The deep roots of anti-Semitism in the Arab World made hatred of Israel a key unifying element in Arab politics of the period, and so it was that the preparations for launching a joint war of extermination against the Jewish state became the cause around which the Arab countries rallied in the 1960s. In 1966-1967, the constant stream of anti-Semitic propaganda and of declarations that the Jews of Israel must be wiped out backfired on the Arab leaders, who found themselves unable to walk away from their own hype, and war became inevitable.
With television broadcasts of mobs chanting 'death to the Jews' in every Arab capital, Arab politicians vowing to throw the Jews to the sea, and invasion forces massing on its borders, Israel launched a preemptive strike in June 1967, and in just six days knocked out the armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, along with contingents from other Arab states.
The depiction of Jews in traditional Middle Eastern anti-Semitism as weak and cowardly was reinforced by the teachings of modern European anti-Semitism, which are evident in this cartoon. With his bowler hat, devilish beard and enormous nose, the depiction of the Jewish figure is clearly based on European anti-Semitic imagery rather than traditional Arabic representation. It effectively shows the adoption of imported European aspects of anti-Semitism into the Arab World.
As a result, the Arab masses expected Israel to fall and the Jews to be massacred without too much trouble. Israel's military performance in the previous two Arab-Israeli wars was discounted by the invented claims that it was European powers that had assisted the Jews in these conflicts.
The complete destruction of their armies by the Jews within a single week lead the Arab World into a deep crisis of faith, from which emerged a new stereotype of the Israeli Jew as an all-powerful, almost demonic soldier. This vision, in turn, gave rise in later years to the capacity of Arab audiences to readily believe that Israeli soldiers engage in genocide, and that they commit barbaric deeds for religious reasons.
