1973 Oil Crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of OAPEC (consisting of the Arab members of OPEC, plus Egypt and Syria) proclaimed an oil embargo. Earlier that year, Egypt and Syria, with the support of other Arab nations, launched a surprise attack on Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. As Israel was vastly outnumbered (in the Golan Heights, 1,400 Syrian tanks confronted 180 Israeli tanks; on the Suez Canal, 80,000 Egyptian troops attacked 500 Israeli soldiers), the United States chose to re-supply Israel and in response, OPEC decided to "punish" the United States.