1967 Map of Jerusalem During the Six-Day War w/ Manuscript Notations and Paste Downs

This is a 1967 map of Jerusalem and its environs featuring manuscript notations detailing military positions throughout the region during the Six-Day War. Based on what we know from the former owner, Israeli author, historian, archaeologist, and lecturer Magen Broshi's family, the annotations are likely contemporaneous with the events depicted.

A Closer Look

Paste downs along the right side to identify Israeli (1-19, blue ink) and Jordanian troop and artillery positions (29, typewritten text), including military positions, artillery positions, mortar positions, machine-gun emplacements, tank positions, and minefields. The minefields are marked in red and divided into known (solid red) and suspected minefields (all other minefield notations). The green areas highlight demilitarized zones within Jerusalem prior to the outbreak of war.

The Six-Day War

The Six-Day War, also known as the Third Arab-Israeli War, the June War, or the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, raged from June 5 until June 10, 1967. The war was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The Israelis launched a series of surprise airstrikes on Egyptian airfields and other installations on the morning of June 5. These strikes effectively destroyed the Egyptian Air Force and gained air supremacy for the Israelis. Fighting continued in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, and Golan Heights until June 10. A ceasefire was signed on June 11, and by that time, Israel had captured approximately 27,000 square miles of territory: East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

The Six-Day War in Jerusalem

As a short preamble to the Six-Day War in Jerusalem, it is essential that the reader be aware of how the 1948 Arab-Israeli War ended in Jerusalem. In 1949, when the Armistice Agreements were finally signed, ending the war, the only map where an Arab and an Israeli commander agreed to respective positions within Jerusalem was an informal ceasefire line drawn by an Israeli commander with a green wax pencil and a Jordanian commander with a red wax pencil. These commanders outlined Israeli-controlled and Jordanian-controlled positions, respectively, with the informal inaccuracies of a map made in the field and a No-Man's Land between them. Nonetheless, these lines represented the only agreement between the two sides concerning the occupation of Jerusalem. Thus, this agreement became the foundation of the occupation of Jerusalem (and lawful international borders) until the Six-Day War erupted. It is important to note that the U.N. Headquarters and Mount Scopus (where Hebrew University was) were demilitarized zones.

Fighting in Jerusalem began at 9:30 a.m. on June 5 in the form of intermittent machine-gun exchanges. Fighting intensified over the course of the day, with Jordanian howitzers opening up on Israeli Jerusalem at 11:15 a.m. The Israelis responded a few hours later with aerial attacks on Jordanian airbases and ground emplacements. On June 5, the Jordanians attempted to seize the U.N Headquarters at Government House. This forced the Israelis to invade, and by the next day, the Israeli Army had forced a Jordanian retreat to Bethlehem. The Old City was captured on June 7, and the paratroopers who had captured that part of the city were ordered to dig in and hold it. Israeli forces continued their offensive in the West Bank until at least June 8, when they learned that the Jordanian Army had been withdrawn across the Jordan River.

Provenance: From the Collection of Magen Broshi

This map came to us from the family of renowned Israeli author, historian, archaeologist, and lecturer Magen Broshi (1929 - July 14, 2020). Broshi studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Chicago. He specialized in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Second Temple Period, ancient agriculture, viticulture, demography, the history and archaeology of Jerusalem, and numerous other subjects. Broshi was also widely published. He was appointed the first Curator of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum, known as the Shrine of the Book, in 1964 and served until 1994.

Publication History and Census

Published by the government of Israel, likely a military branch, with extensive hand annotation. Two sheets have been joined to create this piece, and the manuscript notations make this piece unique.