(This article does not condone either side in the current 2023 conflict nor previous conflicts involving Israel)
There is a picture of an Israeli soldier, my grandfather, peeing into the Suez Canal. He grew up in Britain and, perhaps wanting to do something exciting, joined the IDF when he was a teenager. He fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. How did this man in Israel get across the Siani desert to the Suez Canal?
Because this article focuses on a still relatively modern war which is important for contemporary politics today, I will try to remain as unbiased as possible. Yet, it is pretty easy to tell where my bias is and an unbiased perspective is an impossibility.
So why does this 1973 war matter?
The long-term causes of the war lay in the growing tensions between Jews and Muslims during what Israel now calls the "Yishuv" period which was roughly between the 19th century to 1947. Growing numbers of Jews fleeing from the Pogroms in Eastern Europe came and set up kibbutzim. These communal farming villages housed (at one point) a tenth of the Israeli population and were founded by European intellectual Jews. Often it was non-religious, well-educated, left-wing Jews who made their way to what was then called Palestine or Zion.
The 1948 independence declaration by Israel brought these tensions to a head. On the same day, several local Arab countries declared war on Israel. Israel eventually managed to stave off the invasion. The 1967 war was an attack on Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Arab nations often argue this shows Israeli imperialism, Israelis say there was indisputable evidence of another invasion like the one in 1948. Israel gained the Gaza Strip (where Hamas now are at the moment) and the West Bank. The 1973 war was a retaliation by the Arab states, they argued they wanted these terrorists returned. There is evidence that Israeli had planned to do so but a lack of communication by both sides meant nothing came of it.
The war began on October 6th 1973. The Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal. They rapidly dismantled what was supposedly a strong Israeli fortification. In the north, Syrian tanks meandered their way through the Golan Heights. Israel, forced into a war of two fronts, saw its munitions dwindle rapidly. The Soviet Union quickly gave support to Israel's enemies. To Egypt and Syria, progress looked fast and decades of illegitimate Israeli occupation in the Middle East would end. To Israel, this looked like the complete destruction of the Zionist dream, Israeli homes, identity, culture and language. Israel seen was as a safe haven to those people, but to its neighbours, Israel was (and still is) a malicious imperialistic force.
The US sent aid to Israel in response to the USSR, which led to Arab retaliation and the tripling of oil prices in the US. Within 24 hours, Israel had called up its reserves and established two armoured divisions which began making ground on both fronts. By the 25th of October, Egypt and Israel had a cease-fire and Syria stopped fighting soon after. Israel was very close to Cairo by that time and had gained more land around the Golan Heights ( a strong strategic position).
Who won? Both sides claim to. Egypt was seen by Arab countries as a traitor for signing a UN peace deal with Israel. Siani was given back to Egypt in 1982, but Egypt refused the Gaza Strip.
Does my family know much about what my grandfather did in the war? No. He never wanted to talk about it. While he has told stories of his time in the army in general, this particular event is something that haunted him. While there is a comical (and insulting) gesture by my grandfather immortalised in a photo, there are some things too terrible to talk about. Just as British soldiers did not talk about the Second World War or American Vietnam, the 1973 war was one of those conflicts which some prefer not to relive.
The conflict going on at this very moment is similar. A surprise attack on Israel. Accusations of incompetence by the IDF and Israeli intelligence are thrown around and a strong mutual hatred of the other. History looks to have repeated itself exactly 50 years and a day later.
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