Small Tastings of Torah, Judaism and Spirituality from Rav Binny Freedman – Portion of Vayelech
Recently, I was given a copy of Dr. Hagi ben Artzi’s book on the Six day war (produced by Mizrachi) Megillat Sheshet Hayamim, based on the IDF’s post war reports analyzing the war. It contained the following fascinating story:
On June 4 1967, the day before Israel launched the six day war, Abdel Hakim Amer, the Egyptian minister of war, decided a review of the Egyptian troops massed in the Sinai was in order. He invited senior military personal from Cairo to join him on an air tour of the lines along with a visit to senior officers in the Sinai on a special flight scheduled to take off from Cairo at 7am the next morning, June 5. A delegation from the Iraqi army was invited to join as well and they flew in a second plane.
To ensure the safety of all these VIP’s flying in a closed military air zone, Amer ordered all his anti-aircraft batteries to stand down...