Prime Minister of Israel
"What matters is not what the gentiles say but what the Jews do."
David Ben-Gurion's role in the Suez Crisis was the most cynical of his career — and also, in narrow strategic terms, one of the most successful. Having built Israel from nothing in 1948, he was now focused on consolidating its strategic position. The Sinai Campaign had three goals: destroy the Egyptian army before it received Soviet weapons; open the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping (which Egypt had blockaded since 1948); and gain a buffer zone in the Sinai. He achieved all three — and then was forced to withdraw under American pressure. What he gained strategically was years of quiet on the southern border: Egyptian forces were broken and the Sinai demilitarized under UNEF until 1967. The operation also sent a clear signal to the Arab world that Israel could and would use pre-emptive force against strategic threats.
Did you know?
Ben-Gurion personally attended the Sèvres Conference in a rented villa outside Paris and signed the secret Protocol of Sèvres — the clandestine agreement for coordinated attack on Egypt. He crossed out the word 'copy' on his copy of the protocol — he wanted the only original.
October 29 – November 5, 1956 · 3,000 total casualties
The Sinai Campaign proved Israel's military capability but exposed the cynical nature of the Sèvres Protocol — the secret plan Israel, Britain and France concocted. US and Soviet pressure forced a humiliating withdrawal. The campaign revealed that European powers could no longer act independently in the Middle East without US approval.
October 16, 1886
🌅 Birth
Born in Płońsk, Russian Empire
May 14, 1948
milestone
Proclaimed Israeli independence
October 1956
milestone
Signed secret Protocol of Sèvres coordinating Israel-UK-France attack on Egypt
December 1, 1973
✝️ Death
Died at Sde Boker kibbutz, age 87