1956 Szapiro Map of the Middle East during the Suez Crisis in Hebrew

This is a 1956 Joseph Shapiro (Szapiro) Hebrew map of the Middle East centered on Israel during the 1956 Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab-Israeli War. It highlights the advances of Israeli forces across the Sinai Peninsula during the brief conflict.

Interpreting the Map

The map encompasses the theatre of war from Alexandria, Egypt, to Syria and Saudi Arabia and from Turkey to the Red Sea. Israel is emphasized in red, as are the movements of the Israeli armed forces across the Sinai Peninsula. These arrows are dated, following the action throughout the war. A notation in the Mediterranean marks the presence of the British and French Suez Canal Expedition, complete with an illustrated fighter jet.

Cities, towns, and villages throughout are labeled, with particular attention paid to Israel and the Sinai Peninsula. Roads, railways, oil fields, pipelines, and refineries are also labeled.

The Suez Crisis or the Second Arab-Israeli War

The Suez Crisis is also known as the Second Arab-Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world, and the Sinai War in Israel. The conflict followed Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nassar's nationalization the Suez Canal. To maintain international control of the Canal, Israel, followed closely by the United Kingdom and France, invaded Egypt. The conflict lasted from October 29, 1956 - November 7, 1956. Following the Israeli invasion of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula on October 29, the U.K. and France issued a joint ultimatum to cease fire, which was ignored. This led to Britain and France landing paratroopers along the Suez Canal on November 5, who defeated the Egyptian forces guarding the canal. Through political pressure, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations forced the withdrawal of all three nations from the Sinai, although the Israelis occupied the peninsula until March 1957. Over the next twenty-five years, Israel and Egypt fought over the Sinai Peninsula during several conflicts, until finally moving towards peace and negotiated Egyptian sovereignty over the peninsula, as part of a wider rapprochement.

Later, it became clear that Israel, France, and the United Kingdom had coordinated their plans before the conflict began. In the end, the episode humiliated Britain and France, with some historians suggesting it marked an end of Britain as a major world power. It also achieved the opposite of one of their stated goals: instead of removing Nassar from power, the Suez Crisis only strengthened his position.

Publication History and Census

This map was made by Dr. Joseph Shapiro (or Szaprio, יוסף שפירא), a Tel Aviv-based publisher and cartographer. There are three editions of this map, all very rare: one in English, one bilingual, and this one, in Hebrew. Stanford University and the National Library of Israel hold the bilingual edition, while Harvard University, the National Library of Israel, and the Central Zionist Archives hold this edition. The English-language edition is also among our listings.