Editors' note: The Six-Day War, the fiftieth anniversary of which takes place this month, was a major watershed in Middle Eastern history. This was the second time in a generation that Israel routed a numerically and materially superior all-Arab war coalition, and it did so in a far swifter fashion than in 1948. On June 4, 1967, the ecstatic Arab leaders were prophesying Israel’s imminent destruction and promising their subjects the spoils of victory; a week later, they were reconciling themselves to a staggering military defeat, the loss of vast territories, and sharp international humiliation. The Summer 2017 Middle East Quarterly sheds fresh light on three key aspects of the war: its inevitability, its historiographical portrayal, and its lasting consequences.
