Tag: Rachel

Settlement of the Jordan Valley

A strange atmosphere today, a sense of nearing the end, as we began our penultimate tour of the course. Today’s trip was dedicated to the settlement of the Jordan Valley (or specifically the area around the Sea of Galilee), with a diversion via the Harod spring which we had not managed to visit previously.

On the one hand, a palpable sense of relief in the air – we have nearly made it! On the other, tension and concern as the final exams approach. And a mix of nostalgia – we have gone through a lot together.

Our day began, as mentioned, at the Harod Spring, located on the slopes of the Gilboa mountain. We visited the house built by Yehoshua Hankin, who was responsible for purchasing a great deal of the land that eventually became part of Israel – around 1000 square kilometres (that’s around 250 000 acres), including the majority of the Jezreel and Harod valleys. The house has recently been restored and has a short film about the life of Hankin – the film is a bit dated but the story is very impressive.

The Harod Spring
The Harod Spring

We then descended to the Harod spring itself, the site of the biblical story where Gideon selected his warriors based on their drinking style, before going out to vanquish the marauding Midianites.

Leaving the biblical period behind us, we drove east to the site of ‘Old Gesher’, which until 1948 was the Gesher kibbutz. Gesher means bridge and here are three bridges over the Jordan river, with one dating to the Roman period (with Mamluk repairs on top). The border with Jordan runs right down the middle of the river and we descended to the river (under the watchful eye of the nearby Jordanian border position) to check out the bridges and hear about the battle for the site in 1948.

Roman / Mamluk bridge over the Jordan at Old Gesher (currently under restoration)
Roman / Mamluk bridge over the Jordan at Old Gesher (currently under restoration)

Nearby are the ruins of the Naharayim hydroelectric plant, the first such structure in the Middle East and a remarkable feat of engineering for the time. Built across the border of what was then the Mandate of Palestine and Transjordan, it was an example of the cooperation between the early Zionists and King Abdullah of Jordan; sadly this did not last past the 1948 war and ever since it has been lying in ruins. The electricity company have built a small interactive museum about the plant; I had low expectations but it really was rather good.

Kinneret Courtyard
Kinneret Courtyard

From Gesher, we headed north to the Kinneret ‘courtyard’. Here the World Zionist Organisation established a training farm at the beginning of the 20th century, to help all the young and eager pioneers learn how to farm the land before going out to set up for themselves. The passionate and ideological young socialists who arrived here formed the backbone of what was to be the future state; indeed it was here that institutions such as the kibbutz; institutions such as the Hagana, Hamashbir and the Labour Union first sprouted.

One of the most famous inhabitants is Rachel Bluwstein (normally just referred to as Rachel or Rachel the Poet), a young pioneer who led a short and tragic life, leaving behind here a large amount of beautiful poems, many of which have become part of the Israeli literary and indeed musical canon.

The first building at Umm Juni
The first building at Umm Juni

Speaking of the kibbutz, our next stop was slightly further south at Umm Juni. In 1910 a small group of socialist ideologues arrived here, having been offered the land by the WZO. Remarkably, through their revolutionary communal living model, they were able to make a profit in the first year. And so the first kibbutz was born, established just next to the area called Umm Juni, and named Deganya.

The Motor House of Kinneret
The Motor House of Kinneret

We headed back north, to the site known as the Motor House. The building housed a pump that irrigated the surrounding fields, but of more interest was the story of the Yemenite immigrants who were housed here after moving to Israel in around 1912. They were eventually moved on in order to allow graduates of the Kinneret farm to establish a new communal settlement on the land, and a significant proportion of the group were not happy to leave. The story only became public knowledge in the past 15 years or so and caused quite a big deal of controversy in Israel.

Grave of Naomi Shemer in the Kinneret Cemetery
Grave of Naomi Shemer in the Kinneret Cemetery

We walked from the Motor House to the shore of the Sea of Galilee and our final site for the day, the Kinneret Cemetery. In a beautiful shaded setting next to Israel’s largest freshwater lake is housed the pantheon of Labour Zionists, the graves of Berl Katznelson, Rachel, Moses Hess, Nachman Syrkin, to name just a few. Together with these are some tragic stories associated with the struggle of the pioneers to adjust to their new environment; or on a completely different note, the grave of Naomi Shemer, the singer of ‘Jerusalem of Gold’, who was born at Kinneret.

