Days of Atonement, Renewal ; 'Not the Economy This Time, Stupid'

Summary

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The sun was sinking into the Mediterranean on the eve of Yom Kippur 31 years ago this week, and 3 million Jews were preparing their devotions as the climax of the final days of the dying year. The faithful were concentrating on the most solemn of celebrations of their faith, supplicants atoning for their sins and praying to God to inscribe their names in the Book of Life for the dawning year.

Unbeknownst to nearly all of them, 100,000 Egyptian soldiers, behind 1,350 tanks and supported by 2,000 pieces of artillery, were moving stealthily across the west bank of the Suez Canal, marching in an order of battle that was meant to thwart the millions of Israeli prayers. Moving from another direction, the Syrian army with 1,460 tanks rallied in support of the Egyptians. Arrayed against them were a far smaller number of Israeli tanks and artillery batteries.

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Extract

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Days of Atonement, Renewal ; 'Not the Economy This Time, Stupid'

When the shooting started, Israel was both astonished and stunned. In a detailed narrative in "The Yom Kippur War," Abraham Rabinovich, a correspondent for the Jerusalem Post and other newspapers wh...

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