Golan Heights

Today was a mix of Biblical sites and Israeli national sites. The government has done a great job creating national parks at all kinds of sites.

Our first stop, very close to the Lebanon border, is 1 of the 3 origins of the Jordan River at the Tel Dan. This site was already a settlement for 900 years, when Jeraboam took the 10 northern tribes to form the northern kingdom some 2950 years ago! We learned about the sin of Jeraboam in trying to change the rules of Judiasm and how that has not fared well for the tribe of Dan.

From this vantage point where you can see Lebanon.

We visited then Caesarea Philipi at the 2nd source of the Jordan, the Hermon Spring. It is a place also where there was worship of Greek gods and Temples to Pan and Zeus. Biblically it is very significant because it was here that the disciples recognized Jesus as the Christ, not just as a prophet like Elijah, but they still didn’t understand fully his mission.

Our lunch was in a Druze restaurant, (a delicious large size falafel) in a Druze village. This is a sect about 1000 years old, a break off of Islam, with some different views, but accepted by both sides. Many of them appreciate Israeli democracy and even volunteer to serve.

Our guide, Avi is a war veteran and was captain of a group fighting the Syrians on the Yom Kippur war. He took us after lunch to Mt. Bental, an extinct volcano, with an outpost on the Syrian Border where the Yom Kippur war started. He explained the problem there and how the battle was first lost but the war was won. Took 19 days…. 2 weeks longer than the 6 days war!

This is the border road in the light color, the 25 foot fence in the dark color. Beside it a tank trap and then a strip of land mines. It is an uneasy peace at the moment

Our last stop, and surprise was to meet Kurt’s partner in Israel, setting up these tours. He is a young Swiss man with a Dutch wife and 3 small boys, who, as a Christian, wanted to live in Israel and live his Christian faith in a useful way. When our President Trump encouraged Israel to finally open Golan Heights to development, money became available for settlers to open a Kibbutz community where you can start your own business, a slightly different, new concept from the original but an exciting development for this young family. And added treat, beside the ice cream break, was the view of the Sea of Galilee from the eastern side! we drove completely around the Sea of Galilee today.