The 1973 Yom Kippur War

By Nicole Sivan

We recently observed the holiday of Yom Kippur, the most holy day in the Jewish year. Much has been discussed about the sanctity of the day as well as the pleasure of the holiday for non-religious Israelis. However, I could not let Yom Kippur pass by without also addressing the day’s historical significance for the modern State of Israel, specifically the events and aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. This war shattered Israel’s military confidence while boosting the Arab’s world image, both of which directly influenced the establishment of the peace process between Israel and its neighbors and forever ended the conflict between Egypt and Israel.

On October 6, 1973, the day of Yom Kippur, an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria launched a joint surprise attack on Israel. As is the custom in Israel on Yom Kippur, the country was in a complete shutdown and both religious and secular citizens were observing the fast. During the holiday no one in Israel drives; the roads are deserted, all businesses as well as the airport are closed, television and radio broadcasts are silenced and soldiers are sent home on leave.

Meeting little resistance because of the holiday, the Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed the ceasefire lines established after the June 1967 War– Egypt into the Sinai Peninsula and Syria into the Golan Heights. Israel found itself fighting for its very survival while the Arabs fought to win back their military honor. The war also escalated Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, with the United States supporting and resupplying Israel and the Soviet Union helping the Arab nations.

In the first three days of the war Egypt crossed the Suez Canal and marched across the Sinai almost unopposed–only small units of the Israeli army were in position to fight and hold the Egyptians back. After these three days, Israel completed mobilizing its reserve army and halted the Egyptian offensive. The same story repeats itself on the Golan Heights and it took three days before Israel managed to push the Syrians back to the ceasefire lines. Israel’s losses were high and the fear was overwhelming during these first days that the country was not militarily stronger than its neighbors. Many felt the very existence of the State was at risk.

After Israel recovered from the surprise attack, it launched a 4-day counter offensive into Syria. Israeli artillery reached the outskirts of Damascus. Israel and Egypt reached a stalemate in the Sinai and Egypt managed to hold its new position on the Peninsula. However, Egypt’s new confidence resulted in a miscalculation of its power and the country decided to embark on a renewed offensive against Israel. This battle plan failed disastrously and it motivated Israel to push forward through the Sinai, regaining all territory captured in 1967. In fact, by the end of this war, the Israeli army even crossed the Suez Canal and moved into Egypt proper. Israel encircled the Egyptian Third Army and the city of Suez, essentially defeating Egypt and leaving the country with little bargaining power.

The first of two ceasefires was reached on October 22, 1973 but it quickly failed, like the first ceasefire agreed upon between Israel and Hamas this past summer. The second ceasefire negotiated on October 25 held and it was enforced by both the United States and the Soviet Union.

Despite Israel’s military success by the end of the war and the complete defeat of the Egyptian and Syrian armies, the Yom Kippur War has always been viewed as a bit of a loss for Israel and an almost victory for the Arabs. The Arab world was humiliated by the June 1967 Six Day war when Israel defeated the Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian armies and conquered the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. However, this new round of hostilities vindicated the Arab world thanks to their early success in the war. In Israel, confidence was shattered even though the country eventually mobilized and regained all territory lost, and more, in the first three days of the war. But, the Israeli army was caught off guard and unprepared, and all of the cockiness and confidence gained during the 1967 War vanished with this realization. Israel had become complacent after the success of 1967 and 1973 woke them up to the dangers of this mentality. The week leading up to the war produced many signs that war was imminent, but Israeli intelligence dismissed each and every indication that Egypt and Syria were preparing to attack.

In the months following the war many Israeli Army Generals, as well as Israel’s Prime Minister, Golda Meir, resigned from office. The war inflicted a severe psychological blow to Israel, over 3,000 soldiers were killed, almost 300 captured, and anger was directed against the government for this failure.
On the other hand, Arab success healed the trauma caused by the defeat in the 1967 War and allowed the Arabs to negotiate with Israel as equals. Egypt even holds a national holiday each year on October 6: Armed Forces Day, where it celebrates its early victory against Israel during this war.

The Yom Kippur War changed the mentality of both the Arab world and Israel. It convinced the Arab nations that Israel could not be defeated militarily and forced Israel to realize it was more vulnerable then previously believed. These new perceptions eventually paved the way for the peace process between Israel and its neighbors and led to the 1978 Camp David Accords. Under these accords Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and Egypt in turn became the first Arab country to officially recognize the existence of the State of Israel.

For anyone who wants to learn more about the Yom Kippur War, I recommend reading: The Yom Kippur War, The Epic Encounter That Transformed The Middle East, by Abraham Rabinovich.

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