I have been in Israel for the past few days, enjoying the beach and excitement of Tel Aviv with a day trip to Jerusalem. With the living hostages now home, there is a lightness in the air and you can feel joy returning. Quite different from my trips in May, July and September of 2024.

Today I spent the day up north in the Upper Galilee. Tel Chai. Mutula. Kiryat Shmona. Places that were on the front line of the Hezbollah rocket attacks starting on October 8, 2023. It was a long ride from Haifa to get there – over 90 minutes. In Israel, 90 minutes is an eternity to drive. The Upper Galilee is beautiful. Actually it is stunning.

The contrast of the lush green with the mountains of the Golan Heights takes your breath away. The clear air, the cool breeze, the birds chirping and the cold streams fed by Mount Hermon is simply spectacular. It’s something that makes you want to stay for a month and hike, swim, explore nature and enjoy the peace and quiet. It is a place that should be in demand to live and in demand to visit. As I looked out upon the city of Metulla, I could imagine myself renting a home there for a month and enjoying the beauty.

EXCEPT, then I looked just a little bit further. The wall separating Israel and Lebanon was right there. I could see the places where Hezbollah was firing rockets on these Upper Galilee towns. I could see where Israel was forced to bomb the border community to destroy the Hezbollah rockets being kept in, and fired from homes. As I talked to one of the people from Metulla, I heard how before October 7th, they had 5 IDF soldiers protecting the town of approximately 1,500 people. She told us how now, with only about 40% of the residents returning, they have 500 IDF soldiers protecting them.

The border was empty from Hezbollah terrorists today. She told us how prior to October 7th, you could see the terrorists in the border towns. They didn’t try to hide. They wanted to be visible to attempt to scare and intimidate the residents of Metulla. Today it was quiet, peaceful and beautiful. With 500 soldiers protecting a town of about 600 people. Almost a 1:1 ratio to keep the peace. To keep the quiet. To keep them safe.

They then shared how this part of the Upper Galilee is bordered on three (3) sides by Lebanon. How on October 7th, if Hezbollah had decided to invade, they could have simply cut off the one road that goes in and out of that part of Israel and instantly had more than 25,000 hostages. How they could have taken their time murdering, raping, and kidnapping these 25,000 people, now hostages, because it would have taken so long for the IDF to get there and there is only the one road in and out.

As beautiful as these pictures are, the wall is the border to Lebanon. The town behind it has been destroyed because that’s where Hezbollah was firing rockets into Metulla and the Northern Galilee. The mountains you see all around are the border of Lebanon. You are completely surrounded by a genocidal enemy in Hezbollah who has the means, opportunity, and motive to attack and kill you.

Yet people continue to come back to live in these towns. It’s their home. They won’t be scared out. While only 40% have returned to Metulla right now, there are new groups of people moving there. In Kiryat Shmona, 80% of the 25,000 residents have returned. Their homes need to be rebuilt as they have either been destroyed by the Hezbollah rockets or ruined by being empty for two (2) years. Businesses has been destroyed and need to be rebuilt for the same reason. In some cases, the owners haven’t decided if they even want to rebuild. Yet these towns won’t go away. The commitment by their residents to live in the north of Israel, in the lush and beautiful Upper Galilee won’t disappear.

We ate lunch at an incredible restaurant in Kiryat Shmona. The portions were enormous. The schnitzel, sausages, meat and chicken were delicious. Couscous, fries, rice, and veggies were plentiful sides and the salads they served……… well if you have ever had the salads they bring out as appetizers before the meal, you know not only how many they bring (about 10 or so) and how incredible they are. Freshly baked bread (it made me jealous that I couldn’t eat it). More food than we could finish. What a great place, EXCEPT, it only recently reopened because not long after October 7th, a rocket launched by Hezbollah hit the street right in front of it and destroyed it. When we heard that, everybody got a little uncomfortable, even though we knew that the likelihood of a Hezbollah rocket being fired today is small, thanks to the IDF crushing Hezbollah.

The Upper Galilee and the north of Israel is beautiful. It’s stunning. It should be overflowing with people living there, vacationing there, having second homes there, EXCEPT there are genocidal terrorists close by. EXCEPT there is fear of rockets launching at any minute.

I hope that sometime soon, I’ll be able to spend an month relaxing and vacationing and recharging in the Upper Galilee, enjoying the beauty of nature. The mountains. The lush green. The streams and rivers. Hiking. Sitting in the cool, clean air, reading a book, having a conversation, listening to music. There is no EXCEPT for me. It’s an incredible place for us all and we cannot allow fear or hate to deter us from it. Like those who have returned to live there, we all need to claim it.

Think about spending some time in the Upper Galilee. You won’t regret enjoy the beauty and peaceful environment that is there now.