The Soviet Union and the June 1967 Six Day War
New Book Published by Woodrow Wilson Center Press Examines Soviet Intentions and Involvement during the Arab-Israeli Six Day War
WASHINGTON—Woodrow Wilson Center Press has published a new book, The Soviet Union and the June 1967 Six Day War, edited by Yaacov Ro'i and Boris Morozov. It is copublished with Stanford University Press, in the Cold War International History Project series.
Why did the Soviet Union spark war in 1967 between Israel and the Arab states by falsely informing Syria and Egypt that Israel was amassing troops on the Syrian border? Based on newly available archival sources, The Soviet Union and the June 1967 Six Day War answers this controversial question more fully than ever before. Directly opposing the thesis of the recently published Foxbats over Dimona, by Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, the contributors to this volume argue that Moscow had absolutely no intention of starting a war. The Soviet Union's reason for involvement in the region had more to do with enhancing its own status as a Cold War power than any desire for particular outcomes for Syria and Egypt.
In addition to assessing Soviet involvement in the June 1967 Arab-Israeli Six Day War, this book covers the USSR's relations with Syria and Egypt, Soviet aims, U.S. and Israeli perceptions of Soviet involvement, Soviet intervention in the Egyptian-Israeli War of Attrition (1969-70), and the impact of the conflicts on Soviet-Jewish attitudes. This book as a whole demonstrates how the Soviet Union's actions gave little consideration to the long- or mid-term consequences of their policy, and how firing the first shot compelled them to react to events.
"This book's value lies in its thorough regard for facts and its refusal to engage in a lot of idle speculation about motives that cannot be supported by evidence."—William Quandt, University of Virginia
Yaacov Ro'i is professor emeritus of history at Tel Aviv University. Boris Morozov is a research fellow at the Cummings Center for Russian and East European Studies at Tel Aviv University.
The Soviet Union and the June 1967 Six Day War is distributed by Stanford University Press, www.sup.org or telephone 1-800-621-2736. The price is $60.00 for hardcover.
