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| Zavitan waterfall |
Tuesday, November 5
Breakfast was standard to Israel – with an assortment of
salad, fruit, eggs, bread, jams and dairy available. My favorite that I had
every morning was the dairy – the cream cheese and even the cottage cheese was
just delicious.
Today’s first stop was the Golan Heights, where we ascended
to a picturesque view overlooking the valley. The Golan Heights was won by
Israel during the Six Day War, to create disincentive for further attacks from
Syria by taking some land in retaliation, and also to gain a strategic high
ground near the border.
We proceeded to hike in the Zavitan. We were warned at the
beginning of the hike that several mines still remained active in the area
after the war, so you have to stay on the path. Much of the ‘trail’ was path-finding
through a maze of cubic basalt rocks.
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| The Zavitan hike |
Half way through, we changed into our
swimsuits to take a dip in the emerald pond. Unlike the beach, this water was
friggin’ cold despite being a hot day, but I guess you could call it
refreshing.
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| The emerald pond |
Along the trail, we passed several relic buildings, some were
ancient Jewish homes that were slowly deteriorating into a pile of rubble,
others were damaged concrete and stone walls that were likely old Syrian homes
or barricades.
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| Still on the Zavitan trail here... |
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| ... awww, a flower! |
After this, we ascended Mount Bental overlooking the border
with Syria. We explored an underground barracks, and I actually regretted never getting the ‘flashlight’ application on my iPhone. One of the soldiers
told us about his friend’s IDF experience at an Israeli defense station in this
area, where they were under attack by rogue shootings originating from a mosque
across the border in Syria. They weren’t allowed to shoot back at the attacker
in self-defense, because they hadn’t been injured by the assault yet. It’s not
uncommon that during the civil war in Syria, sometimes attacks are directed at
the Israeli border.
The soldiers were telling us how difficult these and
similar situations can be to assess and decide when to shoot back in defense – they
can’t return fire when the attacker’s finger is on the trigger because you
don’t know for certain that they will shoot, you can’t return fire after
they’ve shot you because you’re already shot, but you have to wait for the
split second when they are pulling the trigger from a distance where damage
can be expected to occur from their weapon. That’s a lot to evaluate
objectively in a momentary situation where you fear for your life.
We learned a bit about the Yom Kippur War as we watched the
dust settle from the patrol along the border. Essentially, the IDF were
unprepared and outnumbered for the battle in the north, and experienced severe
losses (both sides did). But in the devestation, they knew that retreat was not an option. I
always understood the importance of Israel as a sanctuary for the Jewish people,
but being at this location where the IDF defended the front line against all
odds, knowing that there is no one else to defend Israel; strengthens my
respect for the IDF and reinforces the importance of Israel’s existence and the
people who risk their lives daily to protect it.
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| Sculpture at Mount Bental |
Just around the time we visited, a pregnant Syrian woman had
made her way to the Israeli border to be transported to an Israeli hospital for
treatment. This appears to be becoming more common as communities in Syria
learn that this is an option for them, many individuals are seeking care across
the border for injuries obtained during the civil war and other illnesses.
We watched the sunset over the Golan Heights, and then
returned to the kibbutz for dinner and some introductory group activities. Many
of us stayed out late, we had some musicians in the group and a common theme
for our nights out was karaoke to whichever songs our guitarists could play,
and even to songs they couldn’t.
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