Q&A: Regarding the Yom Kippur War
Regarding the Yom Kippur War
Question
Hello Rabbi, this is Amir. How are you? I was thinking it would be interesting to hear what you think, in light of the column you wrote about what you see as the disproportionate attitude in the Israeli public toward Holocaust remembrance and the way it is carried out—what would you say about a similar phenomenon, even if at a lower intensity and in a somewhat different way, regarding the memory of the Yom Kippur War.
Maybe this is the war that takes up the most media volume of all Israel’s wars, and in a very meticulous way. Every year as Yom Kippur approaches, article after article gets published about every quote from Gorodish (usually one insignificant quote or another) and other generals from the time of the war that gets revealed.
I’d be interested to hear what you have to say about that in light of what you wrote about your view of Holocaust remembrance in Israeli society?!…………..
In any case, may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year, and a good and successful year to you and your whole family!
Answer
This is not a value question but a psychological one. There is a public trauma from this war, and therefore it arouses a lot of interest and ratings. That’s all. In the context of the Holocaust, my complaint is not about the intensity of the preoccupation but about the obsession in the attitude toward it, and the disqualification of positions and silencing. That is already a value question.
A good year, and may you too be inscribed and sealed for a good year, to you and your household.
Besides, it’s the equivalent of articles about dairy recipes for Shavuot—the way to be “Jewish” and remember the occasion without any fear of religion.