Command Day is the first document of its kind to see the light of day in Israel about the Yom Kippur War, as it was, without excuses and without crowns attached to it. The book, written by the best researchers and writers in Israel, with courage and talent, is the fruit of research and thoughtindependent and free - not on behalf of the "system" - and should be seen as a life's work of the war generation.
Command Day describes and analyzes the road to war and presents the war itself from all its aspects: political, military, and human - on the battlefields, in the "pit", on land, in the air and at sea - including from the enemy's point of view. The book also touches on the price that the war exacted, and still exacts from us, in body and soul, and its long-term consequences for the state, society and culture in Israel. The book provides a lot of new information - even on topics that are not often talked about, such as doomsday weapons from here and post-trauma from here, without shying away from the controversy that may arise as a result of reading it.
Indeed, it is difficult to face the truth. The book reveals five serious, seemingly separate failures: political failures - "Shrem al-Sheikh without peace is better than peace without Sharm al-Sheikh"; The failures of the Air Force - "What took then (in '67) three hours, will be done this time in 40 minutes"; The intelligence failures - professional blindness and lack of warning; Corporate failures - in the construction of the SDAK, in determining the priorities and in the operational planning (with an emphasis on defense); and command failures - in the appointment of senior commanders and their training. All these failures and their common sources are clarified and examined here.
Command Day is intended for every Israeli who bears the burden and responsibility to the state, who is entitled and wants to know what was "there" and why the story of that war should not be forgotten, in this strait between "teaching the children of Judah a bow" and "surround evil and do good, ask for peace and persecute him".
We hope that the book will serve as a bridge to pass the "stretcher" from the generation of fighters to future generations, and perhaps also a kind of "testament" that asks every Israeli to think more and more, to question and take responsibility for a better future.
Dr. Gideon Avitel-Epstein, paratrooper officer in the battle of the Chinese farm in '73, lawyer, historian and writer, author of the books "1973, the Battle of Memory" (Shoken, 2013), "Fla Fe Ness" (Carmel, 2016) and -"Jerusalem '67, war" (Meter, 2017)
