---
born: 1925-08-27
category: Military
died: 1976-04-15
location: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
summary: David Elazar, also known as Dado, was the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army.
tags:
- Person
- Military
- Israel
---

David Elazar, also known as Dado, was the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army. He was among [Golda Meir](/people/golda-meir/)'s closest aides, part of her "kitchen cabinet." During the desperate early days of the 1973 [Yom Kippur War](/events/yom-kippur-war/), on Monday, October 8, Elazar was present at a dramatic all-night meeting in Meir's office in [Tel Aviv](/places/tel-aviv/). Faced with the imminent collapse of Israeli forces, the leadership resolved to implement three critical decisions: rally its collapsing forces for a major counterattack; arm and target its nuclear arsenal in the event of total collapse and subsequent need for the [Samson Option](/concepts/samson-option/); and inform [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) of its unprecedented nuclear action to demand an emergency airlift of replacement arms and ammunition.[^1]

Elazar's daily diary, published in Hebrew, blacked out the night of October 8, recording only the phrase: "Crucial meeting." He later told an aide that he was "scared to death" during this period, as he had a child on duty at the front.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.