Our Friday morning trip was an unpretentious local outing organised by the kibbutz. The itinerary included two main points of interest; the Gazelle Heights just north of Ein Harod and the Harod Stream in the Jezreel and Beit Shean valleys.
We had to keep ahead of the approaching rain, so we set out first along the Gazelle Heights road. At its eastern extremity the road connects with the main thoroughfares leading to Beit Shean. At that junction we followed the Harod Stream part of the way to its source. The stream carries the waters from Gideon's Spring and flows in an easterly direction to the Beit Shean Valley where it feeds the Jordan River.
During the Ottoman period over thirty water-powered flour mills were built on the banks of the stream. Sections of the stone conduits and some of the mill houses are still visible.
Driving across the Gazelle Heights we saw groups of gazelles scampering away as we approached. Sharing the heights with jackals, hyenas and a few wolves makes them skittish and difficult to approach. . The flat plateau-like area that extends from Ein Harod to the north is no more than 200-250 metres above sea level. A number of ravines intersect it from east to west. We stopped to observe the landscape at a point not far from one of the ravines.
Click on this hyperlink to see the video of our trip:
You can watch it here:
http://vimeo.com/36610109
| | Tu Bishvat 2012 Involves Beni Kaye. |
Beyond it the Issachar Heights stretch to a high point on the horizon marked by a clump of trees and the ruins of a Crusader fortress. Variously called "Star of the Jordan," “Star of the Winds” and “Belvoir," the fortress was built by the Knights Hospitallers in the twelfth century.
After defeating the Crusader army at the Battle of the Horns of Hittin, Saladin laid siege to Belvoir. For eighteen months the warrior monks fought off the Muslim army before negotiating terms of surrender in January 1189.
The moat, the massive ramparts, towers and keep impart a sense of impregnability common to mediaeval fortresses. Of all the fortresses the Crusaders built Krak de l'Ospital, or as it was called later Krak des Chevaliers, is by far the most formidable. A few months before he besieged Belvoir Saladin led an army to attack Krak des Chevaliers, but on seeing the fortress he decided it was too well defended and turned back.
Krak des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers is situated 65 km west of Homs and 75 km south-east of Tartus. Lately Homs has been one of the targets of Assad's ruthless crackdown on opposition groups. Syrian army tanks are currently deployed in the Homs municipal area bombarding opposition forces and civilians alike.
Russia maintains a naval base at Tartus on the Syrian coast. The facility is being renovated to serve as a foothold for a permanent Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean. Two weeks ago I wrote "Moscow is clearly interested in the survival of Assad's regime because Syria is a major importer of Russia's arms. Syria buys ten percent of Russia's annual arms exports amounting to $1 billion. Mindful that Russian arms manufacturers lost close to $4 billion in defence contracts in Libya following the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's government, Moscow is keen to prevent the same thing happening in Syria." Bearing this in mind the naval base at Tartus is an added reason for Russia's intransigent defence of Assad's regime. In effect Tartus is Russia's only foothold in the Middle East.
Military historians maintain that fortresses have evolved in line with weapons technology, an axiom borne out by the chain of fortresses built by the Crusaders.
They claim the principals of attack and defence have remained unchanged. Many modern military principles are based on time-tested traditional techniques.
The relatively short history of tank warfare is another good example. With the advent of anti-tank mines, new anti-mine techniques were developed to clear minefields. R.P.Gs and smart armour piercing anti-tank shells and rockets almost made tanks obsolete. In the heyday of asymmetric warfare small guerilla forces armed with hand-carried anti-tank rockets were able to immobilise heavily armed tank formations. At a time when many military analysts were writing eulogises for the demise of the MBT (main battle tank) the IDF improved the armour on its Merkava tanks and developed the ultimate tank and armed personnel carrier defence mechanism, namely the ASPRO-A (Trophy) active protection system This sophisticated add-on to the tank's defence array rapidly detects and tracks any anti-tank threat, classifies it, estimates the optimal intercept point in space and finally intercepts and destroys the threat.
The threat detection and warning subsystem consists of several sensors, including search radar located around the protected vehicle providing a full hemispherical coverage. The intercept and destroy mechanism is activated only if the detected threat is about to hit the vehicle.. A similar real threat detection and destroy principle was incorporated in Israel's "Iron Dome" defence system and it will be an integral element in the "Magic Wand" and "Arrow" anti-rocket and missile defence systems. The latter are almost ready for deployment; however these sophisticated systems are expensive and budgetary cuts threaten to delay their acquisition.
IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Major-General Yair Naveh warned that the pending budget cuts will harm the military's satellite deployment and have forced the IDF to suspend the purchase of two additional Iron Dome batteries, as well as several acquisitions pertaining to the Arrow and Magic Wand systems.
The current budgetary cuts are linked to the world-wide recession and local constraints resulting from last summer's social welfare protests. The protests led the government to commission the Trajtenburg Committee to investigate the complaints made by the protestors. The committee's recommendations necessitated budgetary cuts to pay for pre-school education and other social welfare benefits. The principle of taking from Peter to pay Paul is an alternative or a supplement to additional taxation. The ministry of finance regards the relatively large defence budget as a convenient kitty it can dip into to pay all the needy underprivileged sectors. The SIPR (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) ranked Israel in 18th place in its database of national defence spending last year. We spent more than $13 billion on warding off our enemies. That sum is equivalent to 6.3% of our per capita GDP.
