What an amazing day we had in the north of Israel today. We began our day of touring with a lovely walk through The Tel Dan Nature Reserve. We all felt the energy and excitement of Ron who was so excited to show us the local flora and fauna. Walking through this breathtaking nature it is hard to believe we are in the Middle East! I think we all love bird watching now, too!
Ron helped us to identify wild raspberries that we could pick and eat and he pointed out each and every plant we walked by as well. What a wealth of knowledge he is.
Walking through tunnels made of trees and bushes was a perfect way to start the day. A couple of days ago this activity would have made me feel guilty, but this renewed sense of responsibility to be present and enjoy life allowed me to truly take in and enjoy this beautiful place. I was careful to remember how it smelled, tasted and felt to be there. What a blessing. I think I need to take more walks like this in Thousand Oaks.
Here we were able to see the largest tributary to the Jordan River.
We stopped at the same wading pool that our June travelers stopped at... This time, we did not take the time to take off our shoes and socks and go in the water.
Instead, we continued on to see some ruins from the great biblical city of Dan, ruins that were 2900 years old!
How incredible to see this ancient city and walk in the square in front of the front gate.
This site was exciting, but what we didn't realize is that we would be experiencing an archeological site that was 4000 years old, Abraham's Gate.
This is one of the earliest arches found anywhere in the world, perhaps the oldest. Ron read from Genesis 14:14 that describes Abraham's journey to Dan to search for his brother. It was incredible to connect this location to our Torah text in such a concrete way. Our collective breath was taken away.
From Dan we boarded our bus and drove up into the Golan Heights to begin our tour of one of two wineries we would be visiting today. It is quite an experience to be sipping wine along the Syrian border, especially thinking of all the craziness that is happening with the numerous conflicts there. Our first stop was a large winery, the Golan Heights Winery.
Here we learned a little about the wines and then went into a tasting room to sample three different varieties.
Our guide then took us for a short tour of the winery and explained how the wines were created.
When we got back to the bus, our replacement bus had arrived, making this the third bus in just two days... Here is the mandatory bus shot. Notice the color of the seats, we weren't sure we liked the red seats more or the blue ones...
After a brief stop for lunch in a small Golan Heights town (more DELICIOUS falefel) we went to our second winery of the day, the Assaf winery. This is a much smaller winery from before, and they describe themselves as a family owned and run boutique winery. The vintner took us on a tour of the facility before we tasted the wine. Again, we acknowledged how strange it was to be drinking wine along such a dangerous border.
Below is an interesting shot... Above the wine bottles you can see the ruins of a Syrian outpost used during the 1967 war. Amazing that in the shadows of this bunker is a facility cultivating the land to make some delicious wine.
We bought many bottles of wine from each of these wineries as we wanted to support these businesses who had built facilities on land that used to belong to Syria prior to 1967 and who live so close to the conflict.
After we had our fill of wine, we went to the parking lot to find our original bus, the one who's tire blew out the night before had returned to us along with our beloved Shlomo, our fearless driver. In case you are keeping track, this is the fourth bus in less than 24 hours. Here is the required bus picture... I think we were all happy to see Shlomo and return to our original blue seats.
Our next activity was to drive to the very top of Mount Bental and meet Major Sarit Zenavi, a retired major who served in the IDF as a senior intelligence officer on the northern boarder. Mount Bental houses a bunker that was used during the 1967 war and now offers unbelievable views into Lebanon and Syria. We would be focusing on Syria and we got quite the education and insight into the conflicts that are occurring there.
This was an incredible experience. First of all, Major Zehavi is without question, the toughest woman I have ever met. She commanded respect from the beginning and it was easy to see her intelligence and how she was a huge asset to the Israeli military.
As she spoke, we all were looking into the valley below, at the boarder between Israel and Syria. We could hear an explosion in the background. Immediately we all were uneasy, thinking that an ISIS attack could be happening across the boarder. She calmed our nerves and assured us it was only thunder and commented "I am used to a different kind of explosion." We could see the rain heading in our direction and she assured us that the rain would wait until she was done. We believed her, and she was right!
