Fifty years ago Israel won a war that no one expected it to win. The Six-Day War took place from June 5-10, 1967 when Israel fought against Egypt, Syria and Jordan, and captured the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. For Tucson resident Devy Wolff, living in Israel during that war created a lasting impression.
“I witnessed this amazing historic moment,” says Wolff. “For me it was incredible to see the Jews so determined to stand their ground against these other countries.” Since that time, he has maintained an “I can do anything attitude.”
Wolff and his parents and older brother emigrated from Bucharest, Romania, to Israel in 1965 when Wolff was 20 years old. “The culture was very different from what I knew in Bucharest,” says Wolff. “I went from a big city to a country where the economy was mostly based on agriculture, and the cities were much smaller than they are today.” He had learned some English, but he did not speak or read Hebrew.
He received his introduction to Israel while living for six months on Yagur Kibbutz near Haifa. He spent his days learning Hebrew and working at various jobs. He met Holocaust survivors as well as Jews from all over the world, including India, Morocco and Argentina.
On weekends they took trips around Israel. Wolff recalls visiting farmland near the border with Lebanon. He describes it as beautiful and serene, with no military presence. The Syrian border was very different, with Syrian military positions in the Golan Heights, and frequent skirmishes with the Israelis. Wolff says Israeli farmers needed armored tractors for protection while working their farms.
Wolff went to Tel Aviv where he found work building stage sets for movie productions and for Tel Aviv’s Habima National Theatre, one of Israel’s first Hebrew language theaters. He wanted to continue his interest in painting, which had begun when he was 12, drawing cartoons and caricatures and designing maps to help fellow students learn geography.
Before the Six-Day War Wolff did not understand the extent of the threat to Israel from Egypt, Syria and Jordan. He was at his job in Tel Aviv when he heard sirens signaling the attack on Israel. There were calls for the reservists to prepare for war, and he went to his parent’s house to dig a trench for shelter.
There were no television broadcasts at the time in Israel, but there were newspapers and two radio stations. Wolff remembers hearing Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol asking Jordan not to get into the war, and that the Israeli government was still hoping for a peaceful resolution to problems with Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
“During those days I learned what it meant to be an Israeli,” Wolff says. “I could see the Israeli planes on their way to attack positions in Jordan, and I heard about the Israeli attack on the air base in Egypt.” He says that although people didn’t know exactly what was happening, they knew the news was good. The day the war ended, June 10, was Wolff’s birthday.
Israeli citizens were surprised by the fast pace of the war. “The Six-Day War was a watershed for Israel and for me. People were able to see what Israel could do, and they had the attitude that Jews will never again be defenseless,” says Wolff. After the war there were many celebrations, including a victory parade in Jerusalem.
Wolff joined a friend who was a photographer with a permit to go into territories captured during the war.
“In Gaza it was mind-boggling to see the city and the refugee camps. The people looked at us as if we were from a different planet,” he says. “The result of the war was very dramatic with big losses for Egypt, Jordan and Syria.” He also visited a deserted army base in the Sinai where soldiers had fled, leaving even their boots behind. At one school he saw pictures that children had drawn depicting Egyptians killing Jews.
He lived in Israel for three and a half years, serving for a short time in the army. He then moved to New York City to study art, and ended up staying for 30 years. Among other jobs, he worked in production at Krantz Animation Studio in New York on the “Spiderman” television cartoon series, and collaborated with Romanian-born artist Nova Mihai Popa. Wolff has exhibited his artwork in New York, Romania, Israel, Switzerland and Canada. He and his wife and daughter moved to Tucson in 1998.
“Anywhere I have lived, I have always felt like an Israeli,” says Wolff. “I took Israel into my heart — it became part of my personality.”
Korene Charnofsky Cohen is a freelance writer and editor in Tucson.
F
ifty years ago Israel won a war that no one expected it to win. The Six-Day War took place from June 5-10, 1967 when Israel fought against Egypt, Syria and Jordan, and captured the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank, Old City of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. For Tucson resident Devy Wolff, living in Israel during that war created a lasting impression.
“I witnessed this amazing historic moment,” says Wolff. “For me it was incredible to see the Jews so determined to stand their ground against these other countries.” Since that time, he has maintained an “I can do anything attitude.”
Wolff and his parents and older brother emigrated from Bucharest, Romania, to Israel in 1965 when Wolff was 20 years old. “The culture was very different from what I knew in Bucharest,” says Wolff. “I went from a big city to a country where the economy was mostly based on agriculture, and the cities were much smaller than they are today.” He had learned some English, but he did not speak or read Hebrew.
He received his introduction to Israel while living for six months on Yagur Kibbutz near Haifa. He spent his days learning Hebrew and working at various jobs. He met Holocaust survivors as well as Jews from all over the world, including India, Morocco and Argentina.
On weekends they took trips around Israel. Wolff recalls visiting farmland near the border with Lebanon. He describes it as beautiful and serene, with no military presence. The Syrian border was very different, with Syrian military positions in the Golan Heights, and frequent skirmishes with the Israelis. Wolff says Israeli farmers needed armored tractors for protection while working their farms.
Wolff went to Tel Aviv where he found work building stage sets for movie productions and for Tel Aviv’s Habima National Theatre, one of Israel’s first Hebrew language theaters. He wanted to continue his interest in painting, which had begun when he was 12, drawing cartoons and caricatures and designing maps to help fellow students learn geography.
Before the Six-Day War Wolff did not understand the extent of the threat to Israel from Egypt, Syria and Jordan. He was at his job in Tel Aviv when he heard sirens signaling the attack on Israel. There were calls for the reservists to prepare for war, and he went to his parent’s house to dig a trench for shelter.
There were no television broadcasts at the time in Israel, but there were newspapers and two radio stations. Wolff remembers hearing Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol asking Jordan not to get into the war, and that the Israeli government was still hoping for a peaceful resolution to problems with Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
“During those days I learned what it meant to be an Israeli,” Wolff says. “I could see the Israeli planes on their way to attack positions in Jordan, and I heard about the Israeli attack on the air base in Egypt.” He says that although people didn’t know exactly what was happening, they knew the news was good. The day the war ended, June 10, was Wolff’s birthday.
Israeli citizens were surprised by the fast pace of the war. “The Six-Day War was a watershed for Israel and for me. People were able to see what Israel could do, and they had the attitude that Jews will never again be defenseless,” says Wolff. After the war there were many celebrations, including a victory parade in Jerusalem.
Wolff joined a friend who was a photographer with a permit to go into territories captured during the war.
“In Gaza it was mind-boggling to see the city and the refugee camps. The people looked at us as if we were from a different planet,” he says. “The result of the war was very dramatic with big losses for Egypt, Jordan and Syria.” He also visited a deserted army base in the Sinai where soldiers had fled, leaving even their boots behind. At one school he saw pictures that children had drawn depicting Egyptians killing Jews.
He lived in Israel for three and a half years, serving for a short time in the army. He then moved to New York City to study art, and ended up staying for 30 years. Among other jobs, he worked in production at Krantz Animation Studio in New York on the “Spiderman” television cartoon series, and collaborated with Romanian-born artist Nova Mihai Popa. Wolff has exhibited his artwork in New York, Romania, Israel, Switzerland and Canada. He and his wife and daughter moved to Tucson in 1998.
“Anywhere I have lived, I have always felt like an Israeli,” says Wolff. “I took Israel into my heart — it became part of my personality.”
Korene Charnofsky Cohen is a freelance writer and editor in Tucson.
