Golda Meir Israeli prime Minister during 1973
war, from her book "My Life".
" There is
nothing hard for myself than to write about
what happened in October. It had not been
only a fearful military incident, but
crisis which lived and will live inside till death.
I found myself suddenly in the greatest
threat to which Israel had been exposed since
its foundation. The shock was not only of the
way they fight, but also that a number of
bases doctrines that we believe in, had fallen
in front of us.
We believed that
a war in October is impossible. We believed
that we will receive an early warning for all
movements of the Egyptians and Syrians before
the war, and then our absolute belief in our
strength to prevent the Egyptians from
crossing Suez Canal.
Now, I recall all these days, it is something that
can not be described. It is enough that I say
that I could not cry, I was walking most of
the time in my office and sometimes I go to
the operations room, as there had been
continuous meetings, telephone calls from
America, fearful news from the front and our
losses tear my heart.
I remember that on
Sunday, Dayan (Defence Minister) returned
back from the Egyptian front, and asked to
see me immediately and told me that the
situation is very bad and there must be taken
the defence positions and that Israel forces
withdraw to a new defense line.
I was
listening to him horribly....the Egyptians
crossed the Canal" -
Golda Meir
