Former Prime Minister Levi Eshkol (25 October 1895 – 26 February 1969) was a modest man who did not give the impression of being a great leader.
He wasn’t charismatic, nor a seasoned warrior. Not even a skilled orator.
In fact, at 72 years he gave the impression of being an old man, balding, bespectacled and indifferent to personal attire.
Levi Eshkol was a product of the Yiddish-speaking diaspora with an unassuming demeanor and Old World accent, in contrast to the younger generation of Israelis raised on military service and Hebrew culture.
Yet, in his own understated style of leadership with a sincere dedication to his people and homeland, he was a thoughtful and effective leader.
Courageous yet wary, flexible but resilient.
Rather than dictate his positions, Eshkol listened carefully to allies and opponents alike, working hard to reach a broad consensus before deciding on fundamental issues.
Prior to the Six Day War in 1967, he modernised and expanded the Israeli Defense Forces into a highly mobile army capable of winning a multiple-front war against large and formidable enemies.
However, in addition to strengthening defense capabilities, Eshkol understood far better than other Israeli statesmen the necessity of guaranteeing American support for Israel and resisting pressure to initiate military action before their support was secured.
Six Day War
In mid-May 1967 when Arab armies amassed on Israel’s borders, both the army and the public favoured a prompt and devastating strike to pre-empt the Arab attack.
Eshkol was hesitant, but the public believed that stronger and more dynamic figures like Ben-Gurion or Moshe Dayan would ensure Israel’s survival.
The pressure on him was so great that eventually he was forced to step down as Defense Minister, but remain as Prime Minister.
Dayan was appointed Defense Minister and when Israel finally did attack, the mood in Israel was that the brief and devastating war inflicted on the Arabs was in spite of, not thanks to, Levi Eshkol.
Eshkol was regarded as the wrong leader at the wrong historical moment and was overshadowed by more contemporary and hard-headed leaders.
Yet, to his credit, once the Six Day War started, he refused to halt Israel’s advance before it had achieved its objectives.
He stood form against international pressure to cease the war.
What’s more, he even broadened his coalition government, rallying the right and left wings of the political parties, together with religious and secular Jews to form a Unity government.
Finally, Eshkol was really the pivotal figure in bringing the country closer together and achieving one of Israel’s greatest battles in history in just 6 days.
His Legacy
In the decades that followed, restoring his image and reinstating him from obscurity proved almost impossible.
In his 1979 memoirs, Yitzhak Rabin lamented that the damage done to Eshkol’s reputation was a great injustice that history may yet address.
However, since the completion of the war documents have now been completed and declassified.
These papers, together with published memoirs and oral history interviews of former senior officials, proved a totally different insight into the wisdom of Eshkol’s actions before and during the war.
They paint a highly detailed portrait of Levi Eshkol and the pivotal role he played in winning the Six Day War.
