Jan 2010, by Rami Bar Ilan.
In 1973 I served in IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) as a combat paratrooper with the
890th Battalion. During the Yom Kippur War my company was attached to General
Ariel Sharon's Army for Special Operations. Our unit commander was Major Shmuel
Arad, and we operated under 14th Armored Brigade, Commander Colonel Amnon
Reshef. Our unit participated in the greatest battles of Yom Kippur War in the Sinai
desert and Egyptian property, including the second greatest tank battle in history since
Kursk in WWII. Over 2000 tanks were engaged in this battle.
In 2001 I decided to write a book, to tell of the horror we lived through in this war, tell
our story for posterity so that this terrible, unforgettable horror will not be forgotten.
We served our country... did we not? I interviewed over 60 veterans of this war,
troopers, officers and Commander that served with me and finally wrote the book. It
took 420 pages and 7 years to complete. The book is called “Goodbye To Love”.
In 2008 the General Censor, a high ranking IDF Officer that controls Israeli MOD
Department, imposing military censorship authority on written publications under the
Israeli Law, heard of my book and contacted me by phone, advising me to submit the
manuscript for review by military censor and obtain a permission for the publication.
Otherwise I would have faced charges. After to have reviewed the book, the General
Censor rejected 26 parts of the text, and in one case a whole page. In my book I did not
disclose any classified information or any military secrets. The book deals strictly with
the human aspect of war and the terrible burden indelibly stamped into the young
minds of the unseasoned troopers by the seemingly senseless mass slaughter.
The Military Censor reasons for the rejections were: “Israeli-Egypt relations and
misconduct of IDF troops...” My discussion with the Censor, resulted in canceling only
a couple of minor restrictions. I was also told that the Law does not permit to blackmark
the censored texts, so the reader could at least know what part of the story were
censored. I was told to re-edit the fractured, mutilated texts, to make the story seamless,
so that the reader would have not noticed the gaps. Then to submit the book again for
the Censor review to qualify it for a publication.
I refused to do that. I think that this censorship may not even be legal. But the only
option I have is to apply to the Supreme Court, which is not realistic at this time
because the high cost of it is beyond my means. So there is an impasse and this is where
things stand now. I am working to sort all this out somehow and hoping to publish my
book with the full text in the future.
Bless life, bless people, respect, appreciate
Thank you for reading
Rami Bar Ilan
