4 November 2012 - El Alamein - 70 Years Remembrance (to Bob Ware)
First of all I would like to thank Bob Ware for his great mathematical contributions to Five Doves. They are quite challenging for minds like mine, but Bob draws out the key findings and predictions clearly. In recent posts the date of 4 November 2012, just two days before the United States election, has been identified by Bob as a potentially vital date.
This date has great historical significance as the Allied victory at El Alamein was achieved on 4 November 1942, following a battle from 23 October 1942. This year is the 70th celebration of this battle. Recently I just happened to be reading a book titled Anzacs and Israel - a significant connection. Towards the end of the book the focus is on El Alamein and the path to Statehood for Israel. The three last chapters are:
· El Alamein and the Carmel Plan
· El Alamein - Key to Jewish Survival
· From El Alamein to Statehood
The Two Battles for El Alamein - in 1942
Wikipedia notes that Two important World War II battles were fought around El Alamein. At the First Battle of El Alamein (1 to 27 July 1942) the advance of Axis troops on Alexandria was blunted by the Allies, when the German Panzers tried to outflank the allied position. At the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October to 4 November 1942) Allied forces broke the Axis line and forced them all the way back to Tunisia.
Winston Churchill said of this victory: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." After the war, he wrote: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat."
· El Alamein (or Al Alamayn) today: (Arabic - literally "the two flags") is a town located on the Mediterranean Sea, 240 kilometres northwest of Cairo, with a population of around 6000 to 7000.
· During the many battles that took place around El Alamein in an attempt to gain control of the whole of North Africa, over 80,000 soldiers were either wounded or lost their lives here. El Alamein is home to an enormous cemetery, with in excess of 7,000 tombstones, together with nearby war memorials.
El Alamein - Vital for Israel’s Emergence as a Nation
At the time of the Battle for El Alamein there were around 550000 Jews in Palestine and 70000 in Egypt. Their very survival depended on this battle. Hitler had plans to either repatriate them to Europe for annihilation or use murder squads (who had been prepared) to wipe them out. This would have meant very few Jews in Palestine in the post war period, thus weakening the raison d’étre for Palestine as a homeland. Within five years of the El Alamein battle Israel miraculously became a nation once more!
Ceremonies are planned to remember the 70th anniversary of this decisive battle. I have included some quotes from the book mentioned above and from an Australian government press release. Many soldiers from Australia, from other Commonwealth countries and Jews gave their lives for this and other victories in North Africa, and deep and lasting bonds were forged between Israel and these countries. Lest we forget this sacrifice!
Seventy years later Israel is facing an ongoing battle for survival as a nation, for now being fought in organisations such as the United Nations and the Non Aligned Movement. We need to stand with Israel, during this 23 October to 4 November 2012 period. Just two days later the United States election will also mark a turning point in Israel’s war for recognition!
Selected Quotes from Anzacs and Israel
Page 158: For the Jewish community there was elation at the news of the victory, but sadness at the terrible loss of life. The late Uzi Narkiss was the Israeli general who commanded the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967, and in his career also witnessed the loss of hundreds of young men in combat.
Page 162: At the end of the War the leadership of the Jewish people in Palestine, the Vaad Leumi, presented General Montgomery, the commander of the Eighth Army under whom the Anzacs were serving, with a gift of gratitude. It was a beautiful mother-of-pearl and silver Bible, with this inscription:
· The gallant leader of the vict orious British forces by whose hand God has placed salvation in Zion in the days of El Alamein.
Page 167: Perhaps our fight didn’t end at El Alamein after all. As those soldiers at Tobruk were challenged to fight for that which is ‘decent and kindly and holy’. Perhaps in this fight Israel is our front line, our buffer zone.
Veterans Revisit North Africa Campaigns 70 Years On - Australian Press Release
( Warren Snowdon - Minister for Veterans Affairs - 15 October 2012)
Australian Second World War veterans, who helped defeat the Germans in North Africa, will soon make the return journey to Egypt to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein and the North Africa campaigns.
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Warren Snowdon, said the 21 veteran representatives, aged between 88 and 95, come from all over Australia and represent each arm of service involved in the North Africa campaigns.
The Allied forces comprised Navy, Army and Air Force personnel from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India; fighting against Germany and Italy.
Whilst ultimately a success, the El Alamein campaign was extremely costly for the Australians - between July and November more than 1,000 were killed, almost 200 listed as missing in action and more than 3,600 were wounded.
The El Alamein War Cemetery contains the graves of 7,240 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, more than 1,000 of whom are Australians.
Denis Maranatha!!