Tel-Hai Magazine 2023-2024

inhabitants of the abandoned Jewish set tlements to return to their homes and promised them financial compensation for the damage done to their properties and fields. When the head of one of the Zionist organizations arrived in Metula, he encountered the reassuring presence of the French forces - a colonel and hun dreds of soldiers, but he also discovered that the doors and windows of many houses had been pulled out, and many roofs had been destroyed. It took several weeks for the outcome of the war in Lebanon and Syria to be determined, and for the security situa tion in Lebanon and throughout the Gal ilee to stabilize. In August 1920, several members of the ‘Hashomer’ organiza tion conducted a tour in the area. Gad Avigdorov, one of the scouts, recounted their arrival in Kfar Gil’adi and Tel Hai: “There, we found everything in ruins.” I would like to quote a few sentences from the call he published to pioneers and institutions: “Mainly, we must get down to very serious work. Rise, friends, to build the Upper Galilee […] return and rebuild with great vigor. Do not de lay our steps. The time has come for the Upper Galilee, and the moment is here. Do not be negligent - the responsibility is on you.” The leaders of various organizations began planning the return. They debat ed who, and how many people should go north. Finally, after seven months of be ing displaced, on the holiday of Sukkot (October 5, 1920), a first convoy set out northward with twenty men, six carts, and four additional men on horseback. On October 7th – that was the date – they set up tents in Tel-Hai. The follow ing day, they began repairing the col lapsed roof of a house in Kfar Gil’adi. Within a short time, new signs of life burst forth amidst the ruins. Later that month, some thirty farmers returned to Metula and quickly began repairing the houses. A visitor who came to observe the activity reported in the Hebrew press that “the return of life to as before is al ready evident in every corner. Children’s voices can be heard in the streets.” He added that the residents of Metula were demanding the swift opening of the local

Prof. Amir Goldstein , Historian, Author and Associate Professor of History and Israel Studies at Tel-Hai. Among his publications is the article, ‘Tel Hai 1920–2020: Between History and Memory’, (Yad Ben Zvi and Tel Aviv University, 2020), coedited with Yael Zerubavel.

school. Thus began a new chapter in the Galilee, one of building and renewal. This year, we draw inspiration from this chapter in the story of Tel-Hai. We look to the example of those who, despite the many challenges, returned seven months after the battle to rebuild that handful of settlements – determined to hold on to this stretch of land. And it is from here that I address the residents of the Upper Galilee, Kiryat Shmona, the border settlements and those adjacent to them, the tens of thousands of women, men, and children, who have been away from their homes for so many months, and to the many who continue to reside in the valley and in the hills, just kilome ters from the border, in settlements that have not been evacuated. We are experi encing difficult times in these months spent away from our homes, torn from our routine, our communities dispersed and divided. Though we find it hard to comprehend so many months of evacu ation, it is impressive to witness the ex traordinary efforts of the residents of the Galilee (and, of course, the efforts of our dear brothers and sisters in the Gaza En velope) to create a much-needed routine for children, teenagers, and family life amidst the ongoing evacuation. From this ceremony, in front of the

Statue of the Roaring Lion, one of the symbols of this region, we look ahead. We shall return. That’s how it is with the people of the Galilee. Just as they did in 1920, and in other times when security challenges were heightened. My message to you is this: The re newed development of the Galilee will be based on a regional partnership, a joint process involving the authorities and the communities, the residents of Kiryat Shmona, the kibbutzim, the moshavim, and the villages. This is the key to success in the processes of region al recovery and renewal – and may it be so. We, the residents of the region, the regional authorities, and local communi ties, are committed to working hard to ensure that the return to the Galilee – may it be swiftly and safely, will represent a turning point in the region’s develop ment. I shall conclude with the words I quot ed earlier, said seven months after the battle of Tel Hai regarding the return to the North: “Rise, friends, to build the Upper Galilee […] return and rebuild with great vigor. Do not delay our steps. The time has come for the Upper Gali lee, and the moment is here. Do not be negligent - the responsibility is on you.”

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