TechMUNC 2021

Historical Crisis Committee:

The Six Day War

Dais Biographies

XueMin Weng - Chair

Hi delegates! My name is XueMin and I will be your chair in this Security Council. I am

a Coach and this will be my third year in the Tech MUN team. Apart from MUN, I am

a Senior in the Social Science Research major at Brooklyn Tech with an interest in

biological engineering. I also spend my time planning activities and volunteering

with the American Red Cross, as well as just listening to music, playing board games,

and overall, seeking new opportunities. I look forward to meeting you all virtually

during this conference and wish you all the best!

Andy Zhang - Director

Hello! I am Andy Zhang and I will be your director in this committee. I am currently a

Sophomore at Tech and I chose this committee topic because I wanted to see a

recreation of the Six Day War Security Council committee and how it would turn out.

In my free time, I enjoy cooking, playing with my younger brother, and learning

about biology. This is my second year in Model UN and I look forward to working with

all of you!

Introduction

The UNSC stands for the United Nations Security Council. It is one of the six

major branches of the United Nations. Its main purpose is to ensure international

peace and security through the collaboration amongst the 15 member countries.1

These consist of 10 non permanent members and five permanent ones: the USA, the

USSR, France, China, and the UK. Some things that the Security Council is

responsible for but not limited to are recommending ways to resolve disputes, taking

military action against aggressors, and applying sanctions on countries when

necessary.2 The Arab league was a group of Arab nations that was founded in Cairo

in 1945 by Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. Their main purpose was to work to strengthen the

relationship among their member states and encourage their common interests. 4

The USSR stands for the United Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) and it was

founded in 1922. The main purpose of the USSR was to work towards building a

communist society. 5

It is June 7, 1967 and the world is still drawnaback after the events that

occured in the Levant. There was already tension between the Arab League and

Israel over the problem of the exploitation of the Jordan River and Kinneret Lake.

That led to more and more military clashes between the Arab League and Israel until

the tension finally exploded into a war on June 5, 1967. 6 The Arab League decided to

launch an attack on Israel, as they were given support by the Soviet Union while

Israel was supported by the United States. However, Israel was already launching an

unexpected surprise attack on the Arab Nations. The Egyptian and Jordanese Air

Forces were almost completely destroyed and the Arab League lost thousands of

equipment that were provided by the Soviet Union. This was a huge loss to the Arab

League and the nations surrounding them.3 The USSR requests the United States to

hold an emergency meeting of the Security Council to address the issue.

Many nations know what is happening in the Middle East. Although, some

nations aren’t as willing to interfere with the current situation as nations like the

United States have their own war that they’re currently dealing with in Vietnam. It is

crucial that the UNSC comes up with a solution to the current state of the war before

it gets out of hand and starts affecting neighboring nations.

Topic History

The Six Day War is also known as the June War or Third Arab-Israeli War. It was

a war primarily between members of the Arab League against the country of Israel.

Prior to the war, the relationships between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries

were already intensifying. The Six-Day War came from decades of political and

military tensions and conflicts between Israel and its neighboring Arab states. The

first major conflict came in 1948 in which there were many disputes regarding the

founding of the newly established Israel state. Following the disputes, an affiliation of

Arab nations decided to launch a failed invasion on Israel which soon became a part

of the First Arab-Israeli War. The second major conflict was known as the Suez

Crisis. In 1956, Israel, the United Kingdom, and France joined forces to launch an

attack on Egypt in response to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s decision to

nationalize the Suez Canal. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the tensions started

to calm down a little but the political situation has yet to be resolved. Arab leaders

were resentful for their military losses and thousands of Palestinian refugees that

were created as a result of Israel’s victory in the 1948 war.8

The political situation intensified even more. In the mid 1960s, many attacks were

launched against Israel by Palestinian guerrilla groups from countries of the Arab

League like Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Israel responded with attacks too. In

November of 1966, Israel launched an airstrike on the village of Al-Samūʿ in the

Jordanian West Bank. It left 18 people dead and 54 people wounded. Also, during an

aerial battle with Syria in April 1967, the Israeli Air Force shot down six Syrian MiG

fighter jets. The Soviet Union which supported the Arab League, suspected Israel of

planning a campaign against Syria which although was inaccurate, the information

further increased the tensions between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries. 7

The information given by the Soviet Union got the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel

Nasser to get in action. As a way to show support for his Syrian allies, Nasser

commanded Egyptian forces to advance into the Sinai Peninsula. There, they got rid

of a United Nations peacekeeping force that had been guarding the borders of Israel

for almost a decade. On May 22 of 1967, Nasser banned all Israeli shipping from the

Straits of Tiran (a sea passage that connected the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba).

