August 15, 1957 Thursday Aft. 12:30 PM,

“Yesterday we visited Hadera, Nazareth, Tiberias and certain kibbutzim”
Hadera, Nazareth and Tiberias are relatively short drives from one to the other and easy to tour in one day.

“We are a convoy of 3 buses but separate when it comes time for lunch or tours of certain places.”
My mother recalls, “The youth groups had three buses and Bob always managed to get on my bus.”

“I’m sitting on a porch of a hotel at Metulah northern most point in Israel…”
In 1957 there were only around 250 people living in Metulah. Today the population is only around 1,600. Obviously, things were simple back in 1957, and there were no major attractions. Today, there is the Canada Center which was built in the 90’s. This recreational and sports center was built in the 90’s and contains an ice skating rink, and indoor pool, a bowling alley, an indoor basketball gym and shooting range.

“I wrote a letter yesterday but lost it before I had a chance to mail it.”
My father knew how important his letters were to his parents. When one got lost, he immediately wrote another one, since showing respect to his parents was paramount in his eyes.

“Today we toured all of the North of the Galil and saw some of the holiest places of our religion – the tombs of Hillel and Shamai.”
In 1957 Judea and Samaria were not controlled by Israel. Places like the Kotel, Shechem and Hebron were not in Jewish hands. That’s why the burial site of Shamai and Hillel in Meron were considered the “holiest sites” of that time. But since 1967 my mother explained how things have changed: “I remember in 1968 how special it was when Bob and I were able to visit Rachel’s tomb, the Cave of the Patriarchs and the Kotel which we weren’t able to do during our 1957 visit. On later trips to Israel we were also able to visit Shilo, Bet El, Josephs Tomb and many other places Jews did not have access to in 1957.”

(It was) “the scene of some of the hardest fighting in the War of Liberation. We then had to capture it with almost no weapons.”
My father was referring to the city of Tzfat (Safed) and the “Davidka” weapon which he saw on display in the center of Tzfat. The Davidka cannon was primitive and very inaccurate. It made loud noises, causing the Arab enemy to flee, but did not cause any real damage. During the battle for Tzfat, the Jewish underground fighters (the Palmach and Irgun) combined forces to conquer the city on May 10, 1948. The Davidka surprisingly ended up being the “secret weapon” that delivered the decisive blow.

“The Huleh Valley is really a remarkable achievement of Israel. It was all swamp & now you see all green except when in between planting you see black earth.”
In 1957 Israeli farmers in the Huleh Valley were under the constant threat of artillery shelling from the Syrians who controlled the Golan Heights. Today, with the Golan Heights under Israeli control, the Huleh Valley has become an international attraction for bird-watchers and nature lovers.