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Yom Kippur
Memories of an Israeli
by Shimon Alexander
Aliyah Shaliach, Southern Region
A foreigner who comes to stay in
a different country, a stranger who
travels the world, always keeps
memories from his homeland. An
Israeli who stays among his fellow
Jews in the diaspora will always
keep his Israeli identity, his differ
ent experiences and memories.
Wherever he goes, whatever he
does, he still uses his past to com
pare, to balance, or to learn a les
son. For many—maybe too many—
Israelis, there is a different attitude
toward Yom Kippur. There are
other memories and aspects of that
special day. For years, since 1973,1
would look up to the sky to be sure
it was clear, and open my ears to be
sure I didn’t hear any thunder
during Yom Kippur.
It was during the break between
Musaf and Mincha, while 1 rested
in my house, in my kibbutz, that
suddenly, without any warning, a
few Syrian planes flew overhead
from South to North using their
machine guns and their bombs. It
was a surprise to hear jets flying
above us during Yom Kippur, but
since we are a border kibbutz, it
wasn’t unusual. Even their direc
tion and elevation were as usual,
but the sound of their engines was
different, and together with the
guns roaring, it was scary.
Nobody ran to the bomb shelter
because there was no siren. Ev
erybody went to see what hap
pened outside, to see what kind of
planes they were. In all my life in
the Upper Galilee, I never remembered
seeing so many Syrian jets in the
sky with no Israeli planes to fight
back.
Because of the holiness of Yom
Kippur there were no radio broad
casts from Jerusalem, so we had to
turn our radio to the BBC and
there we heard reports about what
we had just witnessed. The Egyp
tian and Syrian armies had started
a war against Israel during its holi
est day, during the day of judg
ment! And so, during Musaf and
Mincha the state of Israel was
under attack from all sides while
we were still preparing for Hafta-
rot Yona!
Nobody expected it, nobody was
ready for it. All we knew was that
we were in an emergency situation
and we had to be prepared for the
worst. And still there were no
Israeli fighters in the sky—just
occasionally Syrian MIGs and a
lot of smoke covering the Golan
Heights, followed by the roar of
shelling.
In those days I was the job coor
dinator of the kibbutz. Together
with some of my colleagues who
held positions in the kibbutz man
agement, we discussed the situa
tion without having any basic for
mal or official information. The
kids and other residents were al
ready underground in shelters and
we had to decide how to deal with
the encroaching war and what
would happen when the reserves
went to their bases. At 10 p.m., as I
was waiting by the main road for a
vehicle to take me to my camp, 1
had a chance to break the fast.
Meanwhile, Syrian troops pene
trated our lines on their way to
destroy and conquer the north part
of Israel. I knew by that time
our troops were retaliating but the
bombs were falling closer and 1
could clearly see the fire even before
1 heard the sound. It was one of the
most difficult battles in the history
of the state of Israel, and after two
and a half days of struggle, our
armored unit was able to stop the
Syrian troops, and later, to con
quer part of the Golan by the main
road to Damascus.
Since then, every Yom Kippur
that I’m out of our synagogue, I
look up to the blue sky, toward the
Golan Heights, to be sure there is
no danger, no cause for a war. And
then, the next day, in every mil
itary cemetery in Israel there is a
memorial service for the thousands
of young soldiers who gave their
lives on the altar of the independ
ence and freedom of the state of
Israel.
This Yom Kippur, as last, I
won’t look up at the sky; I won’t
hear the sound of warning; but I
7)X>/6 7)jCf
5747
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and Family
451-9611
5235 Buford Highway • Doraville, Ga. 30340
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will carry in my memory the days
of ash and smoke, and the spirit of
some of my best friends who stopped
the enemy with their bodies.
The meaning of Yom Kippur
has changed for us, in Israel, as
well as the term “judgment day,”
since October 1973.
Wishing you
a Happy & Healthy
New Year
RENEE FELDMAN
SAUL FELDMAN
FRAN LANDAU
DAVE LANDAU
3515 Northside Pkwy. NW/Atlanta, GA 30327/(404)261-4737
Best Wishes
for a
Safe & Happy New Year
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PAGE 19 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE October 10, 1986