Traversing the North

Little is more important to the realization and maintenance of strong group connection and understanding than a little time apart. After an intensive two weeks together, we all went our separate ways to celebrate this past Shabbat. The majority stayed in the environs of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, others went further afield, but all benefited from time together with family and friends outside the CJHS circle. After minor hiccups (and other bodily functions) we were all re-united on Sunday morning and set our course due north. The final days of our trip will be spent exploring northern Israel and its fascinating history, culture, and geography.

Sunday took us to Givat Haviva, an educational center in the Wadi Ara valley focusing on a variety of concerns including Israeli-Arab co-existence, Arabic language school, and an educational program for the IDF. Our seminar leader Lydia, a Welsh Jew who has lived on a kibbutz in the area for the last forty years, enlightened us with her personal experiences with anti-Semitism in Wales, her decision to make aliyah, and her work over the past decades toward facilitating and promoting understanding between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. The center is located near the Green Line, in an area called the little triangle, which is home to 15,000 Jews and 150,000 Israeli Arabs. We spent a part of the day learning the history and the unique set of circumstances that have faced this rather substantial portion of the Israeli population through many years of conflict, intifadas and peace overtures. As they have struggled to both accept themselves as Israeli citizens and somehow maintain their Arab roots, so we too struggled to understand the effects this reality has had on the development of Israel.

The abstractions of the classroom were powerfully brought to the ground when we visited the Arab village of Barta’a. Immediately following the War of Independence, the Green Line cut this village directly in half, with the eastern half under Jordanian rule and the western half under Israeli rule. Families were literally split apart and the town lived under two governments technically in a state of war with each other. This situation continued for nearly twenty years, when in the wake of the 1967 war, the entire town once again came under Israeli control, with the exception that those in the west were Israeli citizens and those in the east were not. During the intifadas, when the Palestinians in the east participated in the hostilities, their neighbors in the west did not, causing further tensions within this town. After the security fence was constructed, Barta’a was a rare exception when the fence did not run along the Green Line, but rather included the entire town within the Israeli side. Today, the Green Line is literally a ditch that runs through the middle of town. We walked around the village, spoke to some of its inhabitants, tried to get their perspective of things. Overall, it was definitely an eye opening experience of this, yet another, complex side of Israel.

We spent the evening in Kibbutz Hannaton, one of the fledgling kibbutzim of the Conservative (Masorti) movement in Israel. We heard its rabbi speak of the challenges of establishing and maintaining a pluralistic religious institution and share some of our thoughts on the matter. The night concluded on an especially high note as we watched our very own Bears advance over the Seahawks in the playoffs.

The next day took us even further north, to the very border with Lebanon. As we drove next to minefields and looked into the Lebanese countryside, we heard from our new tour guide Nero of the various issues and successes in this part of the country: the historical conflicts of 1982 and 2006, the ongoing conflict with Hizbullah, the success story of draining the swamps and creating fertile agricultural communities, the struggles to extract adequate water from the land, and the natural beauty of the Galilee region. We went on short nature walk through the Banias, an ancient site connected to many peoples and cultures that have made a part of their history in the Middle East (starting with the ancient Israelites, and continuing through the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and finally the Jews in the modern day). Walking on slightly muddy ground, we weaved and turned our way through this nature park, finally ending up by the beautiful waterfall, where we stopped for pictures.

After a pizza lunch and some reflection, our afternoon was spent in Kiryat Shemona, working with an organization called Ayaleen. Founded by Israeli youth as a national service organization to supplement army service, the program settles young adults in towns and villages throughout the Galilee and the Negev, allowing them to integrate and interact with the surrounding communities. Especially focusing on either underdeveloped areas or those areas suffering from urban decay, these youth aim at revitalizing neighborhoods and making them friendlier, safer places to live. When it came to Kiryat Shemona, the area was suffering from a high crime rate, drug addiction, and a general sense of despair and inability to escape. Within seven years, things have gradually started to turn around and the community is starting to thrive once again. Our students spent time painting fence railings, planting trees, and preparing the soil for a future memorial garden. Contributing directly to the betterment of this community inspired us in many ways and helped us see the vision of a sector of Israeli youth who are dedicated to keeping Israel a vibrant and environmentally aware nation. As evening approached, we drove through Tiberias toward our home for the next two nights at Ohalo Manor, a beautiful hotel overlooking the Sea of Galilee. After a filling dinner and some fun games, we retired for the night, preparing for our second to last day here.