks out shortly after isreal declares independence in 1948 between the Israelis and all of their neighbors.this war finally ended in 1949 with isreal the victor.
the six-day war
the next war isreal was faced with was the six-day war.in 1967,with enemies at the borders on all sides, isreal was forsed to make the first move and on June 5 launched a massive airstrike to knock out enemy instalationsand by the end of the day 6 airfields, 16 radar stations, and 214 enemy aircraft had been destroyed.in return, the arabs launched there own reprisal attacks.by the end of the war the combined air forces of Egypt, Syria,and Jordan.
the yom kippur war
the yom kippur war was the fist war in which the IDF was caught off-guard.from October 6 until October 25, 1973. during the time of the Jewish new year Egypt and Syria launched a joint strike against the Israelis and with in a couple hours the IDF was forced from the Sinai by the Egyptians and Golan heights by the Syrians.but after the alarm was sounded the Israelis responded in full force.the IDF was completely out numbered with only 375,000–415,000 troops,1,700 tanks,3,000 armored carriers,945 artillery units, and 440 combat aircraft. while the combined force of Egypt and Syria. the Egyptians could muster a force of: 650,000[14]–800,000[17] troops,1,700 tanks (1,020 crossed),2,400 armored carriers,1,120 artillery units,400 combat aircraft,140 helicopters,104 Navy vessels,150 surface to air missile batteries (62 in the front line). the Syrians had a force of 150,000 troops,1,200 tanks,800–900 armored carriers,600 artillery units. but there were also Expeditionary Forces to back up Egypt and Syria, these forces totaled: following countries and the number of military troops they committed:100,000 troops,500–670 tanks, and 700 armored carriers. reinforcements also consisted of 1,500–4,000 troops from Cuba, 3,000 troops from Kuwait, 5,500 troops,30 tanks,and 52 combat aircraft from Morocco, 20 pilots, and 19 non-combat personnel from north Korea,3,000 troops from Saudi Arabia, and 1,000-2,000 troops from Tunisia. by the time the war ended the Israelis casualties stood at: 2,521—2,800 dead,7,250–8,800 wounded, 293 captured,1063 tanks destroyed, damaged or captured, 407 armored vehicles destroyed or captured, and 102-387 aircraft destroyed. for all of the other side it was much worse, Egypt: 5,000—15,000 dead, and 8,372 captured, for Syria: 3,000—3,500 dead, and 392 captured,for Iraq: 278 dead,898 wounded,and 13 captured, for Jordan: 23 dead, and 77 wounded, and for Morocco: 6 captured. in all the total casualties for the war are: 8,000–18,500 dead,18,000–35,000 wounded,8,783 captured,2,250–2,300 tanks,341–514 aircraft, and 19 naval vessels sunk. and declared a victory for Isreal.
the raid on entebbe Entebbe- the impossible rescue
One of the greatest raids accomplished by any army in the world. on 27 June,1976, an Air France plane with 248 passengers was hijacked, by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the German Revolutionary Cells, and flown to Entebbe, the main airport of Uganda. The local government supported the hijackers and dictator Idi Amin personally welcomed them. The hijackers threatened to kill the hostages if their prisoner release demands were not met. This threat led to the planning of the rescue operation. These plans included preparation for armed resistance from Ugandan military troops. on 4 July 1976, Israeli transport planes carried 100 commandos over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to Uganda for the rescue operation. The operation, which took a week of planning, lasted 90 minutes. 102 hostages were rescued. Five Israeli commandos were wounded and one, the unit commander, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu,brother of Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, was killed. All the hijackers, three hostages and 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed.The government of Uganda, represented by the Foreign Minister Juma Oris, later convened a session of the United Nations Security Council to seek official condemnation of the Israeli raid, as a violation of Ugandan sovereignty. The Security Council ultimately declined to pass any resolution on the matter, condemning neither Israel nor Uganda.UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim described the raid as "a serious violation of the national sovereignty of a United Nations member state," (meaning Uganda). Dozens of Ugandan soldiers were killed in the raid. The Arab and Communist world condemned the operation, calling it an act of aggression.As a result of the operation, the United States military developed highly trained rescue teams modeled on the Entebbe rescue. One notable attempt to imitate it was Operation Eagle Claw, a failed rescue of 53 American embassy personnel held hostage in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis.In August 2012, Uganda and Israel commemorated the raid at a somber ceremony at the base of a tower at the Old Entebbe Airport, where Yonatan Netanyahu was killed. Uganda and Israel renewed their commitment in the fight against terrorism and to work towards humanity. The flags of Uganda and Israel waved side by side, demonstrating the two countries' strong bilateral relations, next to a plaque with a history of the raid.The hijacked aircraft carried 248 passengers and 12 crew members. Four passengers were killed and seven injured.
The four passengers killed were:
Jean-Jacques Maimoni—a 19-year-old French Jew who stood up while the Israeli commandos were shooting at the hijackers. They may have mistaken him for a hijacker.
Pasco Cohen—a 52-year-old manager of an Israeli medical insurance fund, who was killed by the commandos.
Ida Borochovitch—a 56-year-old Russian Jew who had immigrated to Israel, was killed in the crossfire.
Dora Bloch—a 75-year-old British immigrant to Israel, was first released by the hostage-takers due to her illness, but subsequently killed by Ugandan troops in reprisal for the raid while she was under treatment at Mulago Hospital in Kampala.
formation of the Israeli Defense Force (zahal)
On 26 May 1948, the Israel Defense Forces was officially set up as a conscript army.The Israel Defense Forces differs from most armed forces in the world in many ways. Differences include the mandatory conscription of women and its structure, which emphasizes close relations between the army, navy, and air force. Since its founding, the IDF has been specifically designed to match Israel's unique security situation. The IDF is one of Israeli society's most prominent institutions, influencing the country's economy, culture and political scene. In 1965, the Israel Defense Forces was awarded the Israel Prize for its contribution to education.Israel is the only nation to conscript women and assign some of them to infantry combatant service which places them directly in the line of enemy fire.By law, all Israeli citizens are subject to conscription. The Defense Minister has complete discretion to grant exemption to individual citizens or classes of citizens.The IDF mission is to "defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel. To protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life."