The Gush

On Sunday (May 31st) we went to the Gush (גוש עציון), an area in the West Bank with lots of Jewish settlements.

On our way to the Gush, we stopped to hike to pools of water. Halfway through the hike, I realized Naomi and I had come there on a youth group trip in the fall. It took us about 35 minutes to get to the third and nicest pool of water.

Our next stop was Tzomet (צומת), an institution that works on technology, mainly for hospitals and security, that can be used on Shabbat. We had a private tour and I thought it was pretty interesting. Some of the things this institution has created for use on Shabbat are ways to open locked doors with touch pads, a pen, an electric wheelchair, a silicon keyboard, metal detectors, and a way to lock an ark.

Then we went to Kfar Etzion, where we watched a movie about what happened in the Gush in 1948. The women and children got relocated to Jerusalem while the men and a few women tried to defend the kibbutzim while lots of convoys bringing them supplies got attacked.

The kibbutz Kfar Etzion had two previous kibbutzim before it on the same hill top. There was Migdal Edr (מגדל עדר) from 1927-1929 and then they left because of the hard winter conditions. In 1932-1936 there was El Hahar (אל ההר), and they left it because Arabs from Hevron attacked them. The Jews of El Hahar were very close to their Arab neighbors. They even invited each other to weddings.

In 1948 there were four kibbutzim in the area of Kfar Etzion. Kfar Etzion (1943-1948), משואות יצחק (1945-1948), Ein Tzurim אין צורים (1946-1948), and Revadim (1947-1948) רבדים.

Finally, we headed to Efrat where we met the family of a family friend. We talked, got a little tour of Efrat, and went to dinner.