Sane in Damascus
By Amnon Sharon
Translated from the Hebrew by Jessica Setbon
Gefen Publishing House: Jerusalem and New York, (2006) www.israelbooks.com
ISBN: 965-229-367-9
Reviewed by Simone Bonim - January 23, 2007
In the opening hours of the Yom Kippur War (1973), Captain Amnon Sharon of the 179th Reserve Brigade was ordered to lead ten Centurion tanks into battle against the Syrians who were aligned along the Golan Heights. The tanks they were allocated were in disrepair, short of fuel, and lightly armed. Despite knowing that their tanks were near useless, Sharon's men still mounted their tanks and rode out to try to hold back the Syrian tanks until reinforcements could arrive. The men were in high spirits, sure that despite their lack of ammunition that they would easily be able to scare the Syrians away. As events turned out, the Syrians were not so skittish, and the men soon found themselves in a real shooting war. For Sharon and his men, that day's battle would be a costly one, with many of his men killed or captured by the Syrians. Yet despite their lack of ammunition, and against all odds, they managed to slow down the Syrian advance.
This was a fact, however, that Sharon was not to learn for months, for he was one of the men captured that day. In Sane in Damascus, Sharon recounts the part that he and his men played in the war, and the eight months that he spent as a captive of the Syrians. Five of those months he spent in solitary confinement, with his only respite from the solitude being the time he spent with his torturers! He also details how he came to be released, his experiences upon his return to Israel, and a bit about the rest of his life up until the present.
Sane in Damascus is an uplifting and unforgettable book. Despite being wounded during the battle, and the harsh treatment, torture, daily interrogations, and the ever present threat of death, Sharon managed to keep his spirits up and never lost hope - or his faith. The son of Holocaust survivors, Sharon knew that he could face anything that the Syrians threw at him, and that he would do everything in his power to survive. Throughout, he relied on G-d, holding tight to his faith and the certain knowledge that he would one day go home to his wife and children, one of which was born while he was in captivity.
Within the scope of this book, Sharon talks about his treatment at the hands of his captors, the steps he took to try to ensure that they would not kill him, and how he and the other Israeli prisoners that he came into contact with tried to support and help each other. He talks about how they celebrated holidays, the prayers they composed, and how they used their memories of loved ones to sustain them through the physical and mental abuses that they suffered. Sharon also discusses how the prisoners, upon their return home, were treated differently with the Blue POWs (air force) being given special treatment compared to that given to the Green POWs (army). He also talks about his rehabilitation and adjustment to 'normal' life, and his feelings about the war, the men he served with, and how his ordeal strengthened, rather than weakened his faith.
Sane in Damascus is an inspirational book that reminds you just how resilient the human spirit is and how important it is to believe in something (G-d) greater than yourself. This is also an important historical work, detailing an integral, but often overlooked aspect of Israeli history. Many books have been written that have touted the miraculous victories and the amazing achievements of this young country, but there are few that discuss the cost paid by the men and women who made these achievements and victories possible. In this book Sharon reminds us that these victories have been paid for in blood, and in pain. Yet in the end, it is a price worth paying: a price that Sharon and his men willingly paid, for the sake of Israel, and her people.
Related Reviews:
The Yom Kippur War, by Abraham Rabinovich
The Epic Encounter that Transformed the Middle East, offering a detailed analysis, and well-written history of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
A History of Israel , by Ahron Bregman.
A concise history of modern Israel, from the First Zionist Congress in 1897 through 2001.
