Its been a while since we've updated the Israel Blog because, well, we don't live there anymore. But my position as the J5 Israel Desk Officer has taken me back to the land of milk and honey three times already this year, and I thought that this last trip was worth sharing. I was with a small delegation of US officers visiting for 2 days for some strategic talks, and I saw things in Israel that I've never had the opportunity to see in my 2 years living there. Specifically, we were taken on an IDF-led tour of areas near Gaza and the to the Golan Heights, and the sights were impressive.
Above is Maj Gen Steven Shepro, another Olmsted Scholar now on the Joint Staff, looking out towards Gaza. We were briefed on the tactical details of the recent 50-day conflict between Hamas and Israel. This was the longest conflict Israel has been in since their War of Independence in 1948.
Above: We saw a small kibbutz (Nir Oz) less than 2 miles from the Gaza border. This is inside a gan (kindergarden) that was hit with a mortar round. Fortunately, the building was empty when the shell impacted. The Iron Dome system is incredibly effective against rockets, but there is no answer for mortar rounds which have a much shorter range.
Next we moved to less than a kilometer from the fence where we saw the actual HAMAS offensive tunnel that was discovered on the Israel side of the border. Several things were notable with this starting with a) the depth - we went down what felt like 5 or 6 stories down (some tunnels exceed 30M deep; and b) the fortification - it was reinforced with cement roof & walls, and had phone and power cables.
Note the cables running along the Left and right side of the tunnels. Some of these passages discovered were equipped with motorcycles intended to facilitate the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier.
Above: BG Avi Peled shows how wet the soil is at this depth. HAMAS diggers had to use the tunnels because they would collapse and kill the diggers, who are thought to be conscripted labor. Over 30 tunnels were located and destroyed, but there is no surefire way to know if they are all accounted for.
Next, we took a flight to the Golan Heights on an Israeli Air Force Blackhawk Helicopter. The flight path took us directly over the Old City of Jerusalem, which was amazing to see from the air.
Not too shabby for my first helo-ride since survival training.
The Dome of the rock as seen from about 500 ft altitude. This is the very spot where the first and second temples were built, and the traditional sight of where Abraham took his son Isaac to sacrifice him. It was amazing to circle around the Old City and see all this history from a panoramic perspective. I'm also glad that I didn't drop my i-phone.
In the Western Golan we heard an intelligence briefing on the situation along the Israel-Syrian border. Southern Syria is a constantly changing landscape of different groups from rebels, to al Nusra Front (al Quaeda affiliate in Syria), to the UNDOF observers that are tasked to monitor the border. Israeli soldiers describe the situation in Syria as "50 shades of black". The Assad regime is fighting groups ranging from the Moderate Rebels of the Free Syrian Army, to the Islamist Rebels who wants a Syria under a Califate, to Global Jihad and al Nusra Front. And none of these guys are ISIL, by the way, who are primarily operating in the Syrian Northeast and Western Iraq. In short, it's an incredibly fluid situation on the Syrian side, & the Israelis want the fighting to stay on the other side of the border.
During the briefing on the current situation on the Syria, we could hear Howlitzer and mortar fire in the distance coming from the Assad regime in Damascus toward rebels in Kunetra.
BG John Shapland examines the IDF Tavor rifle--demonstrating the imminent danger of giving AF pilots live firearms.
Time to go home back to DOV Airport in Tel Aviv...via blackhawk.
Left to Right: Maj Tom Renner (US Embassy TA); IDF soldier- (?); LTC Richard Hecht; CAPT Rome Ruiz (EUCOM ISrael Desk); me; Maj Ben Shaha (EUCOM Israel desk)
This IDF tour was a valuable experience. Many thanks to LTC Richard Hecht & BG Avi Peled for setting up such an informative look at the pressing security challenges of their country. Because I deal with Israelis and Israel issues every day in my job at the Pentagon, I sometimes lose sight of the fact that their neighborhood is quite different from our own. However, seeing the an unstable border in the Golan and crawling through tunnels in Gaza was a sober reminder of the fact that the reality for Israelis, Palestinians, and everyone living in their region is a far cry from what we know here in America. It is important not to lose sight of those differences.
Shalom Ya'll,
Stew
Our new album, Jazz from the Middle to the East Vol II, was released on i-tunes last month. Check it out! I'm really proud of this record, and humbled to get to play with my friends, Gilad Chazav and Shay Zelman. .jpg "Chatsav / Welch / Zelman Trio: Jazz from the Middle to the East - Songs from the White City Volume 2")
