Durante a Guerra dos 6 dias em 1967, o General Chaim Herzog, já na reserva foi convidado a ser o “Comentador Militar”da Radio Kol Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Herzog.
Herzog nasceu na Irlanda em 1917, onde seu pai era o Rabino Chefe da Comunidade Judaica. Em 1935 a família se mudou para a então Palestina. Prestou serviço na Haganah (que depois se transformou o Exército de Israel). Se juntou as forças armadas Britânicas durante a II Guerra Mundial e foi Comandante de Tanques, principalmente na invasão da Alemanha. Posteriormente foi para o Serviço de Inteligência, tendo participado da liberação de diversos Campos de Concentração e de Extermínio, como também na identificação de diversos líderes Nazistas, como Heinrich Himmler. Ele deixou o Exército Britânico em 1947, na posição de Major
Em seguida Herzog voltou a Palestina, onde participou da Guerra de Independência em 1948 e após organizou o Serviço de Inteligência de Israel. Em 1962, ele se reformou e deixou o exército na posição de Major-General (no Basil o equivalente seria General de duas estrelas) e foi ter uma muito bem sucedida carreira como advogado.
Nesta época de COVID-19, copio um paragrafo da Introdução do livro:
“As I stated in one of the Broadcast, there is nothing more dangerous in time of emergency than ignorance. The public is prepared for every sacrifice, but must know first and foremost what the facts are, wether good or bad. I recalled the years I spent in the services in Britain during World War II, when during the darkest hours, the public was made party to all the problems facing the nation, however serious they might be. A nation does not fear difficult situations, it fears fog, groping in the darkness, ignorance”.
Este livro é uma espécie de jornal (escrito em Inglês, Hebraico, Francês e Yiddish), que é a transcrição dos “Broadcast” diários que o General Herzog fazia diariamente neste período. Não são editados e são anotados coma hora em que foram postados. A seguir copio alguns destes:
05/06/67 – 08:45 PM
“A few days ago Nasser said that Israel today is different from what it was ten days ago. I would say that tonight Nasser is a very different person from what he was when he started working this morning”.
Dia 06/06/67 – 10:00 AM
“I began my broadcast yesterday bu stating that a new page had been written in the history of Israel’s wars. And indeed, a brilliant page has been added, not only to the Israel war record, but to the annals of military history.
When the Chief of Staff characterised the victory of the Air Force as without precedent, there were not mere words, but a very accurate description of a brilliant operation which will be taught in all air forces throughout the word for generations to come. To those who recall militarily speaking of the destruction of the Polish Air Force by the German Air Force with the opening of the hostilities in September 1939, I would emphasise that the two cases are completely dissimilar. Firstly, the German force was several times the strenght of that of Poland, and there was no comparison in regard to the quality of the equipment. In our case the Israel Air Force destroyed simultaneously and on the same day four air forces (if we add the Iraqui units), all of which ere armed with equipment equivalent in quality to that of our Air Force. The quantity of planes in the possession of the Arabs Air Force far exceeded that of the Israel Air Force. But our trust in our pilots has been vindicated. And How!
I feel that we are justified in using Churchill’s historic words about the Royal Air Force after the Battle of Britain that “never in the field of human conflict was much owed by so many to so few”.
07/06/67 – 08:45 PM
“The miracle of our generation continues as does the brilliant campaign, the like of which there is no record of in the history of Israel, and perhaps in the history of the nations, and which was achieved today what millions of jews throughout the generations have prayed for. Our entire attention and our hopes were concentrated on the liberation of Jerusalém”.
“At this holy moment in the history of our people, silent generations of our people are looking at us tearfully and gratefully, generations who were massacred and slaughtered and who offered up their lives for the glory of the Almighty, our sons and daughters, the “silver tray”x who gave us our State. They all thank our generation for not having forsaken the destiny of Israel.
This is the day which the Lord has created.
Let us rejoice and be happy in it”.
Com a conquista de Jerusalém o General Herzog foi nomeado como comandante das Forças de Defesa de Israel nos nestes territórios e deixou seu papel de comentador, não tendo a oportunidade de relatar a captura das Colinas do Golan (na fronteira com a Síria).
Herzog depois teve uma carreira politica e em 1983 foi eleito como Presidente do Estado de Israel (foi seu 6o Presidente) tendo servido até 1993, quando se aposentou da vida publica.
Faleceu em 1997
