Fertile Land and Security Threats

Monday was the beginning of my adventure to the north of Israel.  Throughout  the last year, whenever I thought of Israel my mind immediately went to the hills and farms of the Galilee and to thee glistening blue water of the Mediterranean Sea.    

Israel is known to have three geographic and climate regions – the desert of the Negev, the fertile mountainous area of the Galilee and the Jezreel Valley, and the coastal plains on its eastern border.  All three regions are very different and in some cases, just minutes apart.  As I headed north toward the Kineret (Sea of Galilee), through the Jordan Valley the surroundings stayed beige for a long time. As in the Negev with its vineyards and olive groves randomly scattered throughout, I began to see groves of  loquat , or Japanese plum trees,  and of mujara date palms that became increasingly frequent as I moved farther north.  I had a hard time identifying the loquat, but as it turns out, Israel is its second highest producer after Japan.  

Miraculously once I left Tiberius and rounded the northern Kineret, driving toward Tsvat everything was green.  It was as if we had entered a totally different part of the world. The Jezreel Valley, separating the hills of the Galilee and those of Samaria, is Israel’s richest agricultural area, providing fruits, cheese from several types of milk producing animals, olives and olive oil, herbs and spices and more for Israel and beyond.

I stopped briefly in Tsfat to visit a cheese farm.   The destination farm was closed for tasting but I did find another cheese maker nearby - Kadosh cheeses.  The present owner, Shlomo Kadosh, explained that his great-great-grandfather came to Tsfat at age 12 and decided to become a cheese maker.  He wandered among Arab villages learning to make cheese.   In the tasting room the extensive varieties of cheeses made from goat and sheep milk, including Kashkaval, Pecorino, Roquefort, a cheese flavored with Merlot wine and a salty cheese called “Tsfat” were attractively displayed along with olives, olive oils and halava. 

Because I had gotten lost both getting out of Jerusalem and leaving Tiberius,wasting close to 2 hours, and I was expected in Nehariya, I was way behind schedule and didn’t have time to make any other stops.      I did not find the GPS that came with the rental car to be as helpful as I had hoped and I ended up going in the wrong directions several times.   It didn’t read several intersections, and couldn’t identify my destination address at all.  I’m sure some inaccurate response to the GPS instructions may have had some influence on my getting lost.

Yehudit and Yossi's back yard

Andrea has been raving about Yehudit Ben Dak, the mother of one of her good friends from Hebrew University six years ago, and insisted that when I came to Israel I had to meet her and see the Mediterranean from their home in Nehariya.  Yehudit and I clicked like sisters – we have a lot in common, and like our daughters, have enjoyed our time together.   She is a Sabra, having been born in Israel, and was anxious to show me her part of the country.  Yehudit and Yossi live ON the beach – apparently their house is closer to the sea than any other house on the Israel coast.

Yehudit, her friend Esther and I visited the shuck at Akko in the morning. Akko was conquered by the Crusaders in the 12^th century and again in the 13^th century. Formerly part of what was known as Greater Syria, whichd included Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, Akko is one of the oldest port cities in the world, and is also the home to marinas where fisherman supply fresh food from the sea on a daily basis.  Jews, Christians and Muslims successfully co-exist in this town that has a vast history that includes the Crusaders, the Byzantines, Romans, Ottomans and British.   In the last ten years, many areas of Akko have been excavated and conserved. The old city of Akko was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In the shuck (marketplace) colorful food, merchandise stalls and intimate eateries are concentrated throughout ancient pathways.   A small table was set up outside the main area, closer to the marina, where two men were quickly and skillfully cleaning small fishes called “barbounia” for a restaurant in Nahariya .  Barbounia  is a small Mediterranean red mullet that is known to be one of the tastiest fishes.   The fishes were scaled, had their organs removed, rinsed and gently placed in a container for transport.  

Deeb Bader, the owner of the Bader Coffee Shop in the market, was born in Akko, as were his parents and grandparents.  He lived in the US for many years as a young adult but returned  to Akko with his family so his children could grow  up in the environment of their native culture.  Deeb imports coffee beans from all over the world and roasts them in his small shop once a week.  Customers line up to buy his coffee, either as whole beans, ground, or prepared to drink.  The distinctive aromas of the different beans fill the air. 

We joined the group of people waiting to get into Said, a popular hummuseria in the shuk.  Said has been around since 1971 and serve a limited menu which is popular with both tourists and natives.  They serve from the morning until they run out of hummus, usually around 2:00 PM.  The small eatery has stations set up to efficiently chop vegetables, prepare hummus, plate and serve the food.  I tried a new food called “mushawsha”, a warm variation of hummus, with extra tehina and chickpeas. It was delicious.  Since we weren’t that hungry, but HAD to try this restaurant, we shared a single bowl of some each of hummus and mushawsha.  

In the afternoon we went to Rosh Hanikra, the town farthest north on the western side of Israel and on the border with Lebanon and in a magnificent location on the Mediterranean. Yehudit and Yossi live in Nahariya,  only several miles from Rosh Hanikra, where the population and tourism have decreased over the last decade due to the constant missile threat.

Looking at the water through a grotto

One of the attractions are Rosh Hanikra are grottos that naturally formed inside the bedrock of the huge cliffs from the power of the waves continuously hitting against the massive rocks for thousands of years.  Combined with a series of underground shocks and raindrops penetrating the areas of separation in the bedrock, natural sea caves began to form.  I took a cable car down and walked through the 200 meter length of the path of the grottos, at one point getting soaked from the intense spray of the waves.

The power of the waves

During World War II and prior to the recognition of the State of Israel, the British, with soldiers from many countries, blasted railway tunnels through the rock to be used for transporting arms between Cairo and Istanbul.  The tunnels also served to bring hundreds of Jews, literally underground, to Palestine from Europe.  The tunnel was eventually blasted closed by the Jewish underground fighters to prevent passage of the Lebanese through the tunnel during the War of Independence in 1948.  

It was fascinating and concerning to be here where the history and the present time are so significant in the security, independence and survival of the State of Israel.