The Oz 77 Memorial is located at the foot of the Hermonit volcano, and looks out at the battlefield known as “The Valley of Tears”.
On the far side of the valley is the border between Israel and Syria; the Syrian village of New Kuneitra is visible in the background.
In the Yom Kippur War, one of the toughest tank battles in Israel’s history took place here.
On Yom Kippur, October 6th, 1973, the Syrian army launched a surprise attack with 1400 tanks. Opposite this force stood two IDF tank brigades of the regular army: the 188th and the 7th brigades; altogether, they had 177 tanks! The 7th Brigade along with one battalion from the 188th Brigade were responsible for holding the line opposite this valley which you see before you. The key battalion, led by Avigdor Kahalani, was the 77th. The numerical value (“Gematria”) of the letters of the Hebrew word for courage – “Oz” – is 77, hence the full name of the unit. Although they all paid a heavy price in casualties, these few tanks held back the Syrian tanks for three days, until the enemy force retreated back into Syria.