Minister of Finance Dr.Yuval Steinitz has never accepted the time-tested tradition of letting the defence establishment plan its own budget.. In his dealings with the ministry of defence he insists on budgetary transparency. Understandably, he demands that all defence expenditure be clearly itemised. Minister of Defence Ehud Barak claims there's no lack of transparency. However, he knows that if he gives the ministry of finance a full and complete breakdown of defence expenditure Dr. Steinitz will be able to pinpoint vulnerable items such as the IDF's generous pension scheme. So Barak and the IDF big brass are threatening layoffs in the defence industries and acquisition cutbacks. Barak hopes the prime minister will intervene on his behalf, however so far Netanyahu has sided with Steinitz. If you sense a distinct "déjà vu" regarding the battle between the two ministries your instincts are right. Following the Second Lebanon War the government appointed David Brodet a former Director-General of the Ministry of Finance to conduct a comprehensive study of the functioning of the IDF, its structure and budget. People selected to head government appointed committees and commissions of inquiry nearly always attain immortality. Thus the Brodet Commission will live on long after David Brodet and all the merry band of government ministers have departed this world. The commission’s report was particularly harsh in criticising the way in which the IDF and the defence ministry handled military and budgetary business. Furthermore it accused the IDF of manipulating data presented to the government in order to increase its budget. Perhaps the most invasive recommendation made by the Brodet Commission was a proposal to introduce external control over the defence budget. It suggested that the National Security Council be given a central role in that respect on behalf of the prime minister. Of course it takes time to implement these recommendations. So far nothing has changed.
In an article on the current situation in Syria published in the Washington Institute’s PolicyWatch Jeffrey White said, "Ultimately, without armed intervention, substantial military assistance to the FSA, or both, the best that can be hoped for is a bloody and protracted war of attrition with an uncertain outcome." In referring to the difficulties Assad is facing he noted that, "Although the regime has a large number of forces -- up to several hundred thousand military and security personnel, depending on how they are counted -- it cannot conduct large-scale multi-brigade/divisional offensives in all areas of unrest simultaneously. In areas where the FSA is embedded, Assad must use significant forces combining armor, infantry, and artillery." The Christian Science Monitor correspondent Dan Murphy believes international military action against Bashar al-Assad's regime remains unlikely. Quoting Aram Nerguizian, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and author of a December report on the risks of military intervention in Syria, Murphy says, "Anything that would involve direct Western intervention would be deeply destabilizing at the regional level…. With diplomacy stalled and a Libya-style intervention out of the question, Western and Arab officials are weighing military support for the rebel Free Syrian Army, a catch-all for Syrian army defectors, Islamist activists, and others who have taken up arms against Assad." A report in the Economist last week pointed out that the fragmentation of the opposition groups and their inability to fight under one flag will likely make their struggle protracted and bloody. "The fissures within Syrian society have stymied efforts to organise opposition to the regime." Quoting Nerguizian again Murphy highlighted another danger," Given the sectarian nature of Syria's politics, there's a risk that today's freedom fighters could become tomorrow's oppressors."
Roxanne Horesh reporting for AL JAZEERA emphasised the low profile Israel has maintained regarding the Syrian opposition. She called it a "strategy of silence". Horesh pointed out that, "Given Syria’s perceived geographic vulnerability, and limited military resources, the chances of Assad leading a successful military campaign against Israel are relatively low. The Israel-Syria border has remained rather quiet since 1973." Relating to what she termed as Israel's obsession with containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the speculation regarding an Israeli preemptive attack on Iranian nuclear facilities , she said that, "Many Israeli officials and analysts have recommended taking a stronger position in support of the Syrian opposition. They view the prospective collapse of the house of Assad through the prism of Israel’s realpolitik, as a way to break the so-called Tehran-Damascus axis and as a means of weakening Hamas…"The current climate is an opportunity to redraw the map of the region, isolating Iran and bringing Syria into its orbit."
On a lighter side Jewish Chronicle correspondent Jennifer Lipman reported that Israeli fans of Madonna have appealed to Prime Minister Netanyahu to postpone action against Iran until after her Tel Aviv concert. Madonna is scheduled to open her world tour with a performance in Tel Aviv at the end of May. The prime minister's office declined to comment on the request.
Assad has supporters in Israel too. Hundreds of Druze gathered on Tuesday at Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights protesting in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The demonstration was held on the thirtieth anniversary of the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights. The 20,000 strong Druze community in the Golan Heights is in an unenviable predicament. Materially they are better off under Israeli rule. However, they have strong ties with family and friends in Syria. Many of them fear that one day Israel will return the Golan Heights to Syria. Druze "collaborators" will then suffer the heavy hand of Syrian retribution. Demonstrators held portraits of the Syrian president, calling on him to continue to "his struggle against the Syrian opposition," Israeli police and security forces turned a blind eye to the demonstrations.
Have a good weekend.
Beni 16th of February, 2012.
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