Lesson of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Forget Ideology and Go for Facts

The disaster of the 1973 Yom Kippur War is  rooted in the faulty post- 1967 Six Days War euphoria. There are two equally mistaken and problematic parts to the faulty readings of the significance of our 1967 victory. One was simply proven wrong with the 1973 attack, and the other unfortunately is still worshiped as the primary ideology of every single Israeli Government since June, 1967.

1. The IDF is such a fantastic army, and the 1967 victory so stunning that the Arabs will never dare attack us again.
2. The Lands conquered in the 1967 war should be used as a barter for peace with the Arabs. Earlier on, there was a simple formula stating that Sinai and Gaza could return to Egypt, the Golan to Syria and Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley to Jordan. More recently, Israel joined its international enemies by promoting a new concept called the "Palestinian State." 

Nixon Foundation, ...the armies of Anwar Sadat’s Egypt and Hafez al-Assad’s Syria launched surprise attacks on Israel. The Arab armies took advantage of Israel’s observation of the holiest day of the Jewish calendar — Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement — when broadcasting is curtailed and many soldiers are given leave to be with their families.

Here we are forty-two years later, after a surprise attack that shouldn't have been a surprise at all if the Israeli Government, Defense and Information departments had been on the ball looking at the facts on the ground rather than cocooned in it's overconfidence, relying on myths rather than the information which had been building up.

Yes, the Israeli Government admitted afterwards that there had been clear signs of a military build up on both the Syrian and Egyptian fronts, but the political leaders were so convinced with Israel's "invincibility" that it didn't take preventative measures. I recently heard my neighbor and rabbi, Harav Elchanan Bin-Nun talk about his experiences as a tank driver on the Golan Heights during the early stage of the war in a crucial battle which ended up being the turning point and beginning of our recovery and eventual victory. Not only wasn't there a battle plan for the soldiers to follow, but equipment wasn't organized and ready. There was total anarchy in the IDF command.

For years I've been saying that the American Government interfered in the war. They didn't assist Israel. Nixon had hoped for a stalemate in order to become the power in the Middle East. Just now when I was looking for a map of the war, I found the proof on his foundations' site:

"...But RN immediately and intuitively saw them as an intriguing geopolitical development that combined the possibility of great danger with the potential for great opportunity. If this unexpected war could be settled in a way that disgraced or disadvantaged neither side too seriously, it might result in the first opportunity in decades to achieve a peace by breaking some new negotiating ground. Indeed, it was precisely this kind of multi-dimensional diplomatic chess that was RN’s forte. Not only would the Arabs and Israelis have to be alternately cajoled and led into a new kind of balanced relationship, but Soviet influence in the region would have to be finessed in a way that wouldn’t derail the carefully constructed policy of détente. The risks were great; but the reward would be a major element of RN’s goal of a generation of peace." (emphasis mine)

It's clear that he, Nixon, considered us a pawn in his scheme. And Israel's reliance on the Jewish Secretary of State Kissinger was another dumb mistake or miscalculation.

Over and over the United States has shown that it isn't a true ally of the State of Israel, but our government refuses to accept that fact.

And since 1973, Israel has been forced to accept the fact that the IDF isn't invincible; the Arabs aren't afraid of us.

Unfortunately the second post Six Days War faulty conclusion has only expanded and is more dangerous to the security and continued existance of the State of Israel than ever imagined. Now, instead of believing/claiming that we can "return the lands to Jordan, Syria and Egypt for peace," now Israel has been begging the Arab terror authority, PLO=Fatah=Hamas to negotiate a new Arab state which would be called "Palestine."

Hamas: Ruling West Bank it could destroy Israel “with a speed that no one can imagine”Hamas leader Al-Zahar:
If Hamas were to transfer "what it has [in Gaza] or just a small part of it to the West Bank" it would destroy Israel "with a speed that no one can imagine."

"We will build an Islamic state in Palestine, all of Palestine"

New Poll: Hamas leader Haniyeh would defeat Abbas in elections in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Haniyeh - 55%, Abbas - 38%

Successive Israeli Governments have stringently ignore the fact that these Arab groups aim to destroy Israel and promote the return of Arabs to pre-1967 Israel cities such as Haifa, Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Jerusalem.

In order to understand the cause of the 1973 war, we must reevaluate 1967. And then we must take these conclusions further and change Israeli Government policy. There must be no more cooperation with any attempts to establish a Palestinian State. No negotiations and a zero tolerance for Arab terrorist acts of all sorts, even if there aren't Jewish fatalities.

My conclusion is based on facts not on wishful-thinking ideology!