The Soviet Union and Their Orchestration of the Six Day War: An Updated Historical Analysis of the Soviet Union's Direct Involvement in the Six Day War

by Geoffrey Roberts, Zoe Luepke (Editor)

This re-examination and historical analysis of Israel's Six Day War, based on newly available information, outlines the pivotal role that the Soviet Union played in orchestrating and organizing multiple Arab Nations to provoke Israel into war. This analysis provides evidence which corrects a years-long historical narrative which paints Israel as the aggressor. Israel did not provoke the Arab Nations at the onset of the Six Day War, rather they were provoked by a Coalition of Arab Nations backed by the Soviet Union which led Israel to take necessary pre-emptive and defensive actions. This book explores the Soviet Union's ulterior motives in the region and what they stood to gain in the region if Israel were to be defeated. This updated and accurate account of history provides a clear understanding of the complexities and nuances of actions which took place over the span of more than a decade which led to the Six Day War. This book also analyzes the outcomes and how they lend themselves to current tensions in the region between multiple Arab Nations and Israel.

177 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2021

About the author

Geoffrey Roberts was born in Deptford, south London in 1952. A pupil of Addey and Stanhope Grammar School, he left aged 16 and started his working life as a clerk with the Greater London Council. In the 1970s, he was an International Relations undergraduate at North Staffordshire Polytechnic and postgraduate research student at the London School of Economics. In the 1980s, he worked in the Education Department of NALGO, the public sector trade union. He returned to academic life in the 1990s following the publication of his acclaimed first book The Unholy Alliance: Stalin’s Pact with Hitler, 1989.

Roberts is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and teaches History and International Relations at University College Cork, Ireland. He has won many academic awards and prizes, including a Fulbright Scholarship to Harvard University and a Government of Ireland Senior Research Fellowship. He is a regular commentator on history and current affairs for British and Irish newspapers and a contributor to the History News Service, which syndicates articles to American media outlets. He has many radio and TV appearances to his credit and has acted as an historical consultant for documentary series such as Simon Berthon's highly praised Warlords, broadcast in 2005.