On this episode of Neutral, this October marks the 50th anniversary of the Amkipur War,

a conflict that has shaped the modern Middle East.

The war was a trauma for Israel, a dangerous superpower showdown, and following the Arab

oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order.

The Jewish state came shockingly close to defeat.

After the war, Prime Minister Golden Mayor, Defense Minister Moshe Diane, and the senior

leadership of the nation were forced to resign in disgrace.

In the new book, 18 days in October, the Amkipur War, and how it created the modern Middle

East, Uri Kalfman describes how a straight line leads from the battlefields of 1973 to

the camp David Accords of 1978 and all the treaty sins.

Here to discuss his new book on the Amkipur War, and the current situation in Israel, I'm

really pleased to welcome my guest, Uri Kalfman.

Uri Kalfman, thank you for joining me.

Thank you so much for having me.

Now I understand that this book was a passion project for you.

We spent over 20 years visiting the battlefields, speaking to participants, and reviewing

literally thousands of pages of material.

Tell me a little bit about the process of writing this book.

So I started it as you just mentioned a little over 20 years ago.

Fortunately, I have a day job so I was able to hire a team of researchers around the world

to do this properly.

You really need to speak five languages.

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