The Yom Kippur War and Golda Meir’s Legacy. Helen Mirren as Golda, gave us a portrait of a compassionate woman, dedicated to her country at the cost of her private life.
October 6, 2023
By: Joseph Puder
For those of you who saw the film adaptation of Golda, you must have noticed that at the very end of the film, the Agranat Commission absolved Prime Minister Golda Meir of wrongdoing in the initial failures of the Yom Kippur War. The death of over 2,500 Israeli soldiers in the October 1973 War was a traumatic experience for all Israelis and for the nation. The lack of preparedness, due to the “conception” adopted by the top brass following the Six Day War, and the arrogance of the military intelligence head, General Eli Zeira in particular, in underestimating the capabilities, and intentions of Israel’s Arab enemies was a major cause for the disastrous first week of the war that began on October 6, 1973, exactly 50-years ago. It was marked by the loss of nerve by the military leadership, contrasted with the initiative and bravery of the junior officers in the field, and the sacrifices of the army privates.
The film, starring Helen Mirren as Golda Meir (Meyerson), gives us a visceral feeling of the tension and heartache that Golda endured during that period. The filmmakers hinted at that by showing the chain-smoking Golda and the cigarette butts in the ashtray. She was led by the military establishment who advised her on all matters of military affairs including mobilization of reserve troops. Moshe Dayan, the defense minister, held to the “conception” that should the Egyptians cross the canal, a tank force would rush to the canal along with the air force to thwart such a crossing. The Egyptians did, however, take in consideration such a scenario and equipped their troops with anti-tank missiles as well as anti-air missiles. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paid a high price for that complacency. Eli Zeira convinced the General Staff that Sadat was once again bluffing about going to war. Despite the last-minute meeting by Zvi Zamir, the Mossad chief, with Ashraf Marwan, Abdul Nasser’s son-in-law, and on the staff of Anwar Sadat, who spied for Israel, doubts were raised about the impending war. Zamir returned from London urgently to warn Golda of the imminent war to be launched by Egypt and Syria at 2PM on October 6, 1973. Zeira argued that Marwan was a double agent and could not be trusted…
Prime Minister Golda Meir paid a heavy personal and political price for the initial failures of the war. She was the Prime Minister and the public needed someone at the top to take the blame. Golda was accused by her detractors of ignoring peace gestures from Sadat, and thus could have prevented the costly war. The Egyptian President wanted, however, the entire Sinai Peninsula back in exchange for a non-belligerency agreement. She wanted a real peace treaty with diplomatic relations. Some people charged that she followed the dictates of President Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who warned her against a preemptive strike. She was told that if Israel attacked first the US would not defend Israel. Since Israel depended on US arms, she followed their instruction. She soon thereafter resigned.
The Chief of Staff, Lt. General Dado Elazar took the blame even though he argued for full mobilization. It ultimately shortened his life and he died of a broken heart.
Golda Meir’s legacy has been obscured by the early debacle in the Yom Kippur War to the point that young people in today’s Israel have little memory of her role in Israel’s history. Golda Meir was among the 37 signers of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, and she was the first woman minister in Ben Gurion’s government. She was also the only woman in Israel to serve as Prime Minister, and among the first woman in the world to serve in that role. Among her many achievements as Labor Minister, 70 years ago, Golda initiated legislation that provided better conditions in the workplace, particularly for women. As Israel’s Foreign Minister, she developed close relations with African states that had achieved independence in the 1960’s. Under Golda’s initiative, Israel provided technological help to sub-Saharan African states. Israeli experts in water technology, medical assistance, and education went to Africa to aid the people. African trainees and students were brought to Israel and trained in a variety of skills. This reporter’s family hosted a trainee from Kenya in their home. Sadly, these days, if you asked a person in the streets of Israel who was Golda, the likely answer might be the owner of the Ice-cream chain called Golda(ria).
Although Golda had no military experience, her steadfastness during the Yom Kippur War led ultimately to Israel’s brilliant military victory. Perhaps unprecedented in modern history. The country emerged from the initial surprise and despair, particularly among the military and civilian leadership, to a triumph that ended at the gate of Damascus, and the surrounding of the Egyptian Third army inside Egypt. It eventually led to Sadat’s extraordinary 1977 flight to Israel, the 1979 Camp David peace accords with Egypt, and a quiet border with Syria. As Prime Minister Golda managed to secure Israel’s vital interests with the prevailing powers, especially the United States.
In her autobiographical book “My Life,” Golda Meir wrote that things remain the same even if circumstances might change along the way. She pointed out that native-born Israelis (sabras) who would eventually run the country, would strive, struggle, make mistakes, and achieve great things, much as her generation did. They too would be devoted with heart and soul to the security and prosperity of the State of Israel, and dream of a just society in this land. She added, “To be a Jew isn’t just fulfilling commandments and Jewish worship, but having the pride to belong to a nation that kept its identity for over 2,000 years, despite the pain and the tortures it suffered…”
Helen Mirren as Golda gave us a portrait of a compassionate woman, dedicated to her country at the cost of her private life. She was an idealist who left Milwaukee, Wisconsin to settle in Mandatory Palestine, and assumed the daily struggle of building the Jewish homeland with courage and determination. The painful months Israel is undergoing these days compel us to take to heart Golda’s admonition that “days of dispute is planting seeds of hatred and division that weakens our very existence in this land. It requires understanding of the other and mutual respect. Irresolution of the disputes will undermine the vision the founders had of a land in which Jews live not at the mercy of others, or as a minority...”
Israel’s leaders must take Golda’s words to heart, and her legacy of an idealist Zionism has never been more urgent.