From 5 to 10 June 1967 the Six-Day War briefly erupted between Israel and its neighbouring states of Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The skirmish was one of a series of Arab-Israeli conflicts that flared up during the first three decades of the Cold War, before a ceasefire after the Yom Kippur War of October 1973 ended large-scale hostilities.

One of the Israeli soldiers bearing witness to the Middle East’s turbulent experiences as a Cold War hot spot was Sol Baskin. Raised in the United States, Baskin had served in the US Army during World War II before emigrating to Israel in 1948. In small sketches and watercolours he recorded scenes of daily military life during the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, including depictions of military manoeuvres, destroyed tanks and the medical treatment of wounded fighters.

Baskin kept his collection of work at his home in Tel Aviv for forty years, before recently donating it to the archives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Examples can be seen on the MOD website, as well as in the following article (in Hebrew): The Yom Kippur War, in Illustrations.

Images (top to bottom): Sol Baskin, Soldiers Taking a Nap, 1973; Sol Baskin, Battle Positions, 1973.