Yom Kippur War of 1973

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

         

The War of 1973 (also known as the Yom Kippur War or October War) started because Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack on Israel to reclaim the territories Israel captured during the 1967 Six-Day War—specifically the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.The Yom Kippur War actually began on October 6, 1973  when a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated surprise attack against Israel. This happened 6 years after 1967.  The 1967 Arab League summit (the Khartoum Conference), held in Khartoum, Sudan, from August 29 to September 1, 1967, in the aftermath of the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War.  They decided on their famous 3 NO''s.  Participants: Leaders and representatives from eight Arab states.   Oil-rich Arab nations (such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) agreed to provide financial support to Egypt and Jordan to help rebuild their economies and military forces.

                                                           

            Jews, people who would not revert from their religion to the consternation of all other religions. None would win them over, even though the religion itself divided into Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews and how they view Judaism in the late 1800's.  

          No peace with Israel

• No recognition of Israel
• No negotiations with Israel 

Later Shift: These "Three No's" guided collective Arab policy for decades until later shifts, such as the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the 1994 Jordan–Israel peace treaty, the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, and subsequent normalization agreements like the 2020 Sudan-Israel deal.                                   

The Syrians initially overran much of the Golan Heights, but, despite support from Iraqi and Jordanian troops, etc, they were stopped and driven far behind the lines from which they had attacked.                                              

Artillerymen hold their ears as 155mm guns lay down barrage on Syrian positions during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Bettman/Getty Images.

The Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal in the 1st hours of the war and seized the Israel forward positions (the "Bar Lev line").  As a result of wide-ranging tank battles, however, they were unable to progress through the Sinai Desert.  

It is said that the Israel that fought the Yom Kippur War no longer exists.  Fifty- years is a long enough time to dissipate the impact of war.

The Yom Kippur War of 1973 has probably  receded in the Israeli imagination. But its specter is more complex than Vietnam for Americans. The 2,500 Israeli soldiers killed (a fraction of the 15,000 Arabs who perished) was three times the per capita human cost of the Vietnam War to the United States. Steven Simon, writer of this article, was in Israel during that time, and everyone knew someone who’d been killed. The war was also far shorter, about 10 days, so the casualty list had an outsized emotional impact. It was not the long slog of Vietnam, but rather an avalanche.

Early in the war, Syrian armor destroyed the Israeli tank brigade deployed to the Golan Heights and reached Gesher B’not Yaakov (Jisr Banat Yaqub). Just beyond it was the Jezreel Valley. The prospect of a large Syrian armored formation penetrating the Israeli heartland was as ghastly for Israelis as it must have been thrilling for the Syrians. The United States has never experienced anything like this, including 9/11.

Both sides suffered severe losses in equipment, but when a Soviet airlift replaced Arab materiel, the US countered with a major arms airlift, starting on October 14th.  Two days later, an Israeli force crossed the Suez Canal and in a few days cut off the Egyptian 3rd Army.                                                                  

The USSR, concerned about the possibility of a major Arab defeat, invited US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Moscow to work out terms for a cease-fire, which were accepted by the UN on October 22 and became operative on October 25th. 

Israel's overall military victory was thankful but minor; as the war had grave repercussions within the country because of the initial defects revealed;  the loss of more than 2,600 men, and the effectiveness of the Arab oil weapon, used internationally for the 1st time.  

Territorial Loss in 1967: During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel seized the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip from Jordan. Egypt and Syria wanted to take back their land.  (Al Jazeera)  So they can blame Egypt in the 1st place for talking them all into attacking Israel in 1967.                                           

For the Jewish community, both in Israel and across the globe, the timing of the attack on Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement and the holiest day in Judaism—created profound religious, cultural, and historical resonances.

Restoring Honor and Leverage: Egypt and Syria wanted to shatter Israel's image of military invincibility and force the international community to take the Arab-Israeli conflict seriously.  

The Surprise Timing: The attack began on October 6, 1973. The date coincided with Yom Kippur (the holiest day in Judaism) and the Islamic month of Ramadan, catching Israeli intelligence and military forces off guard. [In 2027 Ramadan will fall in February.]  {A monstrous and bloody attack will happen again on Israel on October 7, 2023) .

Stalled Diplomacy: Peaceful efforts and proposals to negotiate a return of the land had failed over the preceding six years. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat sought a military move to break the political deadlock. 

Major Jewish Historical & Cultural References

• The Synagogue Mobilization: Because the surprise attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the vast majority of Israeli military reservists were not at their military posts; they were fasting and praying in synagogues. Because the streets were completely empty and the entire population was gathered together, commanders simply went from synagogue to synagogue to call up their units. Soldiers famously stripped off their tallitot (prayer shawls) and kittels (white holiday robes) directly over their civilian clothes to board military transports heading straight to the frontlines.
• The Debut of the "Hesder" Units: The 1973 war was the first major conflict featuring distinct Hesder army units—frameworks allowing Orthodox yeshiva students to combine intensive Torah study with active combat duty. Their frontline service, particularly in the grueling tank battles on the Golan Heights, deeply impacted the religious Zionist community and integrated military defense as a core component of their religious identity.
• The Problem of the Agunot (Chained Widows): In Jewish law, a woman cannot remarry if her husband is missing in action but his death cannot be legally verified. Following the heavy, chaotic losses of the war, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, painstakingly reviewed hundreds of military forensic cases to halachically permit the war widows to move on with their lives.
• Shift in Yom Kippur's Modern Meaning: Prior to 1973, modern secular Israelis often viewed Yom Kippur as an individual day of rest. The national trauma of nearly losing the state transformed the holiday into a deeply national day of collective remembrance. It fractured the supreme confidence built after the 1967 Six-Day War and introduced a sobering language of vulnerability and social introspection to Israeli culture. 
• What the Arabs neglected to learn was what Yom Kippur was all about.  Had they realized this, would Egypt had attacked in the 1st place?  Yom Kippur is the Jews' Day of Atonement.  It is an all day solemn fast-day  (Lev.23:32 as a Sabbath of solemn rest.  A man must cleanse himself of all sin.  It is the day on which Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the 2nd tablets of the law and announced to the people the Divine pardon for the sin of the Golden Calf.  Man is to stop all work and abstain from food, drink, and sexual intercourse;  the day was outstanding for the elaborate Temple Ceremonial.  They included the sending of the scapegoat to the wildernss  "for AZAZEL."  In the evening is the rendition of Kol Nidre, a time of canceling rash vows between man and G-d  AND  the Concluding Neilah service, saying the Shema and the declaration:  "NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM."

• 1. What Is Ramadan?

  Ramadan commemorates the month during which Muslims believe the prophet Muhammed was given the first revelations of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, from the angel Gabriel. It’s an extremely important month in the Muslim year. During this time, Muslims fast during daylight hours (no food or drink—even water—permitted from dawn to sunset) and strive to avoid any impure thoughts or immoral behavior. Participating in this observance is one of the five pillars of Islam, meaning that it is required for all healthy adult Muslims. Ramadan ends in a festival called Eid-al-Fitr, or the Festival of Breaking the Fast. Muslims celebrate and give thanks for the strength Allah imparted in them during fasting. Children receive presents and new clothes, and young girls may decorate their hands with henna.

• https://responsiblestatecraft.org/yom-kippur-war-50th-anniversary/

• The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

• Wikiwand

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