Israel: Jerusalem to the Golan Heights and Kibbutz Afiq

From Jerusalem to the Golan Heights....

Our tour group headed home but we spent an extra day in Jerusalem on April 11.  We walked to the Old City from our hotel and entered through the Damascus gate.

We wandered the streets of the Old City in search of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  We got lost and ended up at Jaffa Gate.  So, we dove back into the city and got lost again (much fun and laughter) but eventually narrowed in on our goal.  (I figured out afterward if I had just fired up Google Maps on the iPhone it would have worked...)

We stumbled across the 8th station of the cross on the Via Delorosa, got directions to the 9th station, and thought we had it made because all the other stations are inside the church.  Below is the 9th station   where Jesus could no longer carry the cross (as seen in the lower right corner).  It kind of dead ends at a place where unless you know what you are doing there is no way into the church.  So, we did what any good tourist would do....we followed a tour group who seemed to know what they were doing and got to go through a back way into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher!

On our tour the other day we didn't have time to go into the tomb or to 'touch' the place where the cross had been in the rock.  We wanted the girls to have those experiences, so we went to the tomb first.  Here is the entry to the tomb...

And once inside I had what might be my favorite moment of our tour so far.  We had AJ in the 'carry' backpack but were instructed to take him out before going into the tomb.  So, we did.  As we were in the tomb and I was saying a short prayer I heard his little toy car as he rolled it along the place where Jesus had been laid.

I suppose one could look at this as completely sacrilegious, but for some reason I just loved the moment.  My little boy just being a little boy anywhere and everywhere.  One thing is for sure, I have noted a few times in these notes that 'the exact place' where one event or another took place doesn't matter at all.  What Jesus did nearly 2000 years ago transcends any time or place.

There was a time when touching something Holy in the wrong way or doing something in relation to worship incorrectly could lead to death.  There are a number of Old Testament instances we studied as a family in the last couple of months where this happened.  But the New Covenant is written on our hearts and when you read the Bible it is astonishing how many times God or Jesus speaks about 'the heart'   That's what God is after....our hearts.  And there was just something beautiful to me about the heart of my little boy in this moment.

Next, we headed back up the stairs in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to the place where tradition says the crucifixion occurred.  We stood in line for about 30 minutes and it was almost comical how people behaved.  Here we are at the most Holy place in the Christian faith and people are shoving and pushing, showing little to no grace as there is this singular focus by many to just get to the spot where it happened and touch it.  Didn't matter that there was a little kid (AJ) who was starting to cry.  The nuns were trying to get people to move out of the way and let us go, but no one would budge.

Stairs heading up to the place where Jesus was crucified

So we waited and fortunately AJ calmed down.  It was interesting watching people.  It really IS a great place to watch people!  I think the best place to be is in front of the Cross on the other side of the ropes, on your knees praying.  Anyway, we each touched the spot, said a prayer and headed to lunch in the Jewish Quarter before heading back to the hotel.

That night we gave AJ his birthday present (which we bartered for in the Old City today...it is a Jerusalem camel).  He loved it.

And we had MOVIE NIGHT!

Next morning I walked to the rental car place and passed a hotel with security apparatus you won't see in the States...

Kibbutz Afiq and the Golan Heights

We drove to the Golan Heights and are staying at Kibbutz Afiq overlooking the Sea of Galilee.  Rachel and I stayed on this kibbutz for 2+ months when we were dating many moons ago!  We watched the sunset from what is called the Syria house.  It was a command post for officers of the Syrian Army prior to 1967.  The community left it as they found it...but it does have a GREAT view of the Sea of Galilee.  Our friend Marla, who still lives on this kibbutz, said that when her son had his bat mitzvah, they whitewashed the house and had the celebration there.

The kibbutz has been privatized since we worked there.  One of the things they have built are guest houses that are rented out.  We have a wonderful place, just a 2 minute walk from the Syria house.

AJ made a slide...

And then he busted his eye wide open in a fight with the furniture.....

