The Phoenix Jewish news., 1954-09-03

the Iarm IOaoS. AS the land gets
rocker near the hilly areas, you
see the loving hands of the Jewish
National Fund everywhere. For
here and there the rocks have
been removed and piled in a wall
along the sides of the road, and
new fruit trees are planted.
Safed is picturesque and, like
Tiberias, holy city to the great
religions. We ate lunch on Mt.
Canaan, and somehow felt a little
out of our time in an area which
is full of Bible lore and yet is
being rebuilt and modernized all
the time.
AS we neared Lake Tiberias, the
historical spots of the Bible-both
Old and New Testaments-crowded
one behind another so fast that we
hardly could absorb them. But the
most exciting was Capernaum, the
synagogue where Christ is said to
have taught.
THE RUINS DATE from about
200 Be and are in a comparatively
good state of preservation, consid-
ering that they're among the old
est synagogue ruins in existence.
We thought we might stay at the
French convent and hospice To-
Gated at the spot and commence
rating the miracle of the wine.
where beautiful small bascilica
on Lake Tiberias is kept to me-
morialiZe this event. But we found
the accommodations a bit scarce,
and went in to the lovely Hotel
Kinnerett Call in Tiberias.
A swim in the warm clear wa
ters just as the sun went down
ended my day of sightseeing.
We had dinner on the terrace and
watched the lights come on in the
villages across the lake. It was q
bit of a shock when we asked the
hotel clerk where the lovely music
on the radio was from, and he
said, THAT is Damascus. We get
classical music all day from
there" One forgets so easily that
Syria is across the lake.
THE NEXT DAY we visited the
important historical spots in Tt
beriaS-the tomb and YeShiva of
Rabbi Mayer, the tomb of Maimon-
ides Gin a terrible state of repair),
the old and new city and the mar
ket. Then we went on to Degania
at the south end of the lake.
think this is by far the, most
beautiful of the many kibbutzim
we saw. We enjoyed taking water
from the River Jordan where it
flows out of the lake at this point,
so that we could bring it home to
our friends. Again, as you travel
the roads, you are surrounded by
the hills and roads of the people
and events of the Bible, and stop
in the all-Arab city of Nazareth
to see the main holy places gave
us a different kind of view OF Is
rael entirely.
We found the Emek, as viewed
from the mountain road near
Mount Tabor, of incredible beauty,
and we were impressed anew with
the work of the Jewish National
Fund. For here, as in so many
other places, its work is so evi-
dent. The swamps had been
drained to make a fertile valley
that suStains many beautiful KID
butz villages.
OUR RETURN TO Tel Aviv
along the coastal highway was un-
eventful, for this was road that
had travelled many times before.
And it is a truly beautiful drive,
though not yet comparable to the
French Riviera, as some Israelis
would have you believe.
Returning to Tel Aviv was like
coming home, for we had made
friends with so many people there.
We spent the last day in Tel Aviv
visiting from one home to the
other, trying to make the rounds,
and get in our last good-byes and
still return to the hotel for the
evening to keep engagements with
others whom we had promised to
see before leaving.
This. think, was the best part
of our stay in Israel-the warmtn
and hospitality accorded us by all
the people we came in contac'
with.