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Join the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces to discuss the impact and significance of the Yom Kippur War after 50 years from the modernization of warfare to current US-Israel Relations. The Yom Kippur War is still taught in US Army training today and influenced the adoption of the AirLand Battle Doctrine. The panel includes U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, Karl Nilsen, Major General Nadav Padan, 37-year veteran of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest. Moderating this accomplished panel is Arthur Cyr, author, professor, and former vice president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations.
While the Yom Kippur War only lasted from October 6 to October 25 in 1973, it had profound impact for not only Israel and the Middle East, but also the US military. The Egyptian and Syrian invasion surprised Israel, but the Israel Defense Forces regrouped to repel and push into Egypt almost to the capitol of Cairo. With the world’s superpowers supporting opposite sides, the Russians supporting Egypt and the US providing equipment and support to Israel, the United Nation stepped in to swiftly end the war. While tank battles captured news headlines, the first wartime use of ship-to-ship guided missiles ushered in a new phase of modern warfare. The war returned the previous borders, but Israel gained new recognition not just from its Middle East neighbors. The US-Israel joint military planning that emerged from the Yom Kippur War continues today and evolved to the US Army’s AirLand Battle Doctrine. To discuss this military and diplomatic history are our moderator and esteemed panelists representing the US Army, the Israel Defense Force, and the Israel Counsel General of the Midwest.
Moderating the discussion is Arthur Cyr. Author of four books on United States foreign policy and British politics, Arthur I Cyr is the director of the International Political Economy Program and a professor of political science at Carthage College. He served as president of the Chicago World Trade Center Association, the vice president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, a faculty member and administrator at the University of California-Los Angeles, and an executive at the Ford Foundation in the International and Education/Research Divisions. Prof. Cyr served in the U.S. Army reserves and on active duty as an officer in military intelligence. He graduated from UCLA and earned his Ph.D. with distinction in political science from Harvard University. His articles have appeared in professional journals and the popular press including a weekly opinion column on developments foreign and domestic.
US Army Lieutenant Colonel Karl M. Nilsen graduated from West Point and later earned his MA with Honors from Webster University. Commissioned as an Aviator Officer in 2002, he served in two deployments to Iraq as a flight platoon leader and later company commander of units that employed the Apache Longbow attack/reconnaissance aircraft. After a brief tour as an Aviation Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Officer in Baghdad and the Deputy Chief of Current Operations for the U.S. Army Pacific, he returned to his home state of Illinois in 2016. Assigned as the Executive Officer, he taught Military Science at Loyola University and Northern Illinois University. Nielsen’s numerous awards including the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Air Medal.
During his distinguished 37 years of military service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Major General Nadav Padan held several command positions within the IDF, including Commander of the Central Command and Head of the Cyber Defense, C4I, and J-6 Directorate. Major General Padan was awarded the “Legion of Merit” for promoting projects on behalf of the U.S. Armed Forces, after serving as the IDF’s Military Attaché in Washington D.C. (2007-2009). He holds degrees in Philosophy and Industrial Design from Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Bezalel Academy, respectively, and earned his MBA and LLB from Peres College.
Yinam Cohen is the Consul General of Israel to the Midwest. He is a career diplomat with 17 years of experience in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before arriving in Chicago, he held the position of Senior Policy Adviser to Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Director of the Policy Department in the Minister’s Bureau. He also served as Director of the UN Political Affairs Department. His other former postings included at the Israel Embassy in Madrid, Spain; Berlin, Germany; and Bogota, Columbia. Prior to his diplomatic career, Cohen worked as a strategic consultant at Shaldor Ltd. He holds an MBA cum laude, as well as B.Sc. in Computer Science, both from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
After the discussion there will be a 20-minute question and answer period, in which both the in-person and livestream audience can participate.
