We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
On October 6, 1973, the young State of Israel went through a trial of fire and came perilously close to losing. Israel’s fate hung in balance while overwhelming Arab forces advanced into the heart of the tiny country, bringing Israel close to total annihilation. Also referred to as the Ramadan War or October War, the Yom Kippur War was a historic conflict that helped shape the future of US-Israel relations.
A Syrian and Egyptian-led coalition supported by the former Soviet Union launched a surprise attack on Israel the morning of October 6. The attacks focused on the Golan Heights and the Sinai, territories gained by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. 32,000 Egyptian troops crossed the Suez Canal and advanced almost unopposed into the Sinai. They quickly overwhelmed the Bar Lev Line, a series of fortifications Israeli military experts claimed was impenetrable.
Meanwhile, Syria opened fire on Israeli’s northern border with 140 batteries of artillery as 1,260 Syrian tanks began to advance in the Golan Heights. Most of Israel was fasting and praying at this time, and were in shock and distress over the attacks.
In response to an urgent request from Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, President Richard Nixon initiated an aerial resupply operation to Israel starting on October 13. Nicknamed “NICKEL GRASS”, the airlift soon proved the value of maintaining a responsive and efficient military airlift system. For the next 32 days, MAC C-141 and C-5 cargo transports streamed steadily into Lod International Airport at Tel Aviv from load points throughout the United States carrying urgently needed war materials.
Through Operation Nickel Grass, the United States saved the Jewish state from a devastating defeat at the hands of Arabs armed to the teeth with Soviet weaponry.
The Yom Kippur War clarified for the American people where the various Middle East players stood when it came to the Cold War. The Soviet Union had made it unmistakably clear that it was Israel’s enemy, just as it was the enemy of the United States. The war marked a turning point in Israel’s relation with the United States on a strategic level as well. Israel not only proved proficient at destroying Soviet weaponry used against it by Egypt and Syria, it also shared captured Soviet weapons with the United States. This was an intelligence coup for the U.S. military, and it demonstrated that oil was not the only strategic asset available to the United States in the Middle East. Israel, too, was an asset.
Peace in the middle east has always been a chimerical quest, sadly. It seems there are “bad guys” all around. The Soviets were an obvious enemy. Egypt and Syria were/are islamic majority dictatorships. But it was Israel that actually attacked the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, killing 34 American seamen and wounding 171. This was a deliberate attack by Israeli aircraft dropping napalm, firing rockets, and strafing, even destroying life boats. Torpedo boats launched four torpedoes, one of which hit. The attack lasted hours. They didn’t want any survivors to tell the tale. Yet ask any American who our greatest ally is in the middle east and they will surely repeat the lie that it is Israel. It is a fallacy of logic to assume every conflict has a good guy and a bad guy. Was Stalin a good guy because he fought Hitler? Sometimes it is just one bad guy beating up on another bad guy and America doesn’t need to insert herself into the fray.
With allies like this, who needs enemies.
The fact Israel keeps winning against impossible odds should be proof that God wants Israel right where it is…AND proves, decisively, that Islam does NOT worship the same God as do Jews & Christians. Our God defeated their moon God when Jesus died, was buried, then was resurrected. Our God reigns!
This is why it is so vital that we pray for Muslims to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus. A revival of sorts has already begun. We need to pray also for their safety once they convert to Jesus. The Muslims sentence to death anyone who leaves Islam…which proves their God is not our God. The penalty for leaving witchcraft, as well as the penalty for leaving most pseudo-Christian cults, is the same as the penalty for leaving Islam: death. Islam feeds the demons & the Muslim “god.” It is the bloodiest religion, bar none, & as a former occult member, I know the devil thrives on shed blood, pain, hate, wickedness. And SEXUAL MISCONDUCT & THE DESTRUCTION OF INNOCENTS – As long as we kill the unborn…a greater death toll in a year than all the mass shootings combined…we feed the devil…& we wonder why we’re suddenly in the middle of so much gone wrong?? We’ve taken ourselves out from under His protection! We must stop abortion & promiscuity, which Satan also freds on. BTW, God saved me out of the occult & IMO that means anyone can get saved…all we need is prayer…& to share Him with others as He directs).
The saddest part of this story is that Henry Kissinger convinced then President Nixon to hold off on the transfer of weapons to Israel at first and “let them bleed a bit” to gain political leverage over them. Had the airlift started sooner, Israel may have gained the advantage even sooner. Israel while still the victor was treated as the loser & basically forced to leave Egypt in the Sinai, and let Syria regain control of Kanitra in the Golan Heights. Very little good came of this war. Israel was politically weaker and lost for it’s population an enormous number of soldiers.
All that happened in 6 days? I’m talking about how Israel made absolute fools of the arabs. I’m talking about what an amazing 6 day war it was. Personally I dont know nothing about kissinger and nixon. Were they there fighting?? Gee i get off just reading about the battles.
Sarge, You’re thinking of the June 1967 Six Day War. 1973 Yom Kippur War lasted from Oct 6 to the 25th. It was not the easy victory of 1967 by any stretch. It was a costly painful war that many Israelis still have some very bitter feelings over. They felt that the government let them down & was woefully unprepared for.
Oh, my bad. Thanks for the imput.
Andrew, did you mean to write “forced to leave Sinai and let Syria regain control of Kanitra in the Golan Heights”? Or did you mean Israel gave back territory it stole from Syria and Egypt in 1967?
It is hard to paint Kissinger as somehow an enemy of Israel. It was Kissinger that put McNamara on the radio to order Navy fighters just launched to aid the USS Liberty under attack by Israel, to return to the carrier. 34 American seamen died in that attack. The treason runs high. But what do you expect from these “citizens of the world”? Loyalty to their country?
God has His way of protecting Israel even it it’s by using America or any other country. It’s my prayer that America will always stand with Israel.
If you enjoy war stories, and stories of great victories against overwhelming odds, you should read about the six day war. It is such a good story. Its just amazing how Israel was so out numbered and out gunned, yet prevailed. A real feel good story. Honest, if your not familiar, its war at its greatest.
The Yom Kippur was an absolute gas!! Isreal spanked those arabs silly. I mean, how embarrassing!! The arabs had all the advantages, all the logistic advantage, everthing, and they got wasted. They looked like a bunch of fools, running amuck in the desert. Isreal can still slap them silly anytime they want.
There was a famous joke at that time.
A large company of Arabs are behind a hill ready to confront Israelis who are over another hill across a plain and they send one shnook out to see what is over the hill, what they are in for.
The Arab comes running back at breakneck speed yelling, “Run for your lives! There’s two of them.”
Hey, thats a good one!!