He recovered pretty quickly....

But the next morning had quite a shiner (yes, he slept in the same clothes as we didn't want to try to take the shirt off over his head until things were less sensitive)...

He still has the shiner but is just as much boy as he has always been.

Kibbutz Afiq and the Borders

Kibbutz Afiq (spelled Afik in some places) is a 5 minute drive from the Syrian and Jordanian borders (Point A in map below).  Looking at Google maps it is near the intersection of road 789 and 98 in the Golan Heights.  If you are looking at a map, look to the left of where Israel, Jordan, and Syria touch.  There is a road that comes down toward that area (Point B in map below).  That road is where we were when we took the following pictures.

There are minefields ALL OVER the Golan Heights.  It has never been completely cleared and as recently as last year a father and son decided to hop the barb wire fence marking a mine field to save some time....and the son stepped on a mine and lost his leg.  That got the girls' attention for sure!

When Rachel and I volunteered here many years ago, the coordinator jokingly called the minefield signs "Volunteer Picnic Area" signs.  Ha!

Our friend, Marla, explained to us that the minefield above is a secondary line of defense with the mines in this case between the two rows of barb wire.  She also explained the geography to us, where Jordan was (area directly in front of us in the pictures below)....

Where Syria was (in the picture below Syria is the hill directly in front as well as the city in the distance...that picture is the left edge of the pictures above showing Jordan...basically I swung the camera to the left to get this picture)

And we drove down to the new improved fence Israel has been building.  We had to high tail it out of this area as an Army outpost was NOT happy that we were down by the fence.

SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

The girls asked "what are all those 'BOOMs' we keep hearing?"  And Marla said "Girls, that is the civil war going on in Syria.  When I brought someone here a few months ago we could actually see the explosions happening in that town just over the border.  The 'booms' you are hearing are people firing at each other and potentially killing each other."

And things got real quiet as it sunk in what was going on over that border.

We are so lucky to live in the USA and not have to worry about the things people here have to worry about.  It is really amazing that this little country of 1.5 million in 1967 was able to defeat 3 large, well equipped armies in a matter of 6 days.  Marla said "It's no big deal to the Arabs if they lose.  If we lose, it means the end of Israel....so, it is a real motivation for us to win."  The population of Israel is still only 8 million....and her neighbors still want to annihilate her.

We asked Marla what would be better in her opinion, for the current regime in Syria to stay in power or for the rebels to win and get power?   Her response was 'It is better to go with the devil you know than the one you don't know.  The rebel leaders have said that they will not be like Assad and keep the peace with Israel.  They will attack.'  That is probably bravado on their part but her point was that there really isn't a good option as whoever is in charge is going to hate Israel and want to see it annihilated.

It is amazing to me what 3 year olds pick up.  As we were walking to the sunset point (see below), AJ asked me "Daddy, is the Army over there a good army or a bad army?"  And I said "It's a bad army buddy.  But the good news is we have a very good army over here to protect us and I'm here as well to make sure your safe."  And his worried little eyes relaxed and he said "Ok Daddy"

Sunset over the Sea of Galilee...

We went to dinner with Marla and got caught up on all that has happened since we left.  When we were volunteering here, the young people would criticize us for how hard we worked.  In a kibbutz no one owns anything, everyone is basically paid the same, and all proceeds go back to the community.  It is a very socialist based thinking though it is run by people who believe in the concept versus something that is forced on the people through the coercion of government (there is a big difference as I support the former but very much disagree with the latter).

Anyway, my understanding of socialism took a real world turn here as it was around the time that the Soviet Union was breaking up after 70+ years of Socialism / Communism.  The comment that Rachel and I would get all the time from the people we worked with was "Why are you working so hard?  You are not going to get anything more by working hard!  You are making us look bad!  Cut it out."

