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"Chief of Staff begged to 'finish their airports'": Yom Kippur cabinet meetings revealed
The cabinet is required to make a dramatic decision at noon on Yom Kippur - a preliminary blow to Egypt and Syria.
Some ministers sought to postpone the decision when Prime Minister Meir's words were interrupted by the alarm, and the military secretary announced "the Syrians opened fire." The next day, Dayan admitted: "We did not think there would be a war." 47 years later, the protocols open.
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Yom Hakkipurim War
Golda Meir
Moshe Dayan
uncle Eliezer
Eli Ashkenazi
Sunday, 06 June 2021, 16:00
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At 12:00 on Saturday afternoon, Yom Kippur 1973, the Defense Ministerial Committee (Cabinet) was urgently convened at the Prime Minister's Office, Golda Meir, in Tel Aviv. "I guess everyone knows about the news that came until some time ago. The assumption is that this evening, at dusk, or shortly before dark, a full attack will begin on both fronts," Defense Minister Moshe Dayan clarified, reviewing Egypt and Syria's battle plans. At this time there was still no information about the designated time when Egypt and Syria would start the war and whether they would do so simultaneously.
The Prime Minister informed the participants that this morning, together with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff (David Elazar) and the Chief of Staff (Israel Tal), the Chief of the Security Service (Eli Zeira) sat down and the Chief of Staff and everyone else begged: 'Give us half an hour I will admit and confess that my heart is very attracted to it, but I know what kind of world we live in ... and I understand the degree of justice and fairness and fairness in the world ... and we all said - it's a pity But it's not going to work. "
This decision, that Israel will not be the first to attack Egypt and Syria, although it is already clear that they are about to start a war, appears in the secret protocols revealed today (Sunday) by the IDF archives at the Ministry of Defense, in coordination with the state archives. The government, Golda Meir, and the ministers were surprised by the outbreak of the war.
More on Walla!
47 years later: New color documentation from the Yom Kippur War is revealed
To the full article
"Friends, this is a battle for the Land of Israel": General Staff discussions in the Yom Kippur War
Chief of Staff Elazar in the pit in the Kirya, alongside former Chief of Staff Yadin and General Zeevi in the end of the Yom Kippur War (Photo: Official website, IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense)
This is a file of meetings of the Committee of Ministers of Defense (Cabinet), which was approved for disclosure by the government committee of the Supreme Court (retired) Prof. Yitzhak Englard.
The cabinet file, which was a major part of the Agranat Committee's exhibits, includes hundreds of pages of minutes from the days before the war and the days of the battles on the Sinai and Golan Heights fronts.
At a dramatic Saturday afternoon meeting, Dayan updated that "the matter of information started with the Americans coming to us and saying they had credible information, that they were going to attack us and we told them it was not true. It was a few days ago. We told them: 'Listen to what is happening with Egypt. Great exercise ... it's a total exercise ', only in the last forty-eight hours did the symptoms start to come. The first was the departure of the Russians, it lit a red light for us. "He said," 12 hours ago they (the Americans) said that their assessment was that the Arabs were not going to attack. If the Arabs do not attack - they will not attack. And what did we do? All the Russians fled and they advanced forces, so - we mobilized our forces, but did not open fire. I do not think there will be a big claim against us in this situation. If the Arabs attack - we have to make sure it's a clear cut case '".
Ministers understand that this is a crucial time. The Prime Minister explains that it is necessary to hold a vote on whether Israel should strike a blow first. Justice Minister Yaakov Shimshon Shapira (Array) believes that Israel must act first. He is aware that "when you start a fire - the political consideration works and must act", and yet clarifies: "It is very sad that we appear as aggressors in 1967, but it is very good that we were like that, because otherwise who knows if we were at all."
By the way, about three weeks after the war began, Shapira was convinced that Dayan had to draw personal conclusions and resign. His demand was rejected by Dayan and Meir. Shapira resigned from the government himself and did not return to public activity.
