Until the Swords of Iron War, Israel’s collective memory bore the mark of two major wars, symbolizing a pair of opposites. The Six-Day War represented a decisive victory and Israeli prowess on the battlefield, and the Yom Kippur War represented failure and the comeuppance of hubris. Although the latter war was outwardly more destructive, the long-term societal impact of the Six-Day War has been no less damaging.

The Six-Day War taught Israeli society that wars can be resolved swiftly and decisively. In 1967, Israel defeated the combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, tripling its territory with the capture of the West Bank, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, and the Sinai Peninsula. This led to the assumption that any future conflict could similarly be concluded with rapid, overwhelming victory.

However, the Yom Kippur War, fought just six years later, delivered the opposite impact. Israeli society suddenly understood that it is not all-powerful and that the neighboring countries could damage and humiliate it in return. In the end, the State of Israel did colossally defeat two strong Arab armies, although the victory came at a painful cost because of the intelligence lapses and other failures preceding the war. But despite what happened…