Traveling with a soldier who also is a farmer in the Upper Galilee region, we took the back roads up to the Yakinton outpost on the northern border. While we were driving, he explained that a few months ago we never would have been allowed on the road (the other side of the fence pictured here is Lebanon).
We stopped in the residential area of Shtula where he showed us an engine from a Katyusha rocket--the wings on either side unfold as they are launched. We also went into a bomb shelter outside of one of the first homes to be hit. More than 15 people would pile into this small space for days at a time waiting for news that it was safe to come outside. Many people who live in this area received JUF-funded week-long respites at hotels in central Israel. Being in the shelter for 10 minutes was enough. I can't imagine being there for days without knowing when I could leave.
Before reaching the military base we were scheduled to visit, we paused at the spot where three Israeli soldiers were kidnapped last summer. I spoke with a man who lives in the area. He saw me looking at the flag and taking a picture of the wild Jerusalem flowers growing beneath it and pressed a piece of metal punctured with bullet holes into my hand. He said something like, "for you" and I felt as if he wanted me to bring it back and show people. As we continued up the road to the base, we passed soldiers driving in a Hummer similar to the one that was ambushed. They waved and seemed at ease.
Once at the base, we climbed up to the outlook area and looked out at Lebanon and the snowy Mt. Hermon. It was a really interesting trip--like so many other aspects of the MASA week we were taken into places that most tourists never see and talked with people most tourists never meet.
This weekend: Relaxing and scouting in Tel Aviv and a break from scheduled touring.
