The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs

King Hussein of Jordan

Self

Yasser Arafat

Self

Shimon Peres

Self - Israel's Prime Minister

Hafez al-Assad

Self - Syrian President (archive footage)

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Self - Egyptian President (archive footage)

Moshe Dayan

Self - IDF

Anwar Sadat

Self - Free Officers Movement

Yizhak Rabin

Self - Israeli Defence Minister

Abba Eban

Self - Israel's Foreign Minister

Ariel Sharon

Self - Raid Commander

Seasons

Season 1

6 episodes

Premiered May 10, 1998

Episodes

1–6 of 6

Ep 1

1948–56

May 10, 1998

49m

In 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed. This episode recounts how the US, later Israel's greatest ally, came close to stopping the creation of the new state.

Ep 2

1967

May 17, 1998

Tracing the pattern of dramatic and covert events leading to the Six Day War of June 1967.

Ep 3

1967–1982

May 24, 1998

The Palestinian story, beginning with Yasser Arafat's first secret crossing of the River Jordan to launch raids on Israel and ending with his exile to Tunis.

Ep 4

1970–79

May 31, 1998

Israel was not prepared for the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Ex-US president Jimmy Carter recalls how, in 1978, he managed to broker the Arab-Israel agreement.

Ep 5

1987–1991

Jun 7, 1998

The protracted search for peace was repeatedly sabotaged. The deadlock was finally broken by the Intifada - a Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories.