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Prime Minister Ariel Sharons at the official ceremony at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, in memory of members of the IDF who fell in the Yom Kippur Warand the War of Attrition /Translation |
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| 07/10/2003 |
“Mr. President,
Dear families,
Honored guests.
Thirty years ago, the fires of war were suddenly lit amidst the sanctity of
Yom Kippur. Thirty years have passed since your loved ones hastened
directly from their synagogues and homes to the heavy battle, and did not
return. Those same thirty years have engraved the moment of a hasty
separation and the bundle of precious memories, the truth of war and the
shock of the most terrible of all news, in your hearts.
The time that has passed has bound the wounds, but sorrow cannot be healed
and the longing has no end. The photo is on the wall, and a name is
engraved on the headstone in the military cemetery. Life continues thanks
to those who fell 150; and in their absence. The heart cannot forget.
Every war, first of all, belongs to the soldiers and commanders on the field
of battle, despite the fact that others, not far to the rear, take the
laurels for themselves. The Yom Kippur War belonged to all those warriors.
It is they who, with their fighting, with their blood and heroism, contained
the harsh surprise and more than a few mistakes, and led to victory.
The State of Israel emerged changed from that war – hurting, sobered and
humbled. Yom Kippur itself will not be what it was before that Yom Kippur.
It has since been marked by the sorrowful memories of the fallen, the cries
of the wounded and the cacophony and turmoil of war that violated the
tranquility of the holy day.
I still carry with me the image of the courageous fighters from the battles
to blunt the enemy’s drive, and of the heroes who successfully changed the
face of the war; O still remember the look of the dead and the smell of the
burnt equipment, the blood and the smoke; I still hear the soldiers in the
bunkers who cried out for aid – and many received none.
If there is a national lesson, it is not just in berating ourselves for
being haughty. The lesson is that in security, we cannot rely on shrewd
assessments or deterrent ability alone, or even on agreements. In matters
regarding our security, Israel’s strength must be ready and able at all
times; we must constantly foster and develop this strength’s qualitative
advantage, in fighting spirit and equipment alike, as if the next war was
around the corner. We are not immune from surprises. Only if we are
constantly prepared, will we achieve peace, and we will achieve it.
Today, we also remember the many soldiers who fell during the long and
anonymous War of Attrition, in which the faces of young soldiers stared at
us day after day in the newspapers. There, far away, in the bunkers, in
pursuit of terrorists in the Jordan Valley, during battles in the Golan
Heights and the Jordan Valley, clearing terrorist nests in alleyways in Gaza
and Rafiah, in special operations deep into enemy territory, in land, air
and naval battles, far from where anyone could see, this tenacious war took
place, with much spilling of blood, and bravery. The soldiers, mostly in
compulsory service, but also many volunteers, those same ‘tigers’ who came
to aid us, thwarted the enemy’s strategy to weaken Israel and force us to
withdraw. The War of Attrition was pushed aside, overshadowed and eclipsed,
between the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. This year we have redeemed
the honor of its fighters. They also deserve recognition.
You, the bereaved families, know better than anyone else the heavy price of
war, those of you who were there in the fields of death, those of you who
commanded the fighters in battle and who lost best friends and
subordinates – also know the curse of war and will despise it to the end of
your days.
The Hebrew month of Tishrei is a month of introspection, and the shadow of
those wars has lasted more than three decades. The battle continues. This
generation of fighters carries in it the courage and abilities of those
before them, of their parents, of those who fought in Sinai and the Golan
Heights, the Gaza Strip and the Jordan Valley, in the War of Attrition and
the Yom Kippur war. This generation is leading Israel’s necessary battle
against the terror organizations, whose murderous desires were demonstrated
to us on Saturday. Israel will not recoil from defending its citizens and
will strike its enemies in every place and with any means. At the same
time, we will not miss an opening or an opportunity to reach an agreement
with our neighbors for the peace we long for so much.
Only with this combination will it be possible for this generation, to see
with its eyes the end of war and enter the gates of peace.
May the memory of those who fell in Israel’s wars be bound in the chain of
life.
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