The 37th anniversary of the 1973 October war with Israel

Region: Egypt

Created: Oct 09, 2010, modified: Jan 13, 2012, overall rating: 5.000

October 6 is a national holiday in Egypt called Armed Forces Day. It is a national holiday in Syria as well, where it is called "Tishreen Liberation Day". Egypt and Syria's initial victories in the conflict eased Arab bitterness over Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War and ultimately put the two nations on a path of peaceful coexistence.

In Egypt, many places were named after the October 6 date and Ramadan 10, its equivalent in the Islamic calendar. Examples of these commemorations are the 6th October Bridge in Cairo and the cities 6th of October City and 10th of Ramadan City. October 6 War Panorama

The "Museum of 6 October War" was built in 1989 in the Heliopolis district of Cairo. The center of the museum is occupied by a rotunda housing a panoramic painting of the struggle between Egyptian and Israeli armed forces. The panorama, the creation of which was outsourced to a group of North Korean artists and architects, is equipped with engines to rotate it 360° during a 30-minutes presentation accompanied by commentary in various languages. A similar museum, which was also built with North Korean assistance—the October War Panorama—operates in Damascus.

At 2:00pm on 6 October 1973, more than 220 Egyptian warplanes flew over the Suez Canal and attacked Israeli command centres in the Sinai. "Operation Badr", soon to be known as the October War, had been launched, and a new stage in Egyptian and Arab history was opened.

Twenty-five years later, both the direct effects and the long-term ramifications of the October War, domestically, regionally and internationally, remain subject to debate. President Mubarak this week described as the product of "ignorance and prejudice" Israel's attempts to denigrate the Egyptian victory. These attempts are belied not only by the facts, but also by the statements Israel's own leaders and commentators made at the time, some of which are reproduced in this supplement. October 6 War Panorama

Other aspects of the fallout from October are less clear. There is little doubt that the war opened the way to the Middle East peace process, which effectively began with disengagement agreements Egypt and Syria concluded with Israel soon after the guns had fallen silent. Sadat, hailed in Egypt as "the hero of war and peace", acted swiftly to try and reap the fruits of the victory and liberate occupied Arab territories. As far as Egypt was concerned, the results were spectacular. By 1982, Egypt had regained sovereignty over all of occupied Sinai, save for Taba, which was returned to the motherland in '89. Not a single Israeli settlement or installation remained on Egyptian territory.

In 1982, however, Sadat's optimistic declaration that the October '73 War would be the last Arab-Israeli war had to be qualified; making it the last "major" Arab-Israeli war. Israel invaded Lebanon and wreaked havoc on its capital, Beirut. And a quarter of a century after the October War, the prospects for a comprehensive and just peace in the region appear, if anything, more remote than they were in '73, despite the Madrid peace process, the accords the Palestinians and Jordan have concluded with Israel, and the progress that, not so long ago, seemed to have been achieved in Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations.

The October War was, without a doubt, the high point of Arab solidarity. A core axis formed by Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia was able to mobilise the Arab world as never before. But international and regional conditions have changed, possibly beyond recognition, since 1973, and it is an open question whether the three allies today could muster even a semblance of the Arab solidarity they were able to enlist during the war and in its immediate aftermath.

One fundamental aspect of the war, however, cannot be dissipated by a fast-changing world. The shattering defeat of June '67 failed to break the Egyptians. After five years of resolve, sound planning and hard work, they were able to do what even they, not to mention the whole world, had believed was impossible. It all came together in a moment of great heroism, national unity and self-sacrifice -- the "uncrossable" Suez Canal was crossed, the "invincible" Bar Lev line was destroyed, Sinai was returned.

This, ultimately, is the lesson of October '73 and it is this, above all, that Egyptians were celebrating this week.

Al Ahram Weekly