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Nina Ingram: Israel, Day 3

"Along the way, we also went into old bunkers that had served as protection for the Israeli military..."It was a beautiful sunset today as we watched from the windows of our tour bus that made its way round and round and up and down the winding mountain roads that stretched high up in the heavens. It was nearly 6 p.m. now and we had about one-half hour to go before we would reach the Roberg Restaurant in Livnim for dinner.
As I closed my eyes, I could hear in the background enthusiastic bits and pieces of conversations from our group as they reflected on:

(1) Our 8:15 a.m. departure from the Dan Carmel hotel in Haifa. As we left the hotel, we gave a final look at the beautiful Bahai Gardens with its 19 terraces;

(2) Our scenic drive to the Agamon Hahula Nature Reserve where we took a five mile bicycle and/or golf cart ride to view the magnificent Hula Valley migrating bird resting place and home for turtles and beavers and the many other little friends of the outdoors.These migrating birds make rest stops here as they make the trip back and forth over land from Europe to Africa. These birds don't fly over water - how interesting! Some of the birds have even made their home in Israel;

(3) Lunch at Naot Mordecai -- where we were introduced to a bomb shelter, its use and function. At Naot Mordecai, for some of us, we were introduced to a new living concept. Our guide discussed with us what life is like on a kibbutz (a shared community). At Naot Mordecai there was an opportunity for us to shop. Many group members bought comfortable, fancy shoes for themselves, family and friends. What a wonderful way to support the kibbutz;

(4) After lunch, we were introduced to Colonel Kobi Marom who visited with us for the majority of the afternoon. We all listened intently as Colonel Marom analyzed some of the major geo-political challenges Israel is currently facing. His discussions came alive for us (very vividly) when we all joined him on the Lebanon border, at the wooded site where in 1997, 73 soldiers lost their lives. It was noted by the Colonel that it was soon after these two helicopters went down that Israel made the decision to withdraw from Lebanon. As we continued to travel the Lebanon Border and Golan Heights, we were able to look over and see Syria. I didn't realize how close these countries were to Israel. Along the way, we also went into old bunkers that had served as protection for the Israeli military. What a history lesson!

(5) Before heading on to Livnim, we stopped by Golan Heights Winery. Here, we were given educational information on â€˜the grape' growth, production and consumption.
At or about 6:30 p.m. we arrived for dinner. Food was plentiful. What a delicious â€˜fine dining' treat. With all stomachs stuff — we were off to retire for the evening. We arrived at the Sheraton Hotel in Tiberias around 10:00 p.m.

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Posted by Nancy H. McLaughlin on Friday, April 24, 2009 at 9:09 am

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nemo0037 (imported)

April 24, 2009 - 9:35 am EDT

"I didnâ€™t realize how close these countries were to Israel."

[me bangs head on desk]

When two countries share a border you should EXPECT them to be close-by! LOL

It's interesting how militarized this chosen people of god are. It sounds as if they've lost track of what the name of their chosen capital -- Jerusalem -- originally meant.

And this thing about the Kibbutz. "Shared community..." isn't that a version of socialism? Where's the outrage?? {;-)

Andrew Brod (imported)

April 25, 2009 - 12:30 am EDT

Nemo, I don't know Nina, but she isn't the dumb one.

1. I doubt she's surprised that bordering countries are close to each other. But what is surprising, and what was undoubtedly her meaning, is how close those other countries are to Israel's population centers, especially in the north. It's not like there are miles and miles of uninhabited frontier. There's no buffer, and hence it's pretty easy to attack Israel. Which leads to...

2. It's hard not to be "militarized" when your neighbors have pledged to destroy you.

I presume the irony you believe you've discovered is that "Jerusalem" originally translated to City of Peace, but that's not accurate--it's a convenient modern rendering. The original meaning was almost certainly City of Shaleim, referring to a pre-Israelite god associated with nightfall. The word shaleim, or completion (in this sense the completion of the day, i.e. nightfall), is etymologically related to shalom, or peace. But they're different words, hence the city's original name is actually not so ironic. (Never mind the fact that your concept of peace is an odd one if it involves allowing others to destroy you.)

3. Yes, of course kibbutzim are "a version of socialism." In fact, they were established as communes, as in communism. Everyone knows that. It's hard to know if you really think the response should be outrage given your cute emoticon. But no matter. Israel's civil government was modeled after the democratic socialism of northern Europe, and nested within that civic structure were the kibbutzim. A similar community was the moshav, which involved a degree of private ownership. In recent years, however, Israeli kibbutzim have become less communal, more market-oriented, with private ownership quite common. To my eye, they now resemble planned communities in the U.S., and possibly even live-in industrial parks, more than communes.