The Golan Heights is of great strategic importance in the region. The area was under Syrian control from 1944 until Israel captured the region in 1967 during the Six-Day War. Since then, the area has remained under Israeli control. Israel successfully defended the territory in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, though a portion was later returned to Syria. In 1981, the area was annexed by Israel, a move not recognized and condemned internationally and called "inadmissible" by the UN Security Council.
With heights ranging in elevation from 9,230 feet on Mount Hermon in the north, to about sea level on the Yarmuk River in the south, the Golan Heights is strategically important as it provides significantly to the water resources of the region. This is true particularly for higher elevations, which are snow-covered, much of the year in the cold months and help to sustain base flow for rivers and springs during the dry season. The heights receive significantly more precipitation than the surrounding, lower-elevation areas. The occupied sector of the Golan Heights provides/controls a substantial portion of the water in the Jordan River watershed, which in turn provides a portion of Israel's water supply.
The first stop on our tour was at the water’s edge of the Sea of Galilee, also know as the kinneret.
The receding shore was very evident from years of inadequate rains. The Packers were bringing much luck to the area as major rains (with thunder and lighting) coincided with our arrival. If I remember correctly, 40% of the annual rainfall had fallen in the few days that we were in the area.
We climbed deep into the hills crossing rivers, driving through abandoned Syrian army posts, and had great vistas of the Hula valley. The side flaps on the jeep, which protected us from flying mud and water did not allow for many pictures. The water was running amazing high; in riverbeds that were almost dry a week before.
Unfortunately, we reached the river we could not cross and had to change direction.
The kids were checking the flow of the river by tossing twigs and watching them speed away. This was a great opportunity for pictures. Hard to complain that the sun was shining and it felt great.
Link to mt bental: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/geo/bental.html
As we boarded the bus and headed north, we were driving into a fog bank. Visibility dropped to just a few feet. By the time reached Mt Bental, we were in a wet snowstorm.
On a good day, the Mount Bental overlook, at 1,170 meters above sea level, must be beautiful, providing endless views of Mount Hermon and the Golan. On this day we had to imagine!
This is what we were told: Kibbutz Merom Golan, the first Kibbutz established in this region after the 1967 war manages the area. From the overlook one might see Mount Hermon (3,000 meters above sea level), several Druze villages as well as a network of old bunkers and trenches (on a clear day of course) Just to the east of Mount Bental is Syria, with Damascus lying just 60 km away. This mileage post best represents that this particular point is closer to Jordan and Syria than to Jerusalem.
Mount Bental is a key strategic point for Israel due to its advantageous observation point, and was the site of one of the largest tank battles in history during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. According to a history book, Israel knew it count not risk losing this mountain, nor any of the Golan Heights. The Syrians attacked the Golan with 1,500 tanks and 1,000 artillery pieces. Israel countered with only 160 tanks and 60 artillery pieces. The long stretch of valley in between Mount Bental and Mount Hermon became known as the Valley of Tears. The 100 Israeli tanks were reduced to seven under extreme enemy fire. However, the Israelis managed to take down 600 Syrian tanks in the process. The Syrians eventually retreated, but not without inflicting heavy casualties on Israel.
As we drove down the mountain the skies cleared once again.
A fast food lunch stop was the first of many falafels in which this family would indulge! Yes, I ate at one too many fast food establishments while traveling with the cousins.
The Golan Heights Winery was a good tour and a better tasting!
The winery was founded in 1983 and is located in the small town of Katzrin, high up on the Golan Heights. The winery tour was heavy into AV, as most of the Israel's tourist attractions are.
Today, the Golan Heights Winery is a company owned by 4 kibbutzim and 4 moshavs. They manage the vineyards, which rise from near the Sea of Galilee to the foot of the snow-capped Mount Hermon. This constant supervision ensures that the maximum potential of quality is realized in each of the vineyards that are scattered throughout the area. The chief winemaker is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. The winemakers ensure that the special benefits of the grapes from the Golan Heights are transformed into one of the many wines they produce under 3 labels: Yarden, Gamla and Golan.