Being on top of the bunker at the top of Mount Bental is amazing, but it is a little far away from Syria. She showed us buildings like the UN base that watches what is happening in Syria and the abandoned Syrian Headquarters for the Israeli front. She also pointed out the city of Koneitra, a destroyed city that is now overrun by terrorists. It was hard for me, even with the binoculars she provided, to get a true sense for the border fence that separates Israel from Syria. I asked her how the fence was constructed and her reply to me was "I'll show you when we go down there."
My jaw dropped and I went to Ron, our educator and asked if she was serious.
She was serious.
We boarded our bus and followed Major Zehavi down a small road towards the conflict. As we got closer we could see a destroyed old Syrian outposts that had been abandoned. The only cars on the road were Major Zehavi, our bus, and a UN vehicle going to the UN base that was right by where we were going.
We turned into a dirt road and approached an abandoned building. It was the abandoned Syrian Headquarters for the Israeli front that we saw from atop the mountain. It served as these headquarters until 1967 when Israel took the land during the war. While it is in the Israeli part of the land, it is about .5 miles from the Syrian boarder and the destroyed city of Koneitra now overrun by terrorists.
.5 miles!!!!
We heard some stories about the 1967 war and how the largest battle was in the Valley of Tears, which was just beyond the building. I have looked into Syria 3 times now, and have NEVER been anywhere near this close.
After these stories, she asked if we wanted to go inside the building. DO WE WANT TO GO INSIDE THE BUILDING????????
It was like walking into a war zone, heck, this WAS a war zone. It was amazing to be inside there and to imagine both the headquarters working towards the destruction of Israel as well as the battle that destroyed those headquarters.
We walked down the hall and up stairs to the second floor. I couldn't believe my eyes.
While it is hard to see, the picture below is of some of there's of the city of Komeitra.
In the background of this picture you can see the anti-tank ditches dug by Israelis following the war in case of a tank attack.
As if planned, while she was speaking we heard an explosion. Only this time, it wasn't thunder. It was an artillery shelling going on just beyond the border. We were nervous and she tried to calm our nerves... "If it gets any closer, we'll leave." Hardly reassuring, but incredible to experience. We then heard the roar of what we believe were F-16 jets from the IDF. While they were probably just doing a training run, I like to think they were protecting their most important VIP visitors from Temple Adat Elohim.
As we were leaving the sun was setting and it was getting darker and darker. How eerie to be there in the twilight of the evening.
As we boarded our bus and headed back to safety, we joked that now we would go to another winery... In reality, this experience gave us a small sense of the madness happening in Syria. We had a better understanding of the reasons for the conflict and the realization of just how important the Golan Heights are for Israel's security. We left understanding that Israel is a small country surrounded by petty nasty neighbors, a reality we could not posibly understand.
We returned to the hotel and went to dinner and enjoyed some of the wine we purchased at the local wineries. And we discussed how it felt to be standing only a half a mile from the terrorists who are fighting in Syria. Only in Israel.
After dinner we went and met with Nancy, a second-generation kibbutz member who lives at Kfar Blum, where we are staying. We learned about how kibbutz life has changed over the years and some of the struggles they face. It was interesting to hear how the traditional kibbutz had to adapt in order to survive, and it made me think of those fighters in Syria, who refuse to adapt their way of thinking and are killing because of it.
Today was incredible. You really have to come here and experience this amazing and diverse country. From the simple beauty of nature, to the ancient cities that connect us to our ancestors, from the fear and weight of standing so close to Syria to sipping wine along that very border. I am so grateful that while I enjoy our trip there are people like Major Zehavi who are keeping us safe. I am grateful for each and every member of the IDF who serve Israel proudly. It makes me think of America... While I do not think that every child should have to serve in the armed forces like in Israel, I do think that perhaps a year of civil service should be required. Perhaps a year of social action, geared to strengthen the ties of our youth to our great country might be a wonderful thing. In Israel you can see and feel that sense of national pride, a pride that I think is sometimes missing in America. Many in the USA take their freedom for granted. I know I do... Perhaps we all should do more to express our gratitude to those men and women who serve their country on our behalf, giving us the freedom to pursue our ambitions to better our world.
David, your last paragraph is great...
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