Galilee and the Lebanese Border

Yesterday Tam and I skipped school (gasp!) to head up north with some friends. We slept over night at their house (which was so nice and quiet!) and then joined a group of 17 and 18 year olds from a village north of Tel Aviv for a tour of the Galilee region. This area borders Lebanon and we spent most of the learning about the 2006 conflict from soldiers who witnessed it.

This region doesn't appear to be dangerous - right now (although our guide did carry a hand gun)- but in 2006 it was the center of the war between Israel and Hezbollah. Because of the proximity of Lebanese villages housing Hezbollah members and supporters, the area has a noticeable military presence. We visited a military base that sits right near the border and is just down the hill from one of the Lebanese army's bases (um, strategic disadvantage much?!). From here we could see one of the UN bases - which serve to act as a buffer between the groups and are supposed to prevent Hezbollah from building up weapons stocks and getting too close to the border. Apparently, according to the region's head of intelligence (who came and spoke to us), the UN is having little effect and Hezbollah has become aligned with the Lebanese army and is 3 times stronger than it was in 2006.

I tried to go into the talks during the tour with a healthy bit of skepticism against the Israeli military. I assumed that they would bash the enemy and spout army propaganda for the kids we were with who are going to be starting their mandatory service in a year or two. And while there was definitely some, like the video they showed us about the special service team doing all sorts of crazy missions, I also came away thinking that Hezbollah is a serious and scary threat for Israel. It seems like its not a matter of whether they will do something again, but when.

I have to admit that I have not been very concerned with terrorism or security issues so far in Israel. Yes, theres security checks when you go into malls and even to get into our campus, but living in Tel Aiv makes you forget that this country has many enemies. This trip was actually the frist time since I have been here that I got a scare...and it turned out to be silly. We were sitting near the military base listening to a soldier speak about the 2006 war when there was a loud bang. My heart nearly stopped and I was ready to dive to the ground. Turns out it was just a car backfiring or a firecracker set off by someone celebrating the end of purim. But it definitely caused some wide eyes and nervous chuckles from most of the people on the tour. I did notice though that the soldiers and our guide, who have all served in the region, barely jumped, becsause they said that the souns wasnt nearly loud enough to be gun fire. Sounded loud enough to me!