The Lingering Trauma Of the Yom Kippur War
Processing the trauma of the Yom Kippur War has taken Israelis four decades, with testimony by former Prime Minister Golda Meir finally being disclosed Sept. 12.
As if 40 years had not passed, the Yom Kippur War consumed the media landscape these past days, even capturing newspaper headlines and leading on television and radio newscasts. The talk shows and special broadcasts show photographs from the 1973 war, recordings from the military communication network and testimonies from the Agranat Commission that investigated the circumstances of the outbreak of the conflict.
The prime minister at the time of the war, Golda Meir, was featured in newspaper headlines on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, after the testimony she gave to the Agranat commission was released for the first time last week, on Sept. 12. Her words were so powerful and shattering, as if she were speaking about a tragedy that happened just now rather than four decades ago.
Those who prefer new media could download the “October” application to their phone or tablet to bring together the fascinating stories of the war that has become a synonym for national trauma, intelligence disasters, blindness and arrogance. At the same time, academic conferences, panels and exhibitions are being held dealing with the war.
What is no less fascinating than the media and academic attention is the great interest shown by the public through the tremendous amount of words recently written about the war and in the photos and sounds from it. According to data from the Israel Audience Research Board published on Sept. 15, television programs about the war have received impressive ratings on every channel, even compared with the reality shows that regularly top the charts. This data reveals that even the very young, born long after the Yom Kippur War, and immigrants who arrived after it have shown a keen interest in it.
