The Heights of Golan

THURSDAY, JULY 17

Today we spent in the Golan Heights seeing both the beauty of nature and the strategic importance of this area.

After another wonderful breakfast, we boarded three jeeps for a bumpy ride up to the Golan Heights. We began on the road that marked the boarder between Israel and Syria in 1967 and then climbed a hardscrabble road straight up in the heights. Along the way we saw fake land mines in the road – the Israeli army had been holding exercises the night before and these were part of the effort. The constant warning signs for real land mines served as a reminder that this had been war zone. Along the way we spotted several former Syrian bunkers. When we reached the top of the broad, flat volcanic plain that makes up the Golan we arrived at a former Syrian dugout. Our guide for the jeep ride, Hakuk, told us about the history of this area. We looked down, as Syrian soldiers had done, into the moshav below us which between 1948 and 1967 had been terrorized by Syrian sniper and mortar fire. He told us the story of the Six Day War as it was fought in the Golan, how the Israeli had found a weak point in the Syrian defenses at that very spot and had pushed through to conquer the entire Golan Heights in less than two days.

From there we crossed the Golan Plateau and came to an Israeli bunker used as the third line of defense incase of Syrian attack. We looked down into Syrian territory including the abandoned Syrian city of Kuneitra, kept empty by the Syrians as a “model” of “Israeli aggression.” We saw also the Israeli listening post that keeps Israel informed about everything in the area. We spent a good amount of time talking about the possibility of returning the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria. Talks are continuing right now along those lines. It is a difficult call. On the one hand, the desire of peace is critical for Israel’s future. On the other hand, there is great danger in returning to a situation in which Syria controls the area above Israel – we could see with our own eyes how vulnerable the north is. On the other, other hand – in this age of missiles and rockets buffer zones and height takes on much less importance than it used to.

Our trip could not be all about security and war history – it was also about appreciating the beauty of nature and having some fun. After a debate and vote of our own, the young people on our bus convinced us to take what turned out to be a spectacular hike through the Ghilbon Stream Nature Reserve to a breathtaking waterfall and swimming area. Along the way we received an accidental lesson in the varieties of Jewish observances, particularly as it relates to female modesty: a large group of Satmar Chasidic boys with long sidelocks and traditional clothing, including tallit, were hiking back from the waterfall pool as we were hiking down. Phyllis and many of the women in our group were shocked to find that not only did the boys not allow them to pass, but were actively avoiding looking at them – to the point of literally covering their eyes as they walked past. Roger even noted that the leaders of the group threatened him when he tried to pass. This led to a very interesting discussion about the various Chasidic groups and their attitude at finding themselves in the presence of women.

The hike itself was challenging but lots of fun – and the reward swimming in a beautiful pool at the base of the waterfall made it even more so. Kudos to Deanne for making the entire difficult hike with great spirit and attitude.

While some of us were hiking, the rest of the group found lunch and brought it back so the exhausted but happy hikers had a great meal.

On the way back we picked up our second hitchhiker of the trip – this time a soldier on leave. We dropped him and Doron at a nearby interchange. Doron is has a family wedding and will join us again tomorrow morning.

We returned to the area of Kibbutz Kfar Blum where we began a kayak and rafting ride down the upper branch of the Jordan – in fact we passed where two tributaries meet to form the Jordan River. Rainfall has been very light and the river is very shallow. And every inch of the water surface was crowded with boats full of Israelis, Arabs, and lots of American kids all along the river. We had great fun in our inflatable crafts going down the river and over one small rapid. But we were struck by the large number of other tourists who were there – especially young English speaking people in their 20’s and 30’s on Birthright trips. We were told that June was the largest month for tourists ever in Israeli history. And that there were something like 60,000 young people participating in Birthright trips here at this very moment. After so many years of absent tourists, it certainly is an exciting time to be in Israel!

Tired and happy from a full day of adventure, we swam in the hugely overside pool, had another amazing Kfar Blum buffet dinner and got a well-deserved night’s rest in the Upper Galilee region.