This week marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict when Israeli forces overran the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and much of the Golan Heights, beating the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armed forces.
For most of the ensuing decades, my life has been intimately entwined with the Arab world, in particular with the UAE, where I first arrived over 40 years ago, but it was the 1967 war that led me to begin my engagement with the region.
I was then a student in the School of African and Asian Studies at Britain's University of Sussex and an activist in the left-wing Young Liberals, and I remember well the activity on campus as we tried to follow the progress of the conflict.
From the coverage of events provided by institutions such as the BBC, we rapidly realised that the Israelis were inflicting a devastating defeat on their Arab neighbours. In contrast, radio stations such as Cairo's Sawt Al Arab (Voice of the Arabs) told lies, hiding the scale of that unfolding defeat from their audiences.
At the time – in Western Europe, anyway – Israel was seen as a little state whose existence was threatened by Arab “hordes”. Little was known of the events that accompanied the birth of Israel, less than 20 years earlier, with the Nakba (Catastrophe) of the expulsion or flight of 700,000 Palestinian refugees, while Israel had, of course, been an ally of Britain in the 1956 Suez conflict. Israel was seen by many as a model society, however inaccurate that might have been, while the memories of the Holocaust inflicted on Europe’s Jewry by the Nazis during the Second World War were still fresh in people’s minds.
It was not surprising that the outbreak of the 1967 war stimulated a wave of sympathy for Israel on campus. A number of students and lecturers rapidly set in motion a fund-raising campaign to “Buy a Tank for Israel”.
A fellow student and I took a different view, based upon our studies of the history of the British Empire and the process of decolonisation. Perhaps that and our engagement in activities opposed to the apartheid regime in South Africa, along with a number of South African exiles at the university, affected our views of the unfolding Middle East conflict.
So we launched a “Buy a Tank for Egypt” campaign, arguing, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that Egypt clearly had a greater need for more tanks than the victorious Israelis.
We were not very successful in raising funds and the war ended very quickly anyway. We were stunned, however, by the hostility we faced. One lecturer was apoplectic, accusing us of anti-Semitism and of advocating the driving of the Israelis into the sea. Only later did we discover that he was a British-born Israeli and that he had formerly served in Israel's army as well as in the prime minister’s office.
In the years that followed, I became accustomed to such unfounded accusations and my support for the Palestinians deepened. Israel’s governments steadily moved to the right, creating and expanding settlements in the occupied territories, blocking any efforts to reach a just settlement. Israel is no longer a weakling – if it ever was.
Over the years, too, the failures of the Palestinian leadership and the pitiful performance of the Palestinian Authority have contributed to a situation where a rolling back of the results of the 1967 war seems inconceivable. Today, with much of the Arab world in disarray and with rising international concern about fundamentalist terrorism and Iranian aspirations in the Middle East, there is little prospect of an acceptable deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The long-sought ideal of a two-state solution is increasingly a chimera, an impossible dream.
My youthful enthusiasm in June 1967 has long since faded, being replaced with a sad recognition that injustices are not, inevitably, bound to come to an end.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Celtic Prince, David Liska (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Grand Argentier, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
Winner: Arch Gold, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Ibn Malik, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
10pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
more from Janine di Giovanni
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
RESULT
Bayern Munich 3 Chelsea 2
Bayern: Rafinha (6'), Muller (12', 27')
Chelsea: Alonso (45' 3), Batshuayi (85')
GRAN%20TURISMO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neill%20Blomkamp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Harbour%2C%20Orlando%20Bloom%2C%20Archie%20Madekwe%2C%20Darren%20Barnet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
