In his testimony before the Agranat Committee, Col. Gabi Amir, commander of the 460th Armored Brigade during the Yom Kippur War, described the fateful and difficult hours of the fighting in Sinai, in the following words: "It is reported on the networks that the enemy is advancing and is beginning to attack us... I saw that tanks and armored personnel carriers were deployed three or four kilometers away, advancing, stopping, firing – including a huge amount of infantry. All of this is heading in the direction of us, forward. It was a sight no one had seen before. We got permission to fold back. We got approval, but we didn't back down."
Even after 50 years of the Yom Kippur War, it is clear why the difficult war ended as it did. Faced with the intensity of surprise and the failure of warning and deterrence that led to a real threat to the State of Israel, stood the heroism and resourcefulness of the commanders and fighters on the ground. thanks to dedication, courage, initiative, dedication to the mission and sacrifice; At the base of all of them was a sense of mission on behalf of the people and the homeland. Thanks to all this, the campaign that began at a complete disadvantage ended in an impressive victory.
Devotion and courage led to the turnaround. An Israeli tank in the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War, photo: David Rubinger
I was a Bar Mitzvah boy when the war broke out. And since those days, every year, at the Memorial Day ceremony in the Tzahala neighborhood where I grew up, the succession of names of the 11 fallen soldiers of the Yom Kippur War, members of the neighborhood, echoed in my ears: neighbors and friends, brothers of my best friends, best friends of my brothers. The war left its mark on an entire generation, which suffered a fatal blow and experienced a great crisis. The wound that opened in those days fifty years ago is doubtful that it will ever heal.
Two main lessons the war taught us, and they resonate again in their relevance half a century later.
The first of these was well described by my father, the late sixth President Chaim Herzog in his book "The Doomsday War," when he wrote that even earlier, in the background of the Six-Day War: "The atmosphere of 'we were dreamers' that surrounded the Israeli public caused it to ignore many weak points that were discovered in the IDF during the victory in that war, and in particular the fact that Israeli intelligence assessments regarding the Arabs' intentions on the eve of the war were false." This was reinforced by the Yom Kippur War, and the lesson is clear – the State of Israel must and must always be prepared and ready for any scenario and any campaign. It is required to nurture and encourage the production of high-quality, integrated and diverse intelligence, which acts humbly and shrewdly and examines itself again and again.
We learned well from the weeks preceding the war that we must not ignore the ten clouds of war and indicative signs, and we must not bask in yesterday's euphoria and achievements, however mighty. It is always important that we have the ability to defend ourselves – in any way, anytime, anywhere.
In retrospect, it turned out that Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat had conveyed clear messages in the years preceding the war about his desire for a peace process. Unfortunately, just as the signs of war were not properly addressed 50 years ago, so too was the hand extended for peace ignored
And there is another, equally important lesson: do not ignore signs of peace. In retrospect, it turned out that Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat had conveyed clear messages in the years preceding the war about his desire for a peace process. Unfortunately, just as the signs of war were not properly addressed 50 years ago, so too was the hand extended for peace ignored. Indeed, peace, which until then seemed almost imaginary, became a few years after the war, and thanks in large part to our victory in the Yom Kippur War, an existing fact that we are all blessed with.
The Yom Kippur War changed the face of the state and society and shook them politically, politically, consciously and socially. Some argue that this is the point at which internal Israeli solidarity eroded, and we all see the deepening of polarization processes today. The events of recent months have widened the rifts in Israeli society, turning their unification into the most difficult and important battle that awaits us, perhaps since the dramatic days of the Yom Kippur War. The effort to bring the groups together in the nation, to make connections, to mediate between the different extremes and to build bridges of agreement – was and still is my life's mission, and the destiny of Israeli society.
Half a century after the Yom Kippur War, we all remember with admiration our heroic brothers of glory, those who paid the heaviest and heaviest price of all: the fallen soldiers of the war, their families living in the shadow of loss, and the wounded of war, body and soul. On this day, we all bow our heads before the enormity of their sacrifice, and wish to be worthy of it as a state, as a society and as citizens.
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