Yom Kippur War
October 1973
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
On October 6, 1973, which marked the year’s Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur in Jewish tradition:
the holiest day of prayer and fasting in the Jewish calendar, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise
attack on Israel. The attack caught the Israeli military off guard because soldiers were participating
in the religious celebrations. As a result, Israeli forces were overwhelmed and Egyptian troops
crossed into the Sinai Peninsula while Syrian troops advanced into the Golan Heights. Israel’s
prospects looked bleak as it faced a war on two fronts.1 The two superpowers of the Cold War, the
United States and the Soviet Union, extended their powers to bolster their influence in the Middle
East by providing arms, and financial and technical support to their respective sides: the US
supporting Israel and the USSR supporting the Arab world .
1
HISTORY OF THE PROBLEM
1967 Six-Day War2
The Six-Day War lasted from June 5 to June 10, 1967, and was
fought between Israel and its neighboring Arab states of Egypt,
Jordan and Syria. The conflict was one of many between Israel
and the Arab world. Israel launched a preemptive strike on the
grounds of self-defense and ran a successful military campaign.
The war culminated with Israel’s land conquests of the Gaza
Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and
East Jerusalem from Jordan and the Golan Heights from Syria,
territories of great strategic value. Not only did Israel win a
decisive victory against the strongest Arab states, it also
butchered Arab morale. The humiliation of the defeat escalated
tensions leading up to the events of October 6, 1973, and created
the basis for the Yom Kippur War of 1973.3
2
DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM
Israel suffered severe losses in human life and equipment as they fought on two fronts against
Egypt and Syria. Near the height of the conflict, 2567 solders’ lives were lost and another 7500
were wounded. Other Arab states contributed military aid and financial support, and Saudi Arabia
1
2
Arab World: Arabic-speaking countries and populations in North Africa, Western Asia, and the Middle East
Preemptive: an action done to deter a situation or occurrence
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went as far as imposing an oil embargo on the US and other western nations who supported
Israel.4 Despite these efforts, Israel was able to push the Egyptians and Syrians back and almost
reached both nations’ capitals.
3
Syrian Front
&
Egyptian Front
Syrian Front5
The Syrian forces comprised four
divisions with a total of 400 tanks
and 1200 machineguns, compared to
the two divisions and 177 tanks of
the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
stationed at the border of the Golan
Heights. The Syrians initially
overpowered the IDF advantaged by
the element of surprise. On October
7, the Syrian tanks reached the Sea
of Galilee and gained control of
Mount
Hermon,
an
Israeli
stronghold. However, the IDF
reserves increased Israeli troop
numbers, and by October 9 they
6
regained lost territory further pushing into Syrian land. The Syrians turned to their allies Morocco,
Iraq and Jordan for extra troops to protect the capital of Damascus. The Israelis made it to 24 miles
outside the city, and on October 21, the Israelis finally regained Mount Hermon. The Syrian
military suffered losses of 4000 men, 1100 tanks and 168 planes.7
(Map adapted from Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict)
Egyptian Front8
The Egyptian forces comprised of ten divisions spread as land and airborne troops. These divisions
included Special Forces with a total of 2000 machineguns and about 50 missiles compared to the 268
tanks of the IDF. The Egyptian’s campaign was initially successful similarly to the Syrians due to
the element of surprise. In addition, the Egyptians were stationed on higher ground giving them an
advantage in battle. This advantage allowed them to gain control of the Suez Canal. The Egyptians
also benefitted from their more advanced technological weaponry provided by the Soviet Union,
whereas the Israelis suffered due to their older equipment. A critical piece of equipment was the
anti-tank weapons that counteracted Israeli advances, and surface-to-air missiles (SAM) that struck
the Israeli air force.9 The Israeli forces regrouped under former IDF Chief of Staff Haim Bar-Lev,
and strategically circled Egyptian troops in their efforts to march towards the capital city of Cairo.
The Israelis made it to 64 miles outside the city. The Egyptian military suffered losses of 10000
men, 8000 prisoners, 1000 tanks and 283 planes.10
3
Embargo: a government order to prohibit certain or all trade with another country
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2
Ceasefire: October 22, 1973
The US’s efforts through the United Nations to end the violence early in the conflict failed as the
USSR actively supported the initial Arab surge. As the Israeli counterattack regained strength and
prepared to destroy the Egyptian army, a resolution passed in the Security Council. Amidst the
violence, the UN sent peacekeepers in the conflict zone to negotiate a ceasefire, and come to a
peaceful resolution. The Security Council adopted Resolution 338 calling for “all parties to the
present fighting to cease all firing and terminate all military activity immediately.”11 However, the
ceasefire was short-lived, each side blamed the other for the breach, and violence raged on.
THE UN COMMITTEE DELIBERATION
The ceasefire proved unsuccessful, the committee must find a peaceful resolution to this conflict:
What are the next steps that must be taken to resolve this conflict?
What happens if the violence escalates into a full-scale war between the US and the USSR?
How can the UN Security Council take the interests of both sides into account?
How can the UN prevent such conflicts between Israel and the Arab world?
This committee must keep these considerations in mind when dealing with this crisis.
1
Trueman, Chris. "The Yom Kippur War of 1973." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/yom_kippur_war_of_1973.htm>.
2
Image: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Six_Day_War_Territories.svg>.
3
Trueman, Chris. "The Six Day War." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/six_day_war_1967.htm>.
4
"The 1973 Yom Kippur War." Israel Record. Anti-Defamation League, 1999. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.adl.org/israel/record/yomkippur.asp>.
5
"1973 October War (Yom Kippur War) - Map of Syrian Front." Mid East Maps. Middle East Gateway, n.d. Web. 09 Nov.
2012. <http://www.mideastweb.org/octoberwarmapsyria.htm>.
6
"The Yom Kippur War (1973)." Ynetnews.com. Yedioth Media Group, 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 09 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3621090,00.html>.
7
Ibid.
8
"1973 October War (Yom Kippur War) - Map of Egyptian Front." Mid East Maps. Middle East Gateway, n.d. Web. 09
Nov. 2012. <http://www.mideastweb.org/octoberwarmapegypt.htm>.
9
Ibid.
10
“The Yom Kippur War (1973).” < http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3621090,00.html>.
11
Bard, Mitchell. "The Yom Kippur War." Jewish Virtual Library. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 06
Nov. 2012. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/73_War.html>.
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