Insight Guides Israel by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Israel
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2017-12-20T05:00:00+00:00

Common Cranes at Hula Valley Nature Reserve.

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The nearby town of Kiryat Shmona began life as a series of corrugated iron huts known as ma’abarot (essentially, refugee camps). Situated close to the border, it has been for years the target of rocket attacks and terrorist infiltrations from the Lebanese mountains that overlook it, and the town was devastated by hundreds of missiles during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Today the town is quiet, with a population of 23,000, but it has little of interest to tourists.

The road to Metula

When the end of World War I left Palestine’s status unclear, Arab gangs attacked the Jews in this most northern region, forcing them out of their settlements. The settlers at Tel Khai and Kfar Gil’adi, north of Kiryat Shmona, though outnumbered, held out under siege for months until their leader, Joseph Trumpeldor, was shot and killed. The incident prompted the Jews to improve their self-defense and triggered the formation of the Haganah, predecessor of the Israel Defense Forces.

The building from which the settlers defended themselves is now a museum devoted to the Haganah. Nearby is a memorial to Trumpeldor and seven fellow fighters, including two women, who died in the attack. Thousands of Israeli youths converge on the Tel Khai site on the anniversary of Trumpeldor’s death. There is also a youth hostel here and a guesthouse at neighboring Kfar Gil’adi, today a flourishing kibbutz.

Just before Metula, in the Iyon Stream Reserve (daily 8am–4pm, until 5pm Apr–Sept, Fri 8am–3pm; tel: 04-695 1519), is a picturesque waterfall that flows impressively in the winter months (Oct–May) but is completely dry the rest of the year. This is due to a longstanding arrangement by which Israel permits Lebanese farmers to divert the water for agricultural use.

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