This is a cartoon by illustrator Kariel Gardosh, known as Dosh, published the day after the soldiers of the 55th Brigade and the Jerusalem Brigade captured the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War on June 7, 1967. The soldier is holding the Old City in his hands and is presenting it to the receiving hands of the Jewish people. The date of the reunification of Jerusalem – both the Hebrew date 27th Iyar 5727 and the Gregorian date June 7, 1967 – appears on the sun.
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Dosh – Kariel Gardosh (1921–2000), known by the pen name Dosh, was a political cartoonist, journalist, author, and illustrator and one of the most influential cultural figures from the establishment of the State of Israel and throughout the following decades. Gardosh was a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. His most famous cartoon character, Srulik, the young sabra boy, became an Israeli cultural icon, known throughout the Jewish world.
Six Day War - Since May 1967 there had been tension along the borders of Israel. Egypt moved troops into Sinai and unilaterally closed the Straits of Tiran, which blocked off Israel’s supply route with Asia. Likewise, Syria deployed troops in the Golan Heights. After months of threats and aggression, the Israeli cabinet approved a pre-emptive attack on Egypt. On June 5, 1967, Israel’s air force bombed Egyptian airfields and destroyed their entire fleet of airplanes while still on the ground. The Syrian, Jordanian, and Iraqi air forces were also attacked, and over the next few days battles took place on the Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian fronts. On June 6 fighting began in the divided city of Jerusalem at Ammunition Hill. The Old City of Jerusalem was liberated the following day, June 7, by forces led by Colonel Motta Gur who radioed the message: “The Temple Mount is in our hands and our forces are by the [Western] Wall.” At the Western Wall, the IDF chaplain, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, blew a shofar to celebrate the event, which was broadcast live on Kol Yisrael, the Israeli radio station. The fighting was over after six days. Despite the many casualties, there was also a sense of euphoria. Jerusalem was reunified, and Israel had captured the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip. While much has changed in the area in the ensuing years, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Golan Heights (Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005) remains a matter of controversy both in Israel and around the world.
