Nov 15, 2011 - Observations, Tzfat and the Galil

An Observation: I don’t get it . . . what’s the controversy? The Palestinians want Israel gone because they want “their land” back. We drove from Tel Aviv to Akko yesterday. We drove from Akko to the Galilee today. Everywhere . . . EVERYWHERE . . . I saw large Arab towns. They’re spread along the entire countryside. There are beautiful palatial homes and modern apartment buildings. It seemed as if the Jewish areas are all concentrated around the big cities and the Arab towns seem to be everywhere else. There are also many Arabs living in...

Feb 16, 2010 - Safed and a Castle

Israel is having a heat wave. The weather here has been in the 80's which is very unusual for the winter season. Our guide told us that today's temperature was the highest it has been in 50 years. I should have brought more short sleeve shirts. We were told to expect the temperature to be anywhere from 40 to 60 degrees. Today we left Tiberias and visited the town of Tzfat (also called Safed). It is located in the mountains of the Upper Galilee which is 3000 feet in elevation. In the 16th century, this became a center for Kabbalah, a form of...

Oct 3, 2008 - Visit to the Gallilee

Naomi writes: For Rosh HaShanah (Jewish New Year holiday) I took my family up to the Gallilee. We stayed with friends in Mitzpeh Netofah, a settlement of 140 families in the Lower Gallilee, perched on the top of a hill near the Sea of Gallilee. We also visited the B. family who made Aliya this summer from Vancouver and are living in Tzfat (the old city of Safed). We also visited an old friend from Israel, E., who lives in Mitzpeh Hilla, another small hilltop settlement near the town of Ma’alot, just a stone’s throw from the Lebanese Border....