The Clio is safe in Haifa harbor and we are slated for a busy day that will begin in the fishing village of Capernaum. It is here on the shores of the Sea of Galilee that so much of the New Testament story of Jesus takes place. The home of Simon Peter still exists and we also see a massive stone- now enclosed in a church- where Jesus was said to feed a crowd of 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes. Many of the miracles are sited here including cures and the famous stroll upon the Sea of Galilee. The most moving thing for me was the statue “Jesus the Homeless” a bronze sculpture by Canadian Timothy Schmalz that depicts Jesus as a homeless man lying on a park bench.
We walk a path of heart shaped stones to the water’s edge and I scoop a bit of the rocky soil into a jar as a keepsake. The Sermon on the Mount was delivered on a hill that overlooks the Sea and this motivates me to take some of the earth with me.
To this day, the fishing industry is plied on the Sea’s waters with tilapia being the most abundant catch. Overfishing has slowed the industry but the warm waters are perfect spawning grounds and there is hope for another fish boom. Israel also holds a swimming event here called the Kinneret Crossing which draws thousands of competitors from all over Israel. The land around the Sea is a small breadbasket that produces, bananas, olives , grapes…even mangos. It is a vibrant area that suggests the reason for Jesus focusing his ministry there.
We are off to the Golan Heights on the Syrian border that is famous for reasons other than the spiritual. Before long I am standing at the Syrian border looking into The Valley of Tears.
This aptly named area is the site of much bloodshed and as we approach the lookout point we see numerous signs warning us to observe the delineated paths to avoid land mines. Randomly, on the roadside, abandoned tanks are parked in groups. Since the 1967 Six-day War Israel has occupied the western two-thirds of the Heights and a UN Camp has been built to delineate a buffer zone between Israel and Syria. Even now, the eastern third of the area is the site of battles between the Syrian Arab Army and rebel factions of the Syrian Opposition. This is a battlefield no less spooky than Gettysburg or Shiloh.
We are due at lunch which will be served at a local Kibbutz. Kibbutzim, communities dedicated to a collective lifestyle- were established in the new state of Israel with a commitment to collectivism, utopianism and Zionism in roughly equal parts. The system resembles communism and the influence of immigrants from Eastern Europe and The Soviet Union can’t be overstated. The lunch is simple but abundant and it features the products grown on site. Beans, carrots, soups and fresh bread are the staples. I sense that the current generation of Israelis are not as excited by the idea of communal life and our guide – Bo Az- seems patiently amused by the kibbutzniks.
As we leave the Kibbutz, the weather worsens and we are visibly tired and sobered by by the Golan visit. As we motor through the rain the outline of Mt. Carmel appears and we finally see Haifa stacked in terraces on the mountain side. The experience of the Jesus message immediately undercut by the Valley of Tears is more than a little jarring.
A quote from Martin Luther King comes to mind…” Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.”
Word.
Olio Folio 