While Israel is bracing for a third battle with Hezbollah a decade after the Second Lebanon War, is the country any better prepared this time around?
“The war was irresponsibly made into a story of failure with the blame attributed to the fighting echelons-the easiest prey and scapegoat.” Brigadier-General(res.) Gal Hirsch is still paying the price
My ears begin popping on the last leg of the steep climb along Highway 9977 to Kibbutz Misgav Am on Israel’s border with Lebanon. The discomfort is slight in contrast with the sights to behold.
Rows of tall young pine trees give way to grapevines and apple and pomegranate trees whose fruits are ripening in the summer sun. The verdant Hula Valley lies serenely 2700 feet below while the volcanic brownish-black rock of the Golan Heights towers above.
Nestled in the Golan foothills is Har Dov thought to be the location where G-d made His covenant with Avraham Avinu. Today it’s known as Shebaa Farms territory the IDF has declared a closed military zone and Lebanon claims as its own. The red-roofed Israeli town of Metulla stands out in the distance. Like most towns in this area both Metula and Misgav Am are surrounded on three sides by southern Lebanese villages in what’s known as the finger of the Galilee.
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