The Yom Kippur, Ramadan or October War? Historical Continuity from the Six Day War to the Nineteen Day War

Abstract

When the fourth Arab-Israeli passage of arms was launched with air attacks at 14.00 hours on Saturday 6 October 1973 — a blitzkrieg planned and initiated this time by the Arabs — both sides were celebrating religious feasts. The Arabs were in Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, while the Israelis were observing Yom Kippur. The Arabs therefore refer to this passage of arms as the harb Ramadan, the Ramadan War, which also forms the title of a comprehensive account of the war in Arabic written by three Egyptian generals.5 The Israelis describe the same war as the Yom Kippur War, after the name of their feast. The less value-laden term ‘October War’ has been chosen for use in this book to indicate the non-partisan scholarly position taken.