We began our drive home to Tel Aviv, and in addition to the other emotions of the morning, we all began to feel a certain amount of nostalgia. Just one more tour remains, and it should be quite a fun one. What is the destination? You will have to wait until next week to find out!

The European Powers in Jerusalem

We returned to Jerusalem for a trip themed around the arrival of the European powers in the city. Over the course of the 19th century, for a variety of reasons, Jerusalem rose in importance in the Christian world and the international diplomatic struggle between the world powers began to play itself out over here with Russia (supporting the Orthodox church), France (supporting the Catholics) and Germany and the UK (supporting the Protestants) pushing for influence and control.

For the first time, a great deal of land began to be developed outside the city walls, by Jewish and Christian communities in parallel. This week’s trip was mainly focused on stories and buildings that came out of the Christian move outside the walls.

Beit Mahanaim, Jerusalem
Beit Mahanaim, Jerusalem

After having a brief introduction to the day at the grand Mahanaim house, built for a prominent Swiss banker and later housing the British High Commissioner, we admired the outside of the St Paul’s Church. The Anglican London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews had come to Jerusalem and had limited success with their target audience. Still, they had managed to persuade a certain amount of local Arabs to become Christian. This church, the first of its kind in its Jerusalem, was designed to allow Arab Christians to attend protestant services in their vernacular for the first time. As with the Mahanaim house, it is believed to have been designed by Conrad Schick (more on him later!).

St Paul's Church, Jerusalem
St Paul’s Church, Jerusalem

We walked down the Shivtei Yisrael street, arriving at the grand exterior of the Italian hospital. The Italians arrived late in Jerusalem compared to their European neighbours, having been tied up by fighting in Libya, but they made up for it with the grandeur of this construction in the Renaissance style. Designed by the famed Barluzzi brothers, the younger of the two, Antonio, was so taken with Israel that he stayed, becoming the architect of many of the Catholic churches in the country.

The Italian Hospital, Jerusalem
The Italian Hospital, Jerusalem

Turning up Haneviim street, we paused at the Ort Orliesky College building. Of more interest than the building itself was what took place here prior to its construction. On this site was the grand camp of Kaiser Wilhelm II when he visited Israel at the end of the 19th century. The visit was a huge event, leading to large amounts of construction, repair and cleaning of Jerusalem and the country in general in order to give a good impression to the first time visitor. We heard about his meeting with Herzl (you may recall that we heard about his previous meeting in Mikve Yisrael a few weeks ago) and his patronage of Jerusalem churches which resulted from his trip.

Continuing up the street, we paused at the former site of the Marienstift Children’s Hospital, the first children’s hospital in the Middle East; remarkable as its Christian founder, Dr Max Sandreczky, treated children of all faiths with no ulterior motives. Many of the other hospitals in Jerusalem had been founded by proselytising Christian groups which made their use problematic for the mostly Jewish and Muslim residents.

Continuing the medical theme, we visited the site of the Rothschild Hospital (once it had moved outside of the Old City walls), which was later named the Rothschild Hadassah hospital and became the forerunner of the famous facility now located on Mt Scopus. Today it is the Hadassah college and many of the students seemed a bit bemused by our visit!

Guiding as Dr Conrad Schick in Beit Tavor
Guiding as Dr Conrad Schick in Beit Tavor

A little further up the street was the grand Tabor House (Beit Tavor), former residence of a legend among Jerusalem’s architects, cartographers and archaeologists, Dr Conrad Schick.

An aside: at this point in the course each of the participants is asked to guide a specific site during one of our trips, the idea being that we get practice in preparing and then delivering the story in front of a group. A few weeks ago I was informed that I was to guide at Beit Tavor, and having given some thought to the task at hand, I decided that I wanted to do something a little different.

Having asked a friend to lead the group into a seated area, I performed a costume change that Clark Kent would have been proud of, emerging to the seated masses in the guise of none other than Dr Schick himself!

