Thursday, June 11, 2020

Six Days of Miracles - Irene Levi’s experiences during the 1967 Six Day War



Mt. Carmel school, school bus and view of Haifa Bay

Chapter 27 from the book From McComb to Jerusalem - The Life Story of Irene (Shaloma) Levi By Petra van der Zande  
Copyright © 2017 by Petra van der Zande

“Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O Lord….  Rise up, O God, and defend your cause….” Psalm 74:18  

With war looming on the horizon, civilians began to stock up on food, which led to food and cash shortages. Bomb shelters were prepared and ditches dug to be used as emergency shelters. Along with most of the reservists in Israel, some teachers from Haifa’s Bible College and Carmel School were called up, even in the middle of the night. 

June 5, 1967 – Refusing to listen to Israel’s entreaties not to engage in war, the Jordanian king’s army attacked Jerusalem from the east. Soon, the wailing of air-raid sirens prompted civilians to run to bomb shelters.
“Would you like your child to come home, or stay at Bethel?” [Boarding school] we had to ask the parents. The only child who went home was one who had been hurt while out riding his bicycle.

For me, the war became a time of ‘triple duty’. In addition to my own tasks, I had to take on extra duties of teachers who had gone off to protect their country. Like Queen Esther had done for her people, I, too, felt the need to fast.  Israel’s future hung in the balance –again! Whenever I could, I went to the home of Dr. Churcher who lived up the hill at the Church’s Mission to the Jews (CMJ). It was a respected ministry, helping Jews who were restored to the Land.  Dr. Churcher was our school’s beloved medical doctor and I often went there to pray with other believers.

The US Consulate advised its citizens to leave Israel unless they had vital business to attend to. Even though the situation grew tenser each day, I didn’t feel I should leave the school. Eventually, believers began to meet on the school veranda for prayer, which meant cleaning up at the end of the school day. 

The first day of the war had been the beginning of many miracles. Israeli pilots had destroyed the Egyptian Air Force on the ground; the Jordanian Air Force followed suit; it took only one hour, and two-thirds of the Iraqi Air Force were in shambles. 
Schools were kept open, so every hour, our teachers opened the classroom doors for everyone to hear the latest news. “Haifa’s oil refineries are bombed,” the newsreader said. Everyone rushed to the window overlooking Haifa Bay, but from what we saw, this was not the case.

June 6 – During the afternoon English lesson, the flannel-graph story of that day happened to be of David and Goliath. I had reached the point where David defeats Goliath, when the radio news came on. All the doors were open, so everyone heard,
“Israel has turned back the enemy at the Sinai Desert and has almost reached the Suez Canal.” The children’s mouths fell open. “The West Bank is now in Israeli hands,” the announcer continued, “including Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho and Bethlehem.” 
It was a time to praise and thank the Lord for so many miracles in Israel’s past and present.

June 7 – At the Carmel School, classes continued as usual, with an hourly break to listen to the latest radio announcements. I was surprised to see Mr. Ben Meir, one of the Bible school teachers, enter the building. His face beamed when he announced, “All of Jerusalem is now united under Israeli rule!”  
He told us that on that very morning, Motta Gur and his paratroopers had been able to break through the Old City’s Lion’s Gate and liberate the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. “The Temple Mount is OURS!” Israelis would never forget Motta Gur’s words coming over the radio. Shlomo Goren, the Army’s Chief Rabbi, had blown the Shofar. With tears in their eyes, the weary, dust covered soldiers, for the first time in their lives, had reverently touched the ancient stones of The Wall. Many had stood with their heads bowed, reciting psalms. “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning.”

The rest of the country still found it hard to believe that after nineteen long years, all of Jerusalem was back in Israeli hands! 

Israeli flag at the school - Irene 2nd from right
Two weeks before the war, during Israel’s nineteenth Independence Day, Naomi Shemer’s song had touched many hearts. Now, it could be heard everywhere, “Yerushaliyim shel zahav, veshel nechoshet veshel or…”, “Jerusalem of Gold’ was heard from cars, shops, and people around us singing it. When the songwriter heard that Jerusalem had been united, she immediately added another verse. The song, set in a beautiful melody, became a kind of second national anthem.

Naomi Shemer sings (click on the link) 
Naomi Shemer

This excerpt was part of the original song:
“The wells are dry, and the market place empty. No one visits the Temple Mount in the Old City. Through the caves in the rocks, the winds howl and no one goes down to the Dead Sea by way of Jericho.”

This was added now:
“We’ve returned now to the wells, the market and the square; and the ram’s horn from the Temple Mount in the Old City. And through the caves in the rocks, a thousand suns do shine. We can go once more to the Dead Sea by way of Jericho. Jerusalem of gold….” 

I was thrilled and awed, when I realized that prophecies had been fulfilled right before our eyes. Israelis walked with a new spring in their steps and contagious joy spread over the country. 

But the war wasn’t over yet, and because of their wounded pride, the enemy fool-heartedly continued to fight. Israeli soldiers were still risking their lives up on the Golan.
I continued to fast, though I had begun drinking water after three days. 

While reading my Bible, I was amazed how many times I came across the words “Adonai Tzva’ot” - The Lord of Hosts - the Armies. The prolonged fasting (with all the extra work) had weakened me. When I began to proclaim God’s promises, “The Heavenly host fights alongside Israel,” I felt revived. “Lord, I can feel it – You’re strengthening the Israeli soldiers on the Golan!”

June 8 –The Syrian positions on the Golan, which for so many years made life a living hell for the people in the valley below, because of their constant rocket barrages, had now been taken over by Israeli soldiers.

June 9 – After the ceasefire with Jordan, from all over the country people rushed to Jerusalem.

June 12 - That Saturday night, because their hall was being renovated, believers from the Bethesda fellowship were meeting on the veranda of Carmel School. During the communion service we sang a fitting hymn, about Jesus the Savior, who died on the cross. Then came the part, “’It is finished’, was His cry…” 
It is finished! A shock went through me. The war is over! I knew it in my heart, as if the Lord of the armies had announced it. Feeling weak from fasting, I leaned against the wall. And I’ll be able to break my fast after the meeting, I thought.

Later, I learned that the last cease fire had come into effect exactly at that hour. When Jesus cried out “It is finished.” while hanging on the cross, He accomplished my salvation, as the Spirit had shown me years ago, and I had believed. That same Jesus was also the “Captain of the Hosts”.  Yeshua is alive today!

“We’re able to travel to the Golan Heights again!” we realized. “Oh! And all the other areas Israel set free!”
Messianic believers visiting the Garden Tomb in united Jerusalem
It had taken six days of heavy fighting, and gradually, the magnitude of the Israeli victory dawned upon Israel and the rest of the world.

 The “Six Day War”, as it has come to be known, surely was a miracle from beginning to end. 

After this war, I began to share my spiritual insight and experiences with every hitchhiking soldier I took along. “The sooner we ‘see’ Him, the Savior Soldier who died in our place,” I felt led to tell the soldiers, “the fewer soldiers here need to die in today’s armies. He’s alive, the Captain of Hosts!”  
  
ISBN  978 965 91615 4 6

The Hebrew translation of this book can be ordered by writing to email: tsurtsinapublications@gmail.com



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