The 2,659 fallen soldiers of the Yom Kippur War of 1973 were remembered this morning in a public memorial ceremony at Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that those who fell allowed Israel to turn what had begun to look like defeat into a shining victory. "Just as we emerged victorious then, so will we win the current war as well," he said. The Prime Minister noted that the main lesson of the Yom Kippur War is the necessity of responding whenever an agreement is violated. He said that if Israel had reacted firmly and quickly to Egypt's ceasefire agreement violations in the summer of 1970, the Yom Kippur War might never have broken out.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with a heroic veteran of the Yom Kippur War battles, Avichail Feld, who today lives in Karnei Shomron. "Where were you 29 years ago today?" Segal asked.
A. I was in the Mezach outpost, fighting in one of the two only Suez Canal outposts that did not fall to the Egyptians, opposite the city of Suez. The other one was the Budapest outpost, at the northern end of the canal, which was surrounded by swamps; the Egyptians never even made it there. With G-d's help, we lasted seven days against tough Egypt fighting. We were surrounded by water on three sides, making it very hard for them to enter. They kept trying, however, but we experienced countless inexplicable miracles...
Q. Was anyone hurt in the fighting?
A. Yes, we had casualties - 5 were killed, and 23 wounded. In the original group there were only less than ten of us, and then armored forces came, and some of them fell as well.
Q. You were in charge of religious affairs there, yet you took part in the fighting, and were even decorated for bravery.
A. Uhhh---
Q. When did you arrive there?
A. My friend David Breuer and I arrived before Rosh HaShanah to organize the prayers and religious affairs. We were hesder yeshiva students who had completed only basic training, and we had not yet been trained to fight. Even when we asked [in the days before the war started] to help out in various jobs, they did not give us a real role.
Q. Yet still you fought, and were even decorated - how did you know what to do?
A. When there's no choice, you just learn quickly. We learned to use the various tools - how to fire the MaG submachine gun, to throw grenades, to use the radio - all under Egyptian fire. Each of us fought both our own private war for life and the war in general.
Q. You were seriously wounded, I understand.
A. After a couple of days, yes, I was seriously wounded [losing an arm], and from that time on I waged a private war merely to survive - first in the bunker with other wounded and with practically no medical supplies, and afterwards in Egyptian captivity... We were captured in an organized fashion - portrayed in the famous photo of Hillel Unsdorfer carrying the Torah scroll into captivity - and we were there for almost six weeks.
Q. How many times a week do you think about that fateful week between Yom Kippur and Sukkot of the year 5734 (1973)?
A. The truth is that it is engraved like metal within me - it's not something that has to be thought about, because it's always with me...
Q. I understand that you are one of the leaders of the association to help wounded IDF soldiers?
A. Yes, I started this association in my office to help wounded soldiers on their first steps... It's in memory of Simcha Holtzberg, who devoted his all to this cause. It's hard to replace someone like Simcha, but we do whatever we can with a sense of a holy mission.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with a heroic veteran of the Yom Kippur War battles, Avichail Feld, who today lives in Karnei Shomron. "Where were you 29 years ago today?" Segal asked.
A. I was in the Mezach outpost, fighting in one of the two only Suez Canal outposts that did not fall to the Egyptians, opposite the city of Suez. The other one was the Budapest outpost, at the northern end of the canal, which was surrounded by swamps; the Egyptians never even made it there. With G-d's help, we lasted seven days against tough Egypt fighting. We were surrounded by water on three sides, making it very hard for them to enter. They kept trying, however, but we experienced countless inexplicable miracles...
Q. Was anyone hurt in the fighting?
A. Yes, we had casualties - 5 were killed, and 23 wounded. In the original group there were only less than ten of us, and then armored forces came, and some of them fell as well.
Q. You were in charge of religious affairs there, yet you took part in the fighting, and were even decorated for bravery.
A. Uhhh---
Q. When did you arrive there?
A. My friend David Breuer and I arrived before Rosh HaShanah to organize the prayers and religious affairs. We were hesder yeshiva students who had completed only basic training, and we had not yet been trained to fight. Even when we asked [in the days before the war started] to help out in various jobs, they did not give us a real role.
Q. Yet still you fought, and were even decorated - how did you know what to do?
A. When there's no choice, you just learn quickly. We learned to use the various tools - how to fire the MaG submachine gun, to throw grenades, to use the radio - all under Egyptian fire. Each of us fought both our own private war for life and the war in general.
Q. You were seriously wounded, I understand.
A. After a couple of days, yes, I was seriously wounded [losing an arm], and from that time on I waged a private war merely to survive - first in the bunker with other wounded and with practically no medical supplies, and afterwards in Egyptian captivity... We were captured in an organized fashion - portrayed in the famous photo of Hillel Unsdorfer carrying the Torah scroll into captivity - and we were there for almost six weeks.
Q. How many times a week do you think about that fateful week between Yom Kippur and Sukkot of the year 5734 (1973)?
A. The truth is that it is engraved like metal within me - it's not something that has to be thought about, because it's always with me...
Q. I understand that you are one of the leaders of the association to help wounded IDF soldiers?
A. Yes, I started this association in my office to help wounded soldiers on their first steps... It's in memory of Simcha Holtzberg, who devoted his all to this cause. It's hard to replace someone like Simcha, but we do whatever we can with a sense of a holy mission.