I regaled the group with stories of my arrival to Jerusalem, my architectural philosophies and my archaeological adventures. Most exciting was the tale of my discovery of the famed Siloam Inscription! I’m pleased to say that the group received this well and it made it worth carrying the costume with me all day long!

Ethiopian Church, Jerusalem
Ethiopian Church, Jerusalem

We moved on from Beit Tavor to the nearby Ethiopian Church, also designed by the dear Dr Schick. We learned here about the Ethiopian tradition of their connection to King Solomon as well as some of their practices which are unique among other Christian groups. The church was beautiful and completely different from anything we had seen until this point. Well worth a visit.

After noting the former home of Eliezer Ben Yehudah, considered the pioneer of Modern Hebrew, which was located opposite the church, we made a brief stop at the Bnai Brith Library. We heard the controversial history of the library, located close to the ultra-orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood while stocking a mixture of religious and secular books. Apparently some of the local haredi Jews would have spies around the library to catch people going in! The library was eventually designated the official national library of the future State of Israel; when the national library was relocated to be close to the Knesset, the building eventually became a yeshiva.

Nebi Akasha, Jerusalem
Nebi Akasha, Jerusalem

A brief historical interlude at the site of Nebi Akasha. Witnesses testify to this site in the 13th century although the building itself dates from the beginning of the 16th. Buried here are members of the Kamyari family, although we know little about them. In the 19th century a mosque was added to the site. Neither are in use at the moment; around them has grown the modern city of Jerusalem (the building would have been some distance from the city walls when constructed) but it is testimony to another portion of Jerusalem’s past.

Continuing on Haneviim, we paused by the home of William Holman Hunt, a British avant-garde artist who decided that to paint religious scenes of Israel, he needed to actually be here. Opposite his grand mansion was a small house that was briefly occupied by the famous Israeli poet Rachel, although she would have been there too late to meet her wealthy neighbour.

Our next stop was at the delightful Beit Ticho, home to one of Jerusalem’s first cafes (I can testify to the quality of their desserts!). We heard about the former inhabitants of the house, particularly the famous antiques forger Herman Shapira, and then the world-renowned optometrist Dr Ticho and his artistic wife Anna. The building is now owned by the Israel Museum and it is possible to enter for free and enjoy a small exhibition of Anna’s work together with a changing exhibition upstairs. And perhaps have a dessert on the way out…

Next to Beit Ticho is Beit HaRav, the former home Rav Kook, considered to be the founder of religious Zionism. Here was also his yeshiva, the Mercaz HaRav; there is now a small museum instead although sadly we did not have time to take a look – I’ll have to make a return visit.

Church in the Russian Compound, Jerusalem
Church in the Russian Compound, Jerusalem

We concluded our day in the area called the Russian Compound. The Russians were the major investors in Jerusalem of all the major powers during this period, partly because they had the majority of the pilgrims – around 20 000 a year! The Russian Compound was constructed to meet their needs offering hostels for men and women and a grand church. A later, grandiose building known as Sergei’s Courtyard was constructed to host important aristocrats; it has recently been returned to the Russian government and is undergoing refurbishment.

With the communist revolution the pilgrimages from Russia reduced significantly as did the funds flowing to the Orthodox Church institutions in Israel. Much of the land was sold off and the Russian compound was taken over eventually by the British and used as their governmental headquarters in Jerusalem. When Israel was later established, they bought the land from Russia (in oranges – money was short at the time!) and established there various local governmental organisations – the Jerusalem municipality is still in the area – as well as the Supreme Court before it moved to its current location.

Situated inside the Russian Compound is the Museum of the Underground Prisoners. The British converted one of the hostels into a prison – it is possible to visit the site where they have attempted to reconstruct prison life so that it is possible to understand the conditions at the time. Perhaps of most interest is the dramatic story of Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani – these two men were sentenced to death by the British; in a final act of defiance they committed suicide. The story is a remarkable one, to the extent that the former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin requested to be buried next to them on the Mount of Olives, forfeiting his right to be interred at Mt Herzl.

Next week we return to Jerusalem to explore the Jewish exodus from the Old City walls and the British Mandate rule in Jerusalem.