Israelis carried AKs in '67? I had just been drafted, in June, '67, and was contemplating deserting to Israel. Just as well the war ended so well so quickly. I would just have been jailed and returned, my Hebrew being so deficient. Plus my training, then, was only on M-14s.
Oh, these came mostly from spoils of war, although before the Galil rifle came into being, AK were popular with some units that need more reliability.
The writing on the rifle's stock appears to be Hebrew. If so it is probably one issued by the IDF. AK's popularity is not surprising since it was an easy to take care of weapon that performed well under harsh battlefield conditions. The Russians first issued these by the millions to the Red Army and the Partisans in WWII. After the War, surplus AKs were sold around the World just like surplus American M1 rifles were.
I was also a boy, not quite 11, when the Six Day War occurred. Had just a vague idea about Israel and its background, including the Holocaust, but did understand that Israel was considered a friend of the US and that Israel's victory was a good thing. I remembr that photo from the cover of Life. I also remember a set of photos taken by a combat correspondent for either Life or its competitor, Look, that ended when the Israeli half track he was in was destroyed by a shell fired by an Arab Tank killing the photographer along with everyone else in the vehicle. Despite photos and TV footage from Vietnam, this was the first time I had seen such a stark example of the suddeness and completeness of death in war. It had a lasting effect on me.
Hello David,
I can't make out any details pertaining to the language that appears on the AK's stock from the Denis Cameron photo. Could be either Arabic or Hebrew. What I can can make out is that the soldier wears a tank regiments one piece overall.
I know however, as in a family member's case, that a lot of soldiers took AK's home as spoils of war.
I remember that 'zine. It was a time when everyone just knew that He was on our side.
Commenting by HaloScan