Some cabinet ministers nevertheless seek to postpone the decision on a preemptive strike. "I do not care and I will not leave here anyway," says the prime minister, adding: "If the members want to sit down - on the contrary. But I can tell you, we will meet here at 16:30 - if that happens then."
Meir's remarks are interrupted.
The protocol states that "an up and down alarm sounds."
Then "Brigadier General Israel Lior (the prime minister's military secretary) enters the yeshiva."
Lior: "It's starting, there are already jumps in Syria, the Syrians have opened fire."
Golda Meir: "We are staying here."
Lior: The disguise of the cannons and the Syrians began to call planes. "
The Yom Kippur War began.
More on Walla!
"Let them shout that we are ascending Damascus": the decision on the Golan front in the Yom Kippur War
To the full article
"Admits and confesses that my heart is very drawn to it, but I know what world we live in."
Prime Minister Golda Meir (Photo: AP, Bob Daugherty)
At the end of that meeting, the government decides on a partial mobilization of the reserve. Full recruitment of Air Force reserves and four armored divisions. They update on political steps that need to be taken and issue a directive "not to prevent the Westerners of the territories who work in Israel from coming to work."
At ten o'clock at night, on Saturday evening and the evening of Yom Kippur, the cabinet convened again. The chief of staff is also at the yeshiva and presents the picture of the battle on both fronts - in Sinai and the Golan Heights. Among other things, Elazar says: "We have another place that has caused us a lot of heartache so far and that is the Hermon outpost. We received a report that the enemy soldiers were at the post and they had entered the bunkers. Our contact with the outpost was terminated and for several hours there was no contact with them. The Golani Brigade is on the move to retake it and I have just received a report that there is a connection with the outpost and they are in the bunkers and holding out. There are members of the Armed Forces and the Air Force, and there are 60-70 guys, including reservists."According to the latest information - this post did not fall and I hope that during the night we will connect it."
Chief of Staff Elazar updates on attacks by Syrian planes near Kfar Giladi, on Tiberias, Kiryat Shmona and Poria and an attempt to hit the airstrip in Mahnayim. He admits that what is happening in the Suez Canal "in the end I am quite in the fog.
The canal has some Egyptian successes, i.e .: they have some outposts on our side.
They already have some bridges ... we are in the unpleasant stage and it always happens in the braking stage.
So far we have stopped him quite well, but we have not finished and tonight is problematic. "
Prime Minister Meir and Chief of Staff Elazar (Photo: Official Website, Avi Simchoni, IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense and "In the Camp")
Soldiers write letters home during the Yom Kippur War (Photo: Official website, courtesy of the IDF Archives and the defense establishment Photographer "in the camp")
Defense Minister Dayan explains to the ministers the necessity that led to Israel not starting the war first: "The decision not to wage a pre-emptive war. We must recognize that this is the state of the system in which we live with its consequences." He also found it appropriate at this time to explain the constraints that dictated the order of the IDF forces at the start of the war: “We do not want to keep the entire country mobilized for all these years. We do not want and can not bear it. "
Dayan reminds ministers that only a few months ago it was decided to shorten compulsory service from three years to two and a half years and says:" A country with less than three million Jews, wants to hold the lines for years and live a normal life. "Very well, knowing that we live on reserve, and it takes time to recruit them."
The next day, at ten in the morning, the cabinet convenes again and this time the chief of staff participates in the meeting. Haim Bar-Lev, who, in addition to being Minister of Trade and Industry, also enlisted in the reserve, a friend of Elazar and who was the chief of staff before him,Asks about the Hermon outpost.
Elazar replies: "Hermon fell and we did not return it. Some killed, some wounded and some must have been captured. We do not have an exact number but it seems that about 15 people managed to escape in small groups."
Eleazar tells the cabinet ministers: "We are currently waging the most difficult war in the most difficult conditions, we would be defending against an attacking enemy which is a big priority, and with limited preparations because we were on our side with the regular army and not with reserve army and it is without preventive action, this is the hardest battle. "We entered the war quite hastily. May I remind you that in 1967 the entire army was drafted and prepared two weeks before. This time the reserves entered the battle less than 24 hours after leaving the house."
