Why was Israel able to defeat its enemies in the wars of 1948-49, 1956, and 1967?

Why was Israel able to defeat its enemies in the wars of 1948-49, 1956, and 1967?

This is an example of a decent GCSE answer for the Arab-Israeli paper.

There are many reasons why Israel was able to defeat its Arab enemies in the three wars between 1948 and 1967. Some of these factors were a result of the Israelis themselves, but equally, there were reasons that were caused by Arab weaknesses or actions. Likewise, there were some reasons that applied to each of the three wars, and some that were specific to one or two of them. In order to fully answer the question, it is necessary to look at all of these reasons.

In terms of reasons that applied to all of the wars, perhaps the Israelis’ greatest strength was their sense of unity and of purpose. They believed that they were fighting to save their existence, a belief that was increased by the language of Nasser before the 1967 war, when he talked of ‘exterminating’ Israel. As a result, they were determined, well motivated and ruthless. By contrast, the Arab armies often had different aims and poor cooperation: in the 1948-49 war, the Arab leader – King Abdullah of Jordan – was only interested in the West Bank, as it concerned his country. Similarly, the Arab soldiers were quick to give up when the fighting worsened.

As well as being well motivated, the Israeli army – again in contrast to its enemies – was well trained and well led. Many of its soldiers had fought in the Jewish resistance movements, such as Haganah, Lehi, and the Stern Gang. Others had fought against the Nazis. Although this wasn’t so relevant by 1967, the fact that all Israelis, men and women, had to do intensive military service, provided a large number of soldiers for the army. Equally, they benefited from talented leaders, such as Ariel Sharon and Moshe Dayan. Again, by contrast, there were no outstanding Arab military leaders. Their training was well illustrated by the speed of their advance across Sinai in both 1956 and 1967. Likewise, in 1967, the Israeli air force managed to wipe out the air forces of Egypt, Jordan and Syria in less than two days! These tactics very much gave Israel an advantage: she used surprise, for example in the 1967 war, and successfully employed the tactic of defending against one country while fighting another, before moving on to the offensive. In contrast, the Arab armies made their intentions clear, as in 1967, giving time for the Israelis to prepare.

This success was also the result of good equipment, and in this Israel benefited from its links with the USA. In 1948-49, the first ceasefire gave the Israelis time to rearm with modern American weapons. Thereafter, all of their weaponry was up-to-date. Although the Arab countries did receive weapons from the USSR, these were rarely as modern as the Americans, and the Arabs were rarely well trained in their use.

In conclusion, there were a variety of reasons why Israel defeated its enemies in the wars of 1948-67. These were a mixture of their strengths and Arab weaknesses. Perhaps the most significant reason was the motivation – helped by equipment and training – of the Israeli forces. This was only assisted by the weakness of their enemies in similar areas.