Followed by a week later, Nasser signed a defense pact with King Hussein who was

the president of Jordan. As the situation in the Middle East worsened, American

President Lyndon B. Johnson advised both sides against the firing of the first shot

and he attempted to gain support for an international maritime operation to reopen

the Straits of Tiran which never ended up happening. Nevertheless, in early June of

1967, Israel leaders had agreed on launching a preemptive air strike attack to counter

the Arabs who were already building up their military. In Israel's preemptive surprise

attack they wiped out almost the entire Egyptian and Jordanese Air Forces. There

was no air force to stop the advancing Israeli tank armies, who were capturing the

Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. The fighting stopped after

a ceasefire from the United Nations and it gave rise to U.N. Resolution 242. The Soviet

Union, who was the major player that supported military supplies and troops for

Egypt and Syria pushed for a resolution that demanded Israel’s withdrawal of forces

behind the boundaries prior to when the war started. Israel wanted recognition of its

existence and guarantee of security. The Security Council argued throughout the

summer and fall of 1967 before finally agreeing on Resolution 242 in November of

1967. 9

Current Status

After the Six Day War in 1967, new political conflicts have arisen in Israel and its

neighboring countries and their relationships with each other have gotten a little

better since the end of the Six Day War in 1967. For the past few years, there has been

an ongoing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Palmanestine is made up of parts of Modern

Israel and territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Both sides, Israel and Palestine

each believe that the territory they claim is theirs. However, neither side has been

able to come down to a negotiation. It has been a conflict since 1948 when the state

of Israel was created and continues to become a major problem in the Middle East

right now. Israel and Palestine had try to come down to an agreement with the two

state solution in which the state of Israel is for the Jewish people and Palestine

belongs to the Palestinian people. However, tensions are starting to rise again with

the stalemate conflict in which no progress is being made towards the two state

solution.10 In addition to this ongoing conflict, many more countries are starting to

recognize and normalize their relationships with Israel. The more recent ones are the

UAE and Bahrain on September 15, 2020 along with Bhutan and Kosovo a little later.

However, there continues to be many other countries especially those that are Arab

and Muslim that continue to not recognize Israel like Syria and Lebanon. 11

Bloc Positions

Israel: As the war was approaching, Israel had obvious disadvantages in terms of its

geography, resources, and finances. Israel’s landmass and population was inferior

with about less than .1% of the landmass and 2% of the population of the Middle East.

Israel also shared a border with both Syria and Egypt, making them very susceptible

to any attacks. Egypt’s closing of the Straits of Tiran caused an economic downturn

for Israel; taunting from the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, followed after. This

pressure caused Israel to start directing units to the border front and ultimately, the

start of the war because it saw that there was no other way to get past the blockade

for the sake of their citizen’s social and economic well being. Israel awaits aid and

support from the Western states.

Arab States: Egypt, Syria, and Jordan were in direct conflict with Israel and many of

the other Arab states came to their aid, such as Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria, and Pakistan,

who donated troops and logistic support. The Arab states were ecstatic about

Nassar’s confrontation with Israel and were awaiting the Israeli defeat.

Soviet Union: The Soviet Union originally supported Israel and its creation in 1949,

however, their support was shifted to the Arab states. The Soviet Union provided

them with generous amounts of military aid for training and weaponry. They have

also been huge instigators of the war in which they helped raise suspicions within

Arab leaderships of Israel and their preparations on the border. The Soviet Union

called for Israel to withdraw from their conquered territories without any peace

negotiations.

