Tel-Hai Magazine 2023-2024

We shall return to the Galilee Lessons learned from the Battle of Tel-Hai

The annual national ceremony at the Statue of the Roaring Lion, commemorating the Battle of Tel Hai was cancelled this year, due to the war. A handful of members of Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, Lobby 1701, and the Trustees of Tel-Hai Association, decided nonetheless to honor the events that took place there more than a century ago, and to draw strength and hope from the past, while looking to our future here in the Galilee. Prof. Amir Goldstein, Associate Professor at the Department of Multi-Disciplinary Studies, spoke at the ceremony. The essence of his speech is captured in the words below; may they inspire us all: “Dear friends, greetings to those of you gathered here today, to the residents of the Galilee who are scattered throughout

the land, and to the citizens of Israel who are with us in spirit. The ceremony we hold each year, at the Statue of the Roaring Lion, not only commemorates the events that took place here 104 years ago, but also pres ents the opportunity to recount the story of Tel-Hai from the perspectives of the past, the present, and with a view to the future. The story of Tel-Hai consists of many levels. What should be the focus of this year’s ceremony, that is being held only thanks to the initiative of the com munities of Kfar Giladi, Lobby 1701, and the Trustees of Tel-Hai Association? We could talk about Trumpeldor – and I mean the impressive figure he was during his lifetime, rather than in his death - a Jewish Russian youth who, among other things, founded the pioneer movement to advance the building of an exceptional society in the National Jew ish Homeland, to be established here in the Land of Israel. We could talk about

Sarah Chisick, or Dvora Dechler, the two women who fell here alongside Trumpel dor and the other men; these are worthy subjects. However, this year I would like to highlight a period that has not re ceived sufficient attention in the story of Tel-Hai – the abandonment of Tel-Hai and the return, seven months later. After all, on March 1st, 1920, the Upper and North-Eastern Galilee were effectively deserted, and the region was void of Jew ish settlement for seven months. I would like to elaborate on this period, which has regained new significance this year. In the first few days following the fate ful battle of Tel-Hai, several pioneers expressed their desire to return to the settlements they had left. However, rep resentatives of Zionist organizations dis couraged this, due to safety concerns. The battles in this region continued until the end of May 1920, when French forc es managed to regain control of the area. Their representatives even invited the

Tel-Hai Magazaine | 2023-2024 16