David Elazar

David Elazar, also known as Dado, was the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army. He was among Golda Meir's closest aides, part of her "kitchen cabinet." During the desperate early days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, on Monday, October 8, Elazar was present at a dramatic all-night meeting in Meir's office in 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; and inform Washington, D.C. 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