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A Look at Gaza, 46 Years After Six-Day War

The actions by Israeli administrations since 1967 obligate Israel's citizens to learn the lesson of humility befitting the victorious. 
A protester holds a Palestinian flag during a protest marking Land Day in the northern Gaza Strip March 30, 2013. March 30 marks Land Day, the annual commemoration of protests in 1976 against Israel's appropriation of Arab-owned land in the Galilee. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXY2PQ
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The week of June 5 marks 46 years since the Six-Day War. Those were 46 difficult years, which had a profound impact on Israel’s status and stature, nationally and internationally, socially and economically. In effect, the consequences of that war affected just about every aspect of life and continue to affect them today. The war shook up the entire Middle East. Some claim that it was Israel’s greatest victory, and they are right. On the other hand, others make the equally justifiable claim that while the victory was tremendous, the actions of Israel’s successive governments obligate us to atone for our sins, particularly the sin of arrogance.

To mark the 46th anniversary of that war, I would like to quote a piece from the introduction to my book Gaza as Death, which was published by the Israeli publishing house Yedioth Ahronoth in September 2005, immediately after Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

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