(Stephen D. Lerner '68, executive editor of the CRIMSON, is one of a number of Harvard students who, immediately after final examinations in June, went to Israel to provide help. The following report, written from Tel Aviv June24, states his impressions of the Arab-Israeli conflict.)

War is not only the agent of destruction, it is also the precursor of change. With the erasure of the Arab military machine, Israel has indelibly redrawn the political map of the Middle East. Until the Arabs, Russians, and the United Nations grasp this reality, a peacful settlement in the Middle East will remain illusory.

Although one could wish that the authority of the United Nations were indeed a reality, from Tel Aviv the convolutions of the General Assembly look like a bad farce which suffers from delusions of grandeur. It seems fantastic that the United Nations can first ignite a house-fire by withdrawing the only peace-keeping force in the area, and then proclaim itself the only fire-engine on the block when the flames threaten the world community.

"Israeli Empire"

The Israelis have won a costly advantage, and they don't plan to relinquish it without a whimper as they have in the past. Without a doubt, the Old City of Jerusalem will remain in Israeli hands the other territories of the new "Israeli Empire" will be subject to negotiations. In addition to Jerusalem, the Israelis will require international guarantees -- with a strong commitment from the U.S.-- for the right of free passage not only through the Straits of Tiran but also through the locks of Suez. The Israelis undoubtedly will seek either official recognition from the Arab states or de facto recognition in the form of peace treaties before there are any major retreats from Sinai, Gaza, the Syrian Heights, and the West Bank of the Jordan. Because of her military victories the real initiative remains with Israel: she will decide whether to play humble or hard.

Israel has changed. No longer are the Israelis an unorganized horde of European refugees who hope that the world won't notice if they eke out a meager living on a few square miles of sand somewhere in the Middle East. Ben Gurion successfully described the process of assimilating the diverse Jewish populations which came to live in Israel when he said, "It's not like a melting pot, it's more like a pressure-cooker." Visiting Israel, one can not help but experience the feeling of excitement and confidence which fills its streets today.

The order generation which still remembers the ghettos and prison camps of Europe is quickly being displaced by a new breed-- the "Sabras." Sabra is a particularly apt description of the native Israeli because literally translated it means "fruit of the cactus"-- tough on the outside but tender on the inside. The Sabras are not as worried about world opinion as their fathers were; they have recognized (and rightly so) that their country can not depend on allies for its defense. Their experience has taught them the Machiavellian maxim that guarantees mean very little when the cannons speak. They are building a political place for Israel in the Middle East in the same manner in which their fathers worked a garden out of the desert.

No Second Class Nation

For years the older generations of Israelis who hold positions of power, have tacitly accepted the fact that Israel was a second class nation. Bombarded by the neighbors, continually harrassed by Arab terrorists, Israel remains the only nation whose shipping is not permitted to pass through the Suez. Today, one gets the sense that the Sabras are no longer willing to submit to these conditions, and that they plan to translate their newly gained position of strength into bargaining power.

Any move by Eshkol's government towards an acceptance of a U.N. resolution which would take the Israelis back to their status ante bellum would be greeted with a great deal of unpopularity -- something the ancient regime can ill afford at this point.

One of the many lessons which must be drawn from an analysis of the recent conflict in the Middle East is that many of the smaller countries in the hot spots around the world will be increasingly left to fend for themselves when the Big Powers line up on either side of an issue. Although the battels may be fought with weapons supplied by the Super-nations, the ultimate outcome of the struggle will depend on the success or failure of the smaller countries involved in a limited war.

It is horrifying to speculate what would have happened had Israel been over-run by Arab forces at the outbreak of hostilities. Not only would the blood-shed have surpassed anything in recent history, but we doubtless would have heared very little from the U.N. England and the United States would have avoided involvement for fear of further escalation, just as Russia has failed to give the Arab nations the support which they expected. With the greater powers neutralized, the pawns have become decisive in the chess game of world politics.

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This has been my first war--the first with which I could really identify. The Second World War was over before I was born, I can only remember collecting baseball cards during the Korean affair, and I've totally disowned the Vietnamese debacle--so in emotional terms this has been my first war.

Liquidation of Jews