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Sane in Damascus

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In this book Amnon Sharon describes his experiences as a prisoner of war in Syria. He was captured during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 when Egypt and Syria attacked Israel by crossing the Sinai Desert and Golan Heights (the areas which Israel had won during the Six Day War in 1967). The author was one of the few artillery men captured, most of the prisoners held in captivity were pilots. This book details the honest and intense thoughts and feelings the author experienced while being tortured and imprisoned. He endured an eight month period of grueling pain and starvation during which his faith in God grew stronger. He pulled through these most difficult times in his life through sheer faith and will power. The author describes the life and feelings of an Israeli soldier in the mid-1970s. He sheds light on some of the political context and atmosphere within Israel during these very tense times in its modern history. The story is honest and gripping. It will keep the reader on the edge of his or her seat, tensed up, at times with clenched teeth, anticipating the worst as the author shares his powerful and disturbing story. This is a story of faith and survival. In some sense it could be the story of any young soldier who is a "prisoner of war" in the modern era, the Korean War, the Vietnam War or War in Afghanistan ... It seems as time moves on, that the evil which man inflicts on his fellow man during times of war seems to worsen. There are unique insights which the author brings forth related to his personal story which makes for a very inspirational reading experience. For instance, he recalled meaningful events with his wife and children - these memories helped revive his courage during the very tough times of imprisonment when his faith and courage waned. They helped conserve his energy and strength and kept him focused on staying alive ...

In 1973, shortly after the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the author had been called up to participate in a full training exercise. Prior to that in the 1967 war, he had completed officer's training and was the commander of a tank platoon. His 7th Brigade battalion had fought well and gotten all the way up to the Suez Canal under strong Israeli command and leadership. Although his tank had been hit several times, it withstood the enemy fire ... On the night of Yom Kippur in 1973, Amnon Sharon was again called up to war. Like most Israelis, the author had full faith in the Israeli Defense Forces, especially after the successes of the 1967 Six Day war. However, on the battlefield where the true picture emerges, reality took hold ... At some point out in the field, the tanks were in bad need of ammunition and expecting reinforcements. The single tank reinforcement sent unfortunately had no ammunition. In the previous war, the author's tank was hit five times with no serious damage. This time, his tank exploded after one very severe hit. He and his gunner jumped out and rolled on the ground to put out the flames on their clothes and burning bodies. The author buried important papers and his personal ID in the ground so they would not fall into the hands of the enemy. Next thing he knows, above him is standing a Syrian soldier with a gun aimed at him ... The author was interrogated but would not reveal more than his name, rank and serial number. It was after this point, he was taken into custody and stripped down to his underwear and the torture began ...

After undergoing unspeakable torture and even solitary confinement, many months later, the prisoners learned Israel was negotiating on their behalf to exchange prisoners. They felt hopeful that rescue was imminent. The prisoners received packages from Israel which contained slippers, socks, underwear, toiletry articles, various food items, games, some exercise equipment and religious articles. On the day of rescue, the prisoners boarded a Red Cross plane and arrived at Ben Gurion airport. At a reception area, the author was pushed to shake hands with waiting dignitaries one of whom was Yitzak Rabin, Minister of Labor at the time. It was assumed Amnon Sharon was a pilot for whom there was a special reception but after answering his questions, he was led to a different area set aside for the "greens" who fought on the land. The author made it home with his wife and family and the long course of recovery from this horrendous ordeal began ... During his examinations, he was told his good memory was a curse and a blessing because the author suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome related to the pain, anxiety and fears associated with imprisonment. However, in the end, the author came out stronger, he experienced a renewal of his soul, a strengthening of his spirit and he felt God was with him during the entire ordeal. He wrote the book to remember the young soldiers who died to help save the country of Israel. Many of their photographs are included in the book along with their heroic stories. This is a very excellent book which contains powerful and meaningful stories that should be read by everyone who values freedom. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

This small book is about an immense hero, an Israeli military prisoner in Syria, how he suffered at Syrian hands, and why he was able to endure. The tale should be read and understood because of the history it relates, its revelations about Israel and Syria in the 1970s and because it teaches people how to live and endure despite the problems of daily life.
Amnon Sharon, an Israeli business man with a pregnant wife, was in the military reserves as a captain of the armored corps when Israel was unexpectedly attacked during the early morning hours of October 6, 1973, on the sacred holiday of Yom Kippur, when many soldiers were home on leave with their families to celebrate the sacred holiday. Sharon was a secular Jew who observed the holiday as a day of pleasure and not as a period of religious obligation. However, in prison, Sharon tells us, "I learned to believe in God, in the God present in the heart of every person willing to accept Him, for God helps those who help themselves."
Sharon is called to military duty that Yom Kippur and leads his poorly equipped group of tanks to the northern Sharon heights where his tank is hit and set on fire. He is wounded and seized as a prisoner.
He is kept in oppressive isolation in a small germ infested cell for five of the eight months that he was imprisoned. He is given nothing to read and spends hours thinking about his family, what they are doing. Has his wife given birth to their second son? He is fed a scanty diet with worm infested foods and has to learn how to spit out the worms as one might spit out an olive pit while enjoying a martini. He is seized and pulled into daily interrogations where he is forced to stand for hours with a smelly black sack covering his head. He is beaten in every part of his body by sadistic soldiers who attempt to force this reservist reveal secret information about the makeup of the active duty Israeli forces, something he knows nothing about. His open bleeding wounds become infected, but are not treated. He still suffers from these wounds more than thirty years after they were inflicted. His feet trouble him daily and he lost feeling in every finger.
Sharon knows little about Jewish holidays and prayers when he enters his imprisonment. Yet, he tries while imprisoned, in his own way, to celebrate the holidays when he thinks they are occurring. He creates his own prayer, a prayer he recites three times each day, a prayer that suffuses his being with a sense of solidarity with God and with solace.
Hear O Israel. The Lord is God, the Lord is One. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of
the universe, through whose word everything came to be. Blessed are You, Lord our
God, King of the universe, through whose word everything is done. Lord God, give me
strength to continue, keep me healthy, protect me and my family. Amen, amen, amen.

Sharon does not return to his civilian job when he is released and returns home. He hides his throbbing pains and joins the standing army of his people. He is appointed commander of a reserve battalion, then fights in Lebanon in Operation Peace for Galilee, later commands a compulsory service battalion in Sinai, and still later assumes an administrative position as deputy head of doctrine for the Israeli armed corps.
While Sharon does not mention him, we should compare his experiences with those of the famous Viennese psychiatrist Victor E. Frankl, who died in 1997, who suffered for three years in Auschwitz, Dachau and other Nazi concentration camps. Frankl wrote a landmark bestseller about his unspeakable experiences called Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy.
Frankl notices that the primary force that sustains people in adversity is meaning; if individuals have meaning in their life, they have a better chance to survive. Those who lack meaning in their lives have nothing to sustain them when they find themselves in horrible situations. Many people turn to religion for this meaning, and to the extent that they truly believe, they can bear adversity.
Frankl found another meaning while he suffered in the Nazi cells. He thought of being reunited with his wife, whom he loved dearly. He imagined the reunion. This yearning for his wife gave him meaning, a sense of purpose, a reason to live, and it sustained him. Later, when he was released he learnt that his wife had died during her internment. Yet, because she had been alive in his mind for the three year of his imprisonment, although dead, she kept him alive.
Sharon's account shows that he was saved by both his new religious feelings and his love of family; these gave him the meaning he needed to survive.