"I'm not ashamed of our intelligence."
Defense Minister Dayan (Photo: Official Website, IDF Spokesman, IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense)
At a meeting at nine, on the evening of the same day, the Minister of Absorption, Natan Peled, blamed the sin of the decision to mobilize reserves late and the decision not to land a preventive strike.
Dayan replies: "We have to be honest with ourselves. We did not make the decision to enlist a moment later than we had the assumption, because they are indeed going to war. We reached this assumption on Saturday morning based on the assessments of the Armed Forces. If there had been an assessment of the IDF two days before that, we would have recruited then. "
Peled: "The IDF is also us."
Dayan: "We did not think there would be a war."
Peled: "We saw the Syrian line against us and we saw the Egyptian line in front of us and we did not have a proper assessment of this matter."
Dayan: "Whoever has the monopoly to know What the other side is about to do will please him. I'm not ashamed of our intelligence. "
Prime Minister Golda Meir: "I do not know what we want from ourselves ... It is very serious that we were surprised and did not know before. In general we are spoiled, we need to know exactly when Arabs start something. After the victory we will sit and do surgery. But should we deal with it "Now, when we have the problem, what to do tomorrow morning in the Golan Heights and how to fend off the Egyptian tanks? What will we argue about now?"
Later on, anger grows over the same discussion: "There is also a limit to nerves. We sit from seven in the morning. Every hour and every half hour there is something and here it may no longer be a disaster. Shall we now begin to investigate some investigation?".
Dayan, for his part, excuses himself: "The Egyptians are not calling me that they are going to go to war ... until Saturday morning at four o'clock. The assumption was that they were not going to war. It came to us from a very reliable intelligence source. "
The Prime Minister goes on to say of the same source: "It is impossible to say the source from which we received the news. In a miracle the news reached us. A hundred years later it will be possible to say that we still knew and how fantastic it is that we received this alert."
Meir and Dayan probably refer to Ashraf Marwan, Nasser's son-in-law and Sadat's adviser.
Marwan was a source of the Mossad and 14 hours before the start of the war he met in London with the head of the Mossad, Zvi Zamir.
At the meeting he was briefed on the impending war.
Hermon Post (Photo: Government Press Office)
IDF tanks cross the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War (Photo: GettyImages)
Contrary to Meir, his name was revealed much earlier than she had predicted and in 1997 he was found dead under the balcony of his London apartment, in circumstances that have not been clarified to date. At the same meeting on Sunday evening, the chief of staff did not attend. At this time he is in the south, where the situation is serious.
Defense Minister Dayan reports the number of casualties, the planes that were shot down and the tanks that were taken out of use and explains what the plans are to repel the Egyptians. "If the tanks and the Air Force and Eric are with our help." "God and Eric," the prime minister adds.
Dayan also compliments the chief of staff: "Since the chief of staff is not there, I want to say something in his praise here. Sometimes it is very problematic but it has very good results in war. He put all the veterans of the movement into the war. And it's not easy. "Dayan then updates that" as instructed by the prime minister, we have now asked the Americans to ask for planes and tanks and other weapons. For now, the response from the Pentagon is not bad. "
"Mir is good, how am I an orphan" (Blessed and good to me, I am an orphan, AA), Meir said sarcastically.
"If the tanks and the Air Force and Eric are with us."
Division Commander Arik Sharon at a briefing for Prime Minister Meir (Photo: Official website, IDF Spokesman, courtesy of the IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense and the Defense System)
PM Meir Visits IDF Wounded (Photo: Official Website, IDF Spokesman, Courtesy of the IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense and the Defense System)
The protocols unveiled today end on the evening of October 14, at a meeting that deals with assessments for the success of the Suez Canal.
"I suggest Sntzlh the canal as an operative move. The move only when we have a chance to reach a decision," says Hrtmc"l.
The dilemma and the Prime Minister understand 'what was offered to us it will not be a picnic ", but failed to understand that the preferred option is to" break Them (the Egyptians, AA).
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