Steve Kramer – Golan Heights Adventure
The Golan Heights is a great place for Israelis and tourists to visit, but it’s truly superb in the summer, when the usual hot days are followed by cool evenings. The Israeli-controlled Golan encompasses an area of only 690 sq miles, smaller than Butte, Montana. The population is about 40,000, equally divided between non-Muslim Druse who previously lived under Syrian rule (most of whom have not chosen to become Israeli citizens) and Israelis. The Golan’s political and security aspects dwarf its small size and population.
The Golan Heights tower over the Hula Valley in Israel’s Upper Galilee. It’s strategic location allowed Syrian troops to fire at will upon Israeli farmers in the valley below. That is, until the Six Day War, when the IDF overwhelmed the invading Syrians and conquered the verdant plateau, which is known for its cattle ranches and wineries. (The Golan Heights was under Syrian sovereignty only from1946, when the British colonizers gave it independence until 1967, when Israel repulsed the invaders and took control of the strategic highlands.)
Following a recent trip to Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev Desert, where we watched the fabulous lunar eclipse, we decided to see the Perseid meteor shower up north on the Golan Heights during the week when it was at its height. Michal and I left early in the day to meet our friends at our first stop on the Golan.
But getting there is half the fun. While the Golan is only about 2.5 hours away, the scenery is terrific, especially when you are traveling through the Galilee region. There are lovely mountains and valleys in Israel, with winding roads and superb vistas. Though Israel has only two real lakes (Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea), there are many reservoirs which can pass for lakes from a distance.
We and our friends made a brief stop for a breakfast picnic at Mitzpe Ofir, a scenic lookout funded by the JNF and the family of a young, deceased teen who loved to hike in that area. This is a wonderful lookout and rest area in the southern Golan Heights that overlooks the eastern shore of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) from a height of some 1,500 ft. One can see the entire Kinneret, and beyond, the Lower Galilee mountains and the Upper Galilee. We shared the site with a busload of young people from North American and Europe, all veterans of a previous Birthright experience. They were doing a repeat visit, with the emphasis on history and more engagement than they experienced during their super jam-packed Birthright tour.
We again saw the group at our next stop, the Tel Saki War Memorial, at the site of one of the first, important and devastating battles of the 1973 Israeli Yom Kippur War. The site was a tell (a hill resulting from a number of communities built one on top of each other over thousands of year) easily seen from the distance. It had a patch of green on its side, which turned out to be a large group of soldiers hearing the courageous story of a small band of Israelis against a huge Syrian force.
“It is difficult to explain the battle of Tel Saki in military terms. Fewer than 60 paratroopers and 45 tanks stood against the immense Syrian force consisting of 11,000 infantry soldiers, 900 tanks and countless armored vehicles and delayed them for three whole days. It is a story of individual determination, of not giving up on oneself, on ones friends and on ones country. A country they all loved so much and persevered.” (The whole story is told at http://www.gal-ed.co.il/ )
In brief, “A small core of soldiers was in the trenches at the top of Tel Saki when the battle began. In a short time, they began to run low on ammunition. Two unsuccessful attempts to rescue the soldiers or reinforce the unit were attempted, and more lives were lost. One of the soldiers surrendered to the Syrians, claiming that he was the last soldier alive; he was taken to prison in Damascus. The third rescue attempt was finally successful, and the Syrians begin to retreat. 35 soldiers lost their lives in this battle, three were taken as prisoners of war, and almost everyone else was injured. This memorial honors them.” (http://www.attractions-in-israel.com/golan-heights/)
We had a chance to wander through the extensive bunkers at the site, wondering what it must have been like for the brave young men who faced an impossible task, but stood their ground despite losing so many comrades.
On our way to the Golan Volcanic Park overlook, we stopped at one of the several “officers’ pools” which dot the Golan. These relatively small concrete pools were built for the Syrian officers to use.The pool was at the top of a steep hill with many ruts and rocks. We were able to navigate it easily in our small SUV, but when we arrived at the top, we were surprised to see many sedans with tents and mattresses tied to the roofs.
