Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Arab intentions were no secret by the Spring of 1967. Egyptian troops were massing near the Israeli border on May 15. By the 18th, Syrian troops were prepared for battle along the Golan Heights. That day, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the UN Emergency Force (UNEF) — stationed in the Sinai since 1956 as a buffer between Israeli and Egyptian forces after Israel’s withdrawal following the 1956 Sinai Campaign — to withdraw.

On May 23, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to all Israeli shipping and all ships bound for Eilat. This blockade cut off Israel’s only supply route with Asia and stopped the flow of oil from its main supplier, Iran.

After the Six-Day war, US president Lyndon Johnson said: “If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Strait of Tiran would be closed. The right of innocent maritime passage must be preserved for all nations.”

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., also recognized the menace of Egypt’s action. On May 28, he and 11 other prominent Christian leaders issued a statement, “The Moral Responsibility in the Middle East,” which reflected the views of thousands of church leaders throughout the United States.

It started with the quote from Psalms 122:6: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

“Men of conscience must not remain silent at this time,” it continued. “The Middle East is on the brink of war. President Nasser of Egypt has initiated a blockade of an international waterway: the Straits of Tehran, Israel’s sea-lane to Africa and Asia. This blockade may lead to a major conflagration.”

The authors recognized Israel was being threatened: “The Middle East has been an arena of tension due to the threat of continued terrorist attacks, as well as the recent Arab military mobilization along Israel’s borders. Let us recall that Israel is a new nation whose people are still recovering from the horror and decimation of the European holocaust.”

Acknowledging Johnson’s characterization of the blockade as “illegal and potentially disastrous” to world peace, the statement called on the US government to “steadfastly to honor its commitments to the freedom of international waterways.” It further called on the administration and “Americans of all persuasions and groupings … to support the independence, integrity and freedom of Israel.”

The statement said, “Men of conscience all over the world bear a moral responsibility to support Israel’s right of passage through the Straits of Tiran,” and that, “The people of Israel have the right to live and develop in tranquility and without fear. The Middle East requires respite and peace.”

It concluded with a quote from Psalms, 34:15: “Seek peace and pursue it.”

Nasser, whose rhetoric had become increasingly bellicose, said on the same day the statement was published, “We will not accept any … coexistence with Israel … Today the issue is not the establishment of peace between the Arab states and Israel … The war with Israel is in effect since 1948.”

Johnson tried but failed to organize an international flotilla to break the blockade of the Straits. Israeli Prime Minister Eshkol sent the head of the Mossad, Meir Amit, to Washington to gauge the sentiment for war, and learned the United States would not object to an Israeli offensive. Nevertheless, Johnson warned: “Israel will not be alone unless it decides to go alone,” and the State Department announced after fighting began: “Our position is neutral in thought, word, and deed.”

This was not the only time that King demonstrated his moral clarity when it came to Israel. After the war, King spoke at the annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly and said, “Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all of our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land almost can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security, and that security must be a reality.”

In contrast to the Biden administration, which did not even mention the word “Zionism” in its strategy to fight antisemitism, King famously told a student, “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking antisemitism.”

Today, the world is sadly lacking in leaders with such courage and wisdom. How many Jews besides the late Elie Wiesel have been willing to speak truth to power?

As in 1967, Israel faces enemies who seek its destruction. The Arab-Israeli conflict is over, but Israel remains threatened by the radical Islamist “axis of resistance” led by Iran. Where is the Martin Luther King of 2023, who will call on his fellow Americans to support the independence, integrity, and freedom of Israel? Who will speak out against today’s terrorists and exclaim that the people of Israel have the right to live and develop in tranquility and without fear?

Mitchell Bard is a foreign-policy analyst and an authority on US-Israel relations who has written and edited 22 books, including “The Arab Lobby,” “Death to the Infidels: Radical Islam’s War Against the Jews” and “After Anatevka: Tevye in Palestine.”