Western States: In the past, the Western states have supported and defended Israel

with aid and resources. However, many of the states had their own issues going on

as the war was about to begin. The United States was already occupied with a

foreign war in Vietnam and was not eager to enter into another one so they opted for

more diplomatic solutions. France has previously supplied weapons to Israel but

under De Gaulle, they shifted their support to the Arab states. De Gaulle saw it as an

opportunity to separate it’s position as world power from the United States and the

Soviet Union. Britain was not quick to help Israel despite their oil interest there

because it saw the win of either side a threat to Britain’s already dwindling power;

Israel's win would weaken British’s influence on it. However, the United States,

France, and Britain did ultimately offer their support and military supplies such as air

and land military vehicles.

Committee Mission

Goals of this Committee:

1. Establishing long term peace between Israel and members of the Arab

League

2. Determine what to do with the captured territories that Israel recently

captured as a result of the war.

Questions to Consider:

1. What is the quickest and most efficient way to organise a ceasefire between

Israel and the members of the Arab League?

2. Who should be held accountable as the aggressor in the events of the war?

3. What should Israel do with the territories occupied during the days of the

conflict including: the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the

Sinai Peninsula?

4. What is a way to guarantee the long term stability of the Middle Eastern

region?

5. Should NATO and the Warsaw Pact still intervene in the politics of the Middle

East after this conflict?

Key Terms

1. Arab League - The Arab league was a group of Arab nations that was founded

in Cairo in 1945 by Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. Their main purpose was to work to

strengthen the relationship among their member states and encourage their

common interests.

2. USSR - The USSR stands for the United Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet

Union) and it was founded in 1922. The main purpose of the USSR was to work

towards building a communist society.

3. First Arab-Israeli War - The First Arab-Israeli War was a battle between Israel

and Arab Nations. This war was sparked mainly due to the declaration of

Israel’s independence in 1948.

4. Suez Crisis - The Suez Crisis was a war in which Israel, the United Kingdom,

and France joined forces to launch an attack on Egypt. The main reason for

this war was because Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser decided to

nationalize the Suez Canal.

5. Palestine Refugees - Palestine Refugees were people who were expelled

from their country, Palestine, largely due to the Palestine War in 1947-1949 and

the Six Day War in 1967.

6. Straits of Tiran - It was a sea passage that connected the Red Sea and the

Gulf of Aqaba.

7. Sinai Peninsula - The Sinai Peninsula is located in Northeast Egypt and joins

Israel and the Gaza Strip.

8. Gaza Strip - The Gaza Strip is a territory along the Mediterranean Sea that is

NorthEast of The Sinai Peninsula.

9. Golan Heights - The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau located in

South-Western Syria. It was relevant due to its strategic military geographic

location.

Works Cited

1 Nations, United. “Functions and Powers Security Council.” United Nations, UnitedNations, www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/functions-and-powers

2 Nations, United. “Functions and Powers Security Council.” United Nations, UnitedNations, www.un.org/securitycouncil/content/functions-and-powers

3 Goldshteyn, Michael. “Six Day War Historical Security Council Crisis CommitteeProposal.” Google Docs, Google,https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GisCKPgmu9Ct7305JF95UmIewapGPrkMWeIkgEdwpIA/edit

4 Nationsonline.org, Klaus Kästle -. “___ Arab League ( العربیةالدولجامعة ).” Arab League -The League of Arab States - Nations Online Project,www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/arab_league.htm.

5 Rosenberg, Matt. “What Countries Were in the USSR?” ThoughtCo, 2 Aug. 2019,www.thoughtco.com/what-was-the-ussr-1434459

6 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Events Leading to the Six Day War (1967).” EventsLeading To the Six Day War,https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/maps/pages/events%20leading%20to%20the%20six%20day%20war-%201967.aspx

7 The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Six-Day War.” Encyclopædia Britannica,Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War

8 History.com Editors. “Six-Day War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 11 May2018, www.history.com/topics/middle-east/six-day-war.

9 Black, Eric. “Parallel Realities - Resolution 242 And The Aftermath Of 1967 | ShatteredDreams Of Peace | FRONTLINE.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/oslo/parallel/8.html.

10Youssef, Hesham. “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in 2020: What Are the PossiblePaths Ahead?” United States Institute of Peace, 14 Jan. 2020,www.usip.org/publications/2020/01/israeli-palestinian-conflict-2020-what-are-possible-paths-ahead.

11Jewish Virtual Library. “Israel International Relations.” International Recognition ofIsrael, 2021, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/international-recognition-of-israel#never.