The Golan Heights Winery has not only raised the standards of Israeli wines, but has also allowed the country to successfully compete on the world stage. The state of the art technology in combination with traditional vinification techniques is the equation for producing award-winning wines, firmly placing Israel on the international wine map.
The next story begins in 1919, when 2 Jews from Tel Hai were killed. After these two were killed, a man named Joseph Trumpledor decided to come up here and help protect these villages.
Joseph Trumpledor was an assimilated Russian Jew, and a dentist. Following in his father’s footsteps, he joined the Russian Army in 1902 and went on to become the most decorated (for bravery) Jewish soldier in the Russian Army. After being captured during combat, he became the first Jew in the Russian army to receive an officer's commission. Like his father, he lost his arm in combat.
During his time in the Japanese prison camp, he heard a lot of anti-Semitism and decided that a Jew should live in Eretz Yisrael. Because of his disability, he was no longer able to practice as a dentist, so he began to study law. He also became very involved in a Zionist group, and in 1911, they immigrated to Israel and joined a farm on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.
When World War I broke out in 1914, and he traveled to Egypt where he collaborated in the development of a Jewish Legion to fight with the British against common enemies. In 1915, the Zion Mule Corps was formed. It was the first all-Jewish military unit organized in close to two thousand years, and became the ideological beginning of the Israel Defense Forces.
The Corps saw action in the Battle of Gallipoli and remained in Gallipoli through the entire campaign. They were disbanded shortly after being transferred to Britain. In 1918, at the end of the war, Trumpledor was offered a commission in the British army, but he refused it, and began working to bring Russian Jews to Israel. He lived on Kibbutz Deganya on the Kinneret until the first two Jews were killed at Tel Hai…
Trumpledor commanded the defense in this area for HaShomer. The Arabs and the French were still fighting, and on March 1, 1920, hundreds of Arabs showed up at the gates of Tel Hai, in search of French soldiers that might be in hiding. (The Jews generally tried to maintain neutrality in the chaos, occasionally sheltering both Arabs and French.) On this day there were no French soldiers, and the Jews allowed a search. One of the farmers fired a shot into the air, a signal for reinforcements from nearby Kfar Giladi, which brought ten men led by Trumpeldor. Fighting broke out, and it became a losing battle. The Jews of Tel Hai carried their wounded up the hill to Kfar Giladi. Trumpledor was seriously injured in the fighting, and he died along with five other Jews. The name of the city just south of here, Kiryat Shemona is for the eight people who died at Tel Hai.
Trumpledor’s last words were reported to be "Never mind, it is good to die for our country" (Ein davar, tov lamut be'ad artzeinu). You will see this printed on the side of the monument.
Trumpeldor is regarded as a hero by both right wing and left wing Zionists. After his death, he became a symbol of Jewish self-defense, and his memorial day on the 11th day of Adar is officially noted in Israel every year. A street is named for him in Tel Aviv.
Trumpeldor and the other fighters where initially buried inside the kibbutz. They were interred there until 1924 when the cemetery was moved to its present site. By 1927, the cemetery was neglected and a man named Lord Meichert hired an artist to build a monument. Since this was the first monument that was erected, there was much discussion about what it should look like. A statue of Trumpledor was considered; the consensus was for something more symbolic. The lion prevailed, as it is common in Jewish art. The eight fighters who died at Tel Hai are buried here in a kever achim (mass grave).
Across the valley you can see the Golan Heights; below you is the Hula valley. Take a look around the cemetery; many of the members of Ha Shomer are buried here.
Behind this cemetery, Near the gate of Kibbutz Kfar Giladi is another poignant memorial. On August 6, 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, twelve reserve IDF soldiers were killed after being hit by a katyusha rocket launched by Hezbollah from Southern Lebanon. The group of artillery gunners was gathering on the kibbutz in preparation for action in the conflict.
And the adventure continues…
No comments:
Post a Comment