What we saw and experienced in the Golan Heights today brought into relief the tensions that are so tightly woven into the fabric of this complicated region. From a single vantage point we could see an Israeli kibbutz, a Lebanese Hezbollah-controlled town, a rebel-controlled Syrian city, a UN encampment and a security fence weaving through it all. With the unaided eye, we could see plumes of smoke rising from Syrian territory -- either from battle skirmishes or celebratory fireworks after the "re-election" of President Assad today by a supposed 89% of the electorate. It had been less than 48 hours since Israel attacked a Syrian border military camp in retaliation for a missile strike on an Israeli military intelligence post in the northern Golan. Our jeep driver described being awakened at dawn Saturday by a warning siren at his nearby kibbutz, which turned out to be a false alarm. All this against the backdrop of legions of Israeli families visiting local war memorial sites on this national day off celebrating the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Despite -- or more likely because of -- protective land mines, fences, ubiquitous military presence and high-tech monitoring equipment, Israelis here seem to feel relatively secure in these beautiful foothills and valleys. And that probably explains why they have the luxury now of worrying about an overpopulation of wolves, a dwindling population of gazelles and an aphid infestation of the beloved Israeli Sabra cactus.
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AuthorSusan. Traveling again. And writing about it. ArchivesCategories
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