Israel’s victory in the Six Day War brought great joy for many Jews and Zionists throughout the world. It showed how a tiny nation-state of Israel was able to defeat a goliath in the barrage of Arab militaries. However, looking back on the anniversary of the Six Day War (June 5-10, 1967) one can see how important the public relations effort is after the actual fighting. This can be seen in the infamous war of words.

One example is, how the war gets framed. Even though there’s ample evidence Israel acted pre-emptively in the Six Day War (because of Egypt’s mobilization of troops in the Sinai Peninsula, Syrian troops along the Golan Heights, Nasser’s removal of the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) from Sinai, Egypt’s closure of the Straits of Tiran, Arab countries creating a military alliance, etc.) there are still those that dispute this claim and say Israel acted preventively. Such conclusions aim to make Israel out to be the belligerent when evidence proves they in fact had proper justification for engaging in combat.

Nurit Greenger from the Jerusalem Post discusses the manipulation in terminology following the 1967 War, which Israel’s leaders have even given into:

Israel’s media and leaders immediately sunk into the unforgivable and deadly wrong lexicon referring to Judea and Samaria as “occupied territory,” as well as and till today calling the Jewish ancient land “West Bank,” and its Arab inhabitants “Palestinians” rather than who they are Arabs descendants of Arab people who arrived to the land from many Arabs countries.

As revealed there is an intentional effort to eradicate any Jewish connection with the land such as calling Judea and Samaria the West Bank (as well as dividing up Jerusalem). Also, the status of the West Bank oftentimes gets described as occupied territory instead of calling it disputed territory; the former infers a type of imperialism while the latter one can use to legitimize a geopolitical necessity. This lingo gives credence to those who call Israel an “evil occupier” and “apartheid state” among others, which is reiterated by the BDS movement, the Islamic world, and the Left. Also, using the term “Palestinian” instead of Arab creates a distinct cultural identity which one can use to create a separate people group with exclusive rights to the area in question. Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has even admitted to this façade, calling Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs “one people living in two states[.]” So where does this dishonestly come from?

Raymond Ibrahim, an analyst of Islam, reveals how this type of deceit is common in Islamic politics:

According to the authoritative Arabic text, Al-Taqiyya Fi Al-Islam: “Taqiyya [deception] is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it. We can go so far as to say that the practice of taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream…Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era.”

Some Islamic texts which encourage duplicity include:

Let not believers take disbelievers as allies rather than believers. And whoever [of you] does that has nothing with Allah, except when taking precaution against them in prudence. And Allah warns you of Himself, and to Allah is the [final] destination. –Quran 3:28

Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief… except for one who is forced [to renounce his religion] while his heart is secure in faith. But those who [willingly] open their breasts to disbelief, upon them is wrath from Allah… –Quran 16:106

The Prophet said, “War is deceit.” –Bukhari 52:269

That she heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “He who makes peace between the people by inventing good information or saying good things, is not a liar.” –Bukhari 49:857

…One should compare the bad consequences entailed by lying to those entailed by telling the truth, and if the consequences of telling the truth are more damaging, one is entitled to lie, though if the reverse is true or if one does not know which entails more damage, then lying is unlawful. Whenever lying is permissible, if the factor which permits it is a desired end of one’s own, it is recommended not to lie, but when the factor that permits it is the desired end of another, it is not lawful to infringe upon his rights… –Reliance of the Traveler, page 746 – 8.2

Of course religious motivations are not the only reasons for deceit in the Arab/Israeli conflict. Some other inspirations include elevated social standing and economic gain. For example, the corrupt former head of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, was well known for hoarding billions of dollars for his own personal fortune.

Israel has always been involved in an information war even before its official rebirth in 1948, but the Six Day War symbolizes how a war may be won decisively on the ground yet lost in the public relations arena. Israel has learned the hard way how narratives matter in a Middle East mired in misinformation and conspiracy theories.

These examples are just a fraction of the words used to manipulate the narrative in the Arab/Israeli conflict to further the Arab cause. As one can see, jihad is more than just “a violent struggle,” but a continual process to win the hearts and minds of others for Islam, regardless of the means. It’s time for the truth to be unveiled and for the mainstream to rely on facts instead of faulty catchwords.