Motti Ashkenazi ( he, מוטי אשכנזי; born 1940) was a reserve captain in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who spearheaded a protest after the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

that led to the resignation of Prime Minister

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and '' kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...

's government. Ashkenazi was the commander of Fort Budapest, an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i fortification on the Suez Canal, in the

Battles of Fort Budapest The Battles of Fort Budapest ( he, מעוז בודפשט) refer to two attempts by the Egyptian Army to capture Fort Budapest, part of the Bar Lev Line during the Yom Kippur War. The first attempt took place at noon on October 6, 1973, with t ...

. It was the only position along the Bar Lev Line that did not fall to the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ians. When the war was over, he organized protests outside the Prime Minister's office which gained widespread public support. The protest movement began as a one-man crusade. In February 1974, Ashkenazi stationed himself outside Meir's office in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

with a hand-drawn placard proclaiming: “Grandma, your defense minister is a failure and 3,000 of your children are dead.”How Golda Meir won the Yom Kippur War
/ref> Underestimating the impact of Ashkenazi's actions, defense minister Moshe Dayan did not believe that demonstrations would bring down the government. Within three months, however, growing public pressure forced the government to resign and ultimately led to the fall from power of the Labor Party.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashkenazi, Motti Israeli military personnel Israeli activists Living people Israeli people of the Yom Kippur War 1940 births People from Haifa