A Fifty-Year Anniversary
Sermon for Yom Kippur 2024
September 24, 2023
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
I recently attended a screening of the movie Golda. The movie deserves much of the praise it’s been receiving, but it still left me feeling that something—perhaps even a lot—was missing.
Timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the movie centers on Golda Meir’s role in the preparation for, and conduct of, the war. However, despite the brilliant acting by Helen Mirren and the powerful visual and sound effects, the movie’s narrow perspective is ultimately also its biggest flaw. As a war movie, Golda fails to portray either the war or its impact on Israelis—which lasts to this day. And as a biopic of the fourth prime minister of the State of Israel, this limited view of one of the most beloved and influential politicians of the 20th century fails to tell us much about Golda’s life, her strong beliefs and ideals as a Zionist—so strong that she left her husband so she could live and work in Israel—or about the political struggles she engaged in—and won, until the very end of her life and career.
Even though 50 years have passed, a whole generation of Israelis remembers the day and even the moment that the war broke out. It was—as its name implies—on Yom Kippur, which in 1973 fell on Oct. 6. At 2 o’clock in the afternoon, on the holiest day of the Jewish year, the sirens’ wail took us all by surprise. Because it was a holy day, the only news you could hear was not from Israel’s own broadcasting authority, but from the BBC. That’s how we—the majority of Israel’s civilian population—learned of what was happening.
Some people, however, were not so surprised. On September 25, almost two weeks earlier, King Hussein of Jordan flew to Tel Aviv to personally warn Golda that the Syrians were planning an attack. His warning was not heeded. Golda preferred to leave the unfolding of events in the hand of the military establishment, particularly those responsible for intelligence gathering and analysis. Then, on October 4, only two days prior to the war’s outbreak, Golda received reliable information that Egypt and Syria were planning a joint surprise attack, to take place on Yom Kippur. The timing however, was a bit off. It was expected to happen three-to-four hours later, towards evening time.
Meanwhile, even as intelligence showed massive Arab tank, artillery and infantry buildup along both Syria’s and Egypt’s borders with Israel, Israel was warned by President Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger not to fire the first shot. Golda agreed, and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan issued orders that reservists not be called up. Despite this, on October 5, Israel’s Chief of Staff, David Elazar, popularly known as "Dado," called up a limited number of reservists—no more than a few thousand.
On the day the war broke out, a total of 500 Israeli soldiers and a handful of tanks were positioned along the entire Suez Canal. Israel’s Air Force—which had basically won for Israel the 1967, Six Day War—was grounded. Only starting on the morning of the holy day itself could you see thousands of young men, many wearing a tallit over their military uniforms, gathering at bus and train stations and at major intersections, waiting for transportation to their bases.
It was a tragic mistake that cost Israel almost 3000 lives, with almost 8000 wounded, many of whom still bear emotional and physical scars to this day.
The war started out badly from the beginning. At the end of the first day of fighting, Moshe Dayan appeared on Israeli television. Despite looking haggard—he would be suffering an emotional and psychological breakdown hours later—Dayan insisted that the war was going as expected—that Israel was taken by surprise but was winning. He was lying.
Shortly after, Golda took matters into her own hands. Sidestepping Dayan, she handed control of the war effort to the IDF Chief of Staff, David Elazar (“Dado”). A few days later, against objections from senior advisors, Golda OK’d General Ariel Sharon’s plans to cross the Suez Canal in a bold and dangerous counteroffensive. Despite heavy casualties, Sharon’s success forced Egypt’s ruler, Anwar Sadat, to agree to a ceasefire. Egypt’s defeat—despite its initial successes—and the peace deal that followed six years later—resulted in Sadat’s assassination eight years to the day after the Yom Kippur War, on October 6, 1981, at the hands of a radical Islamist.
In Israel, immediately following the war, public outcry over what became known as Ha-mechdal, “the failure,” forced the appointment of an inquiry commission to determine what went wrong. The Agranat Commission, named after its chairman, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, Dr. Shimon Agranat—concluded that the majority of the blame fell on the Chief of Staff, Dado. It cleared both Moshe Dayan and Golda of any wrongdoing.
Following this decision, Dado resigned. He died of a heart attack three years later.
Moshe Dayan continued serving for two more years as Minister of Defense, and later became one of the architects of the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.
Golda, though cleared of any blame, was the only person who took personal responsibility for the war and resigned six months later.
The discussion over who was at fault, however, still continues to this day, with most of the blame now placed on the Intelligence Branch of the IDF (Israel Defense Force) for failing to assess correctly the probability of the outbreak of war, despite reliable information it received in the weeks and days prior to October 6.
Still, questions remain. To what extent was Israel’s political leadership at fault? Was there collusion with the United States? Henry Kissinger, who along with then-President Richard Nixon had warned Israel not to fire the first shot, is known to have shared his opinion that he “dreaded an all-out Israeli victory that resulted in a decisive Arab surrender.” His intent was to teach Israel a lesson in realpolitik, to remind the Jewish state that it could not survive without relying on United States help. Even after Israel’s devastating losses during the first few days of the war, Kissinger was reluctant to replenish Israel with military equipment, finally agreeing only after he was convinced by Golda Meir that Israel would be forced to resort to the nuclear option.
Politics, as we know, is not based on romantic idealism, but rather on political expediency, arrogance and greed.
The Yom Kippur War transformed forever Israel’s psychological and political landscape. Israel has taken to heart many lessons from the trauma it suffered 50 years ago. One of these lessons is to never again allow itself to be pressured into relinquishing one of the most important purposes for which it exists: Defense of its population.
Secondly, despite the current infighting within Israel itself, Israel’s political and military leaders have learned to cooperate more fully among themselves (or so we hope). Israel will never again be caught unprepared. As one father who had lost his son in the war cried out soon after its conclusion, you don’t show up to a championship game five minutes late. You must always be prepared.
And that’s where we American Jews come into the picture today. We’ve come a long way since 1973. Jews are more influential than ever in American politics, business, and the judicial system. We’ve come to that position rightfully, both through activism and idealism. Now we must take to heart two lessons from the Yom Kippur War. First—that Kissinger was right. Israel needs the support of the United States.
Secondly, in light of the alarming spike in anti-Semitism—much of it taking the form of anti-Israelism—we must lend our full validation and assistance to Israel. We may not agree with some of her policies. We may not like some of her leaders. But one thing is certain: Neither Israel nor American Jews can afford another Yom Kippur War. We must use our influence to ensure that the US does not abandon its most reliable friend and ally in the world. We must continue to fight the surge of racist and anti-Semitic hatred and violence emanating from both right-wing and left-wing extremists. If nothing else, the Yom Kippur War is proof that violence against Israel is not disconnected from attacks against Jews and Judaism itself. Agencies such as the ADL and StandWithUs are always there, ready and able to help defend our right to live and express ourselves as Jews. We must continue to rely on these organizations and to support them in an existential war that has claimed millions of Jewish lives in the last century alone.
Yom Kippur has always served as both an individual and collective Day of Atonement. Along with other renewed pledges, on this sacred day we must also rekindle our commitment to the Jewish Nation and the Jewish People—in Israel and everywhere else in the world.
Israel is, and always was, at the heart of our national and religious existence. We pray for its continued safety and security. Adonai oz l’amo yitein, Adonai y’varech et amo bashalom: May God always grant strength to our people, may God always bless us with peace.
G’mar chatimah tova—may we all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life for a year of healthy, joy, love and peace. Amen.
© 2024 by Boaz D. Heilman
No comments:
Post a Comment