'They want to conquer Israel, to finish off the Jews'

Dayan, Meir quotes from minutes of secret cabinet meeting at beginning of Yom Kippur War reveal the desperate situation Israel faced.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
On the 37th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, the minutes of a top secret emergency cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Golda Meir and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan were released Monday.
The minutes are of conversations between Meir and Dayan about the initial catastrophic battles in the Sinai Peninsula, how it was not possible to evacuate all of the wounded soldiers, and that those who cannot be evacuated should surrender.
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Later in the document, Meir said (of the attacking Arab armies), "They have no reason not to continue. They smelled blood." Dayan added, "to conquer Israel, finish off the Jews."
Speaking of the dire situation Israel was faced with, Dayan said that "our moral advantage is not enough in the face of such [an amount of weapons]." Reflecting the desperation felt in the room, he concluded, "Perhaps there are other ideas as to how we should operate in this situation."
The documents were obtained from the State Archives by Yedioth Aharonot.
More documents are expected to be released on Tuesday.


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Moshe Dayan
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