Agranat Report Stuns Israelis; 'Whitewash'
Hinted; Hofi Temporarily Replaces Elazar
BY TUVIA MENDELSON and YITZHAK SHARGIL
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A stunned nation reacted with
mixed emotions Wednesday to the Agranat committee's
Partial report blaming Chief of Staff Gen. David Elazar and
other high-ranking officers for costly errors on the eve of
the Yam Kippur War, while
absolving the nation's politi-
cal leadership. Predictably,
many were calling the report
a whitewash that made Ela-
zar the scapegoat for mis-
judgments and miscalcula-
for which the political
Ts were at least equally
to blame.
Others felt that no other
conclusions could have been
reached by the committee at
this time in view of the tense
and delicate political situa-
tion and ongoing military
problems. Elazar, in his let-
ter of resignation to the cab-
inet Tuesday night, said the
committee had done him an
injustice.
The five-man committee,
headed by Supreme Court-
Chief Justice Shimon Agra-
nat, held Elazar responsible
for Israel's lack of prepared-
ness for the surprise Egyp-
tian-Syrian attack on Oct. 6.
DAVID ELAZAR
The 35-page interim report
cleared Dayan. on the grounds great soldier and command-
that he had acted on informa- er." Elazar's most bitter cri-
tion given him by the chief' of tic, Res. Gen. Ariel Sharon,
staff and the chief of intelli- the Likud leader, would say
gence.
only that he stood by what he
(The report acknowledged had said in the past and ex-
that Elazar directed Israeli pressed confidence that the
forces well, leading them to army would weather "this
victory after the initial set- crisis." Sharon, whose public
backs, but found that Maj. differences with the high
Gen. Shmuel Gonen, com- command sparked a major
mander on t h e Egyptian controversy after the Yom
front, mishandled the deploy- Kippur War, was the first
ment of forces at the war's senior officer to call for Ela-
outbreak and misjudged in- zar's resignation.
.telligence information he re-
Another Likud leader, Men-
ceived. The report praised
Premier Golda Meir for her ahem Begin, demanded that
decision to call up Israel's the cabinet resign in the
full reserves despite Dayan's wake of the Agranat commit-
recommendation of a partial tee's report.
The report-by the five-man
mobilization for defense.)
panel covered only the period
Premier Golda Meir
cepted his resignation with prior to the outbreak of the
"a heavy heart" and assured war. Activities during the war
the 46-year-old general that itself are still under study by
he would "remain in the an- the committee. But the com-
nals of Israel's history as a mittee's findings to date,
based on the testimony of 58
■
witnesses taken during 140
GROUP
TRAVEL
A
SPECIALTY
I
I sessions over the past four
HAMILTON, MILLER, HUDSON
& FAYNE TRAVEL CORP.
months, was an indictment
I
I of Israel's top military lead-
I
I ership, excluding Dayan.
In addition to Elazar, the
557-5145
committee recommended the
removal of Maj. Gen. Eliahu
Zeira, the intelligence chief;
his depu.ty, Brig. Gen. Arieh
Shalev; Lt. Col. Yona Bend-
man and Lt. Col. David Ge-
dalia. It also proposed the
suspension of Gen. Gonen
TO
from active duty pending
further investigation.
In addition to Chief Justice
SPEND
Agranant, the committee is
composed of Supreme Court
SHAVUOTH
Justice Moshe Landau, State
IN ISRAEL
Controller Yitzhak Neben-
Special Trips
zahl, Yigael Yadin and Haim
May 20 - June 3
Laskov, the latter two former
May 20 - June 10
chiefs of staff. All are re-
For Reservations and
garded as men of unimpeach-
Information Contact
able integrity.
23125 Coolidge, Oak Park
Following are highlights of
398-7180
the committee's partial re-
port, presented at a special
session of the cabinet Tues-
day night and made public
shortly before midnight:
The report said that the in-
telligence network was
"blinded" and thus failed to
give the defense forces ade-
quate advance notice of the
pending attack. This not only
caused a delay in calling up
reserve forces to the front
but delayed the deployment
of forces positioned near the
borders to meet an enemy
advance.
The basic reasons given for
the intelligence failure—was
"a blind belief" in the pre-
conception that the Egyptians
would not go to war until
(Continued on Page 6)
Pilots Replant Trees Hit by Downed Plane
JERUSALEM — An Israeli
fighter plane hit by enemy
fire lost control and crashed
in the Menashe Forest during
the Yom Kippur War and
destroyed 100,000 trees. Last
month a large group of fight-
er pilots, among them _the
pilot whose plane had
crashed, came to plant sap-
lings at the site.
About 50,000 new trees have
already been replanted and
by next year, all the trees
will have been replaced.
Friday, April 5, 1974-5
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
)iik
MM.
OMNI
Nl
The air force is consider-
ing erecting a monument at
this site to commemorate the
pilots who fell during the
war.
f
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