And that is one reason I am a capitalist today.  With all its warts, it is still the best economic system in the world.  I was pleased to hear Marla outline how the kibbutz eventually moved to a privatized model as enough members expressed frustration with everyone being paid the same and wanted to be rewarded for their own initiative.  So, they created what sounds like a hybrid model where there is still a community center but things have been privatized to a point where people can go out and work toward their financial goals etc.

Hamat Gadar

The next day we visited Hamat Gader which is nestled in the valley right on the Jordanian border.  It is a park with hot springs created from the Syrian-African rift that runs through this area.

The water was VERY warm.  It was already a warm day so we decided to focus on the animal park This place LOVEs crocodiles and alligators; it literally had at least 300 of these around the park including some huge ones in a large 'lake' on the property.  It also has a very funny parrot show as well as a place for kids to hold various animals.

The kids look green because there is a huge green tarp over this area to block out the sun

Nature's way of saying DO NOT CLIMB ME!

The evening of the April 14 we attended a Memorial Service at the kibbutz where they laid a wreath, lowered the flag to half staff, spoke words, and sang songs.  The 14th is their Memorial Day and the 15th (tax day in the USA) is Israeli Independence Day.

This picture was taken the morning after the memorial service

Marla took us to her home on the kibbutz after the Memorial service and what do you think had all of our kids SO interested???

They were looking at pictures of US from SO many years ago....

The kids said "Dad, your hair is so blond and you are so thin!"  And I said "Yes, they worked us poor volunteers like slaves!" (which was half true as wake up call was before 5am and we worked 6 days a week back then).  But we did get a week off to go to Egypt and southern Israel.  And Israel is SO small (literally a 2 hour drive from here to Jerusalem) that we took day trips by on our day off each week to Nazareth and Capernaum and went swimming in the Sea of Galilee etc).  The way we got around?  Hitch hiking!   Young and dumb, young and dumb.....but it is a normal way to get around here.

Anyway, I'm in the yellow shirt and Rachel is on the far right.  The girls said "Mom, we REALLY like your hair!"

Here is another picture of Rachel.  We have no idea who the person on the right is.  Probably another volunteer.  The girl in the middle is Marla's daughter, Kinneret, who is now an adult who works with abused women.  We hope to meet her later this week....

We are starting to focus on our trip to Kenya, getting skits and vacation bible school things organized as we will be working with MANY kids in the slums there.  So, this time on the Galilee is a time of preparation and rest for what is to come.

Other Favorite Pictures 

For our friend Emily who requested a picture of 'the bump'....here you go!

AJ wake up call this morning!

BOMB SHELTERS...when we were volunteers here, neither of us ever noticed the bomb shelters.  Rachel stayed a few weeks longer than I did and it was during that time that the Hezbollah started bombing northern Israel with artillery and rockets.  Everyone at the kibbutz went to the bomb shelters while she was working in the gardens.  She had no clue what was going on.  As she walked around the kibbutz it was like something from the twilight zone.  Eventually people came out of the shelters and she learned what was going on.  Her last volunteer effort was writing the volunteer handbook, part of which outlined where all the bomb shelters were on the property.

Now that I know what they look like, I see them all over the place.  It is odd that they are all locked (though one of them wasn't locked too well and we were able to get into it).  What happens if the person with the key isn't there when the bombing starts?

Future Vanna White?   H with a Greek column found on the property.  When we asked Marla what all the ruins were about she said "well, when you start digging in Israel, there is a pretty good chance you are going to come across something...."

The kids...notice the bomb shelter in the background....

The kids and Rachel...

The dining hall where I used to have the wonderful job of cutting whole chickens into parts.  Fortunately that was for volunteers on the 'low' wrung of the totem pole (ie newly arrived).  Graduated to working agriculture later on which was much better....

Marla's son, Golan, and his class did this mosaic which now hangs on the other side of the dining hall.

AJ and his playgrounds....

Google's main page in Israel on their Independence Day (which we learned is based on the lunar calendar so it isn't the same date each year....kind of like the date for Passover and Easter moves around each year based on the lunar calendar)

Til next time, God Bless!