Sitting around and in the pool were a number of ultra-Orthodox families on family outings, who planned to camp out at the site. We struck up a conversation with one family, whose patriarch was from America. The grandfather told me that he had arrived in Israel alone, but now had 48 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren! We were invited to visit them sometime in their community in the Samarian hills.
While Michal and Rimona both enjoyed a swim of sorts in the cool water, Ephraim and I were content to sit on the edge of the pool, dangling our feet in it – a cool interlude on a hot day.
Next we traveled to Kibbutz El Ram, where we saw a film about another famous battle from the Yom Kippur War (1973), a conflict which took Israel by surprise on the morning of Judaism’s most solemn day. The invasion by Syria in the North and Egypt in the South threatened the destruction of Israel until its reversal several days later at engagements such as at the Valley of Tears. This heroic Israeli victory prevented the Syrians from overrunning the Golan Heights and pouring into Israel.
The short documentary describes the heroic story of the “Battle of the Valley of Tears,” highlighting the bravery of Battalion commander Avigdor Kahalani, who had already won Israel’s highest honor for courage in the Six Day War. The film is an awe-inspiring story of the tactics and bravery of the battles, a lesson of history and heritage that stresses the soul of the IDF, whose enduring spirit is led by personal example.
In brief: “At the Valley of Tears around 200 Israeli tanks held off about 1400 Syrian tanks over the course of a few days, breaking the momentum of the Syrian attack and giving Israel time to organize. In many ways the exploits of the 77 Battalion of the 7th Brigade saved much of Israel from the Syrian invasion. Their story has fittingly passed into Israeli legend. The tales of battalion commander Kahalani jumping from tank to tank [3 tanks confronting hundreds of Syrian tanks], during the Israeli counterattack, are known to every child. He later became an Israeli politician [after retiring from the IDF as a Brigadier-General].” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-valley-of-tears)
That night we had a delicious dinner at one of the Golan restaurants specializing in cattle raised on one of the nearby ranches. We stayed at a zimmer (a small tourist accommodation usually attached to a home) and in the morning descended from the Golan. But we soon started ascending the Galilee Mountains to the Open Museum at the Tefen Industrial Park, a location which we had never visited.
Tefen is one of four industrial parks established by the industrialist Stef Wertheimer. Its aim is to create a place that links industry with art and promotes creativity in all its forms. Wertheimer is a German-born Israeli billionaire industrialist, investor, philanthropist and former politician. He was only 11 when his family fled the Nazis and settled in Tel Aviv (1937). After serving in the Haganah during Israel’s War of Independence (1948-9), he began a job at Rafael, today one of Israel’s premier military industrial companies, but was soon let go because of his lack of formal education!
Wertheimer moved his family to Israel’s north and settled in Nahariya, on the Mediterranean Sea close to the Lebanese border, a community initially populated by many German immigrants. In 1952, Wertheimer started his own business in the backyard of his home, a small metal shop and tool making company he named ISCAR. His company grew to become one of the world’s premier tool-makers. In the last decade, the Wertheimer family sold the business for more than $6 billion to Warren Buffet, one of the world’s preeminent financial gurus.
The Tefen Industrial Park contains an open museum that exhibits temporary exhibitions of Israeli artists, a permanent exhibit depicting the history of the German Jewish Aliyah, a large sculpture garden containing sculptures of numerous styles, an exhibit dedicated to the development of Israeli industry, and a collection of automobiles, European and American.
We particularly enjoyed the German-speaking Jews Heritage Museum, where we saw a very interesting short film about Jewish life in Germany and in the British Mandate period, when Palestine was basically a British colony. Afterwards, we visited one of the dozen or so enterprises in the park, the Nurit and Uri Pottery Workshop and Studio. Most of their hand-made products are bought by some of Israel’s many chef restaurants.
I almost forgot to mention the meteor shower, which we watched the previous evening from 11 o’clock to 1 am. It was mostly a disappointment, with a small number of “falling stars,” not a “shower” by any means. But our short holiday was not dampened at all by that minor disappointment. A holiday in the Golan Heights is always an adventure!
