The Yom Kippur War was one of the most harrowing moments in Israeli history. In this seminal course, released in time for the 50th anniversary of the conflict, Dr. Michael Doran offers a comprehensive look at war, analyzing what happened, how it happened, and the ways it changed the future of the Middle East.
This course is
sponsored by
Bryna and Joshua Landes
In memory of the 2,656 Israeli soldiers who died and the 7,251 who were wounded in the Yom Kippur War.
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Michael Doran is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute. In the George W. Bush Administration, he served as a Senior Director in the National Security Council, a Senior Advisor in the State Department, and a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. He has also held teaching positions at New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Central Florida. Dr. Doran’s latest book, Ike’s Gamble, was published by Free Press in 2016. He appears frequently on television, and has published extensively in Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Mosaic, Commentary, the American Interest and Tablet.
In this opening lecture, Dr. Doran provides an overview of the major debates about the Yom Kippur War and delves into the U.S.-Israel relationship at the time, which would have a profound impact on the conflict.
In this episode, Dr. Doran compares and contrasts the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, placing a special focus on the military dimensions of each conflict. How is it that Israel, which won such a resounding victory in 1967, was nearly destroyed just six years later?
Anwar Sadat was the driving force behind the Yom Kippur War, but why did he start it in the first place? In this lecture, Dr. Doran brings viewers inside the head of Sadat; his worldview, his experiences, and his motivations for launching a surprise attack against Israel.
Dr. Doran analyzes Nixon and Kissinger's Israel policy, how it affected their view of and actions during the war, and what effect it had on the war's ultimate conclusion.
As the Israeli military moved into Syria and surrounded the Egyptians, Henry Kissinger saw an opportunity. He wanted to use the end of the war to pull Egypt away from the Soviet Union and bring it into the American camp.
In this concluding episode, Dr. Doran makes three final observations. He explains what happened in the "War of the Generals"; he underlines the importance of the War of Attrition; and he shows how the Yom Kippur War helps us understand what it really means to be a pro-Israel American leader.
Explore The Yom Kippur War at 50.
