Another reason for Israeli victories was due to the weakness of the Arab nations military. During the First Arab-Israeli War, although the combined population of the Arab states outnumbered the population of the Israeli population by 40:1, the Arab armies totalled at about 25,000, which was less than the 35,000 that was mobilised by Israel. This was due to a certain level of complacency amongst the Arab command regarding the fighting capacity of Israel. Furthermore, since many of the Arab leaders faced precarious domestic situations, a proportion of their armies had to be kept at home to secure domestic control. Also the vast majority of the Arab armies were very poorly trained, equipped and lead; the only exception of this was the British trained Arab legion in Jordan.
The strength of the Israeli military was an important reason for their victories in successive Arab-Israeli conflicts. The Jewish population in Palestine had gained weapons, ammunition and military experience during the Second World War due to their support for the British. This gave them an advantage over the Arab armies as they had gained a lot of weapons and experience whereas the Arab armies had very little equipment and were poorly lead. Although there was a Western arms embargo which applied to both sides, this was ignored by the Soviet Union who supplied Israel with military hardware including tanks, aircraft, armoured cars and artillery. This was in the early days of the Cold War when the USSR was seeking to gain allies and undermine the British influence in the Middle East, before the close relationship between Israel and the United States had developed. Thus, from a position of apparent weakness, Israel was able to outman and outgun its Arab enemies and gain a decisive victory in the first Arab-Israeli War. During the Six Day War the Israelis had the most advanced US electronic equipment, which enabled them to intercept Arab communications, and they were highly skilled and well trained. This was no match against the Arab weapons that they had received from the Soviet Union, and the Israelis believed they were fighting for their nation’s survival.
After the First Arab-Israeli War there was a period of triumph for Israel. During this period Israel’s population grew sufficiently. The population of Israel rose from about 650,000 to 1.3 million between 1948 and 1951 as over 680,000 immigrants moved into Israel. The majority of these arrivals came from Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the Holocaust, whilst Jews also arrived from neighbouring Arab countries. This increase in the population meant that Israel could also increase the size of its army. The experience in the army helped to make the newly arrived Jews into true Israelis. The state of Israel also became much richer, stronger and more highly developed in the 1950s and early 1960s. New industries, such as cars, chemicals and defence, were built and vast sums of money were spent on the armed forces to defend the country. This helped the Israelis in their victories over the Arabs because of the dramatic increase in the population of Israel it meant that ore people could enlist in the army. The growth of the Israeli economy meant that more money could be spent on their defence which was a major reason for the victories in the Arab-Israeli Wars.
Although the high level of education and skills of Israeli citizens played a major part in the development but the speed of the country’s progress would not have been possible without huge gifts from abroad. Most of this aid came from the USA. The US government sent about a billion dollars a year to Israel. The US government felt that the Israel was a close, firm friend in a troubled part of the world and it knew that the Soviet Union was arming Egypt and Syria. It also knew that the Arab states were united in their opposition to the state of Israel. The relationship between America and Israel rests on a number of common values. Many Americans admire Israel’s pioneering spirit, social and economic achievements and its democratic ideals in a part of the world where there is little democracy. Without the aid that Israel received from overseas the results of the Arab-Israeli Wars might have been very different.
While the victories in the Arab-Israeli Wars were partly due to the Arab divisions, this was not the key reason for these victories. The main reason for the victories was because of the military weakness of the Arab nations. The populations of the Arab nations outnumbered the Israeli population by 40:1, so the Arab nations should had had a greater numbered army than they did. The vast majority of the Arab army was poorly trained and equipped and this meant that the army had no chance against the well prepared Israeli army. The Arab divisions were less clear in the Yom Kippur War, where the Arab nations worked better together than they had in the previous wars. Therefore the Arab divisions were not the main reason for the Israeli victories in the Arab-Israeli Wars and other factors such as the strength of the Israeli army and the international intervention that the Israelis received from the USA were also key reasons.
