Our first stop was at a Moshav, a community of farmers who live together in the arid region. Yoel and Jenny Evans, who are members of the Moshav Noet Hakikal, greeted us. They are growers of, to name a few, dates, peppers, melons, and herbs (mainly sweet basil). It was fascinating to see these farmers deal with the harsh conditions Mother Nature has provided them. They have found a way to have their plants thrive given the heat, salty ground, and saline water. We got a glimpse inside a melon greenhouse where they are being grown up on vertical nets. This technique allowed the melons to get better color and shape while providing increased circulation. Due their improved methods, the amount of export-quality melons has gone from 50% up to 85%.
We also toured a pepper research greenhouse. Because the natural conditions are hard to replicate, the research must be done on site as opposed to off-site stations like we have in the US. They were experimenting with hydroponics using shredded, recycled plastic bottles as a growing medium. Yoel and Jenny were very proud to show us their basil growing operation and techniques as well. They use water to dissolve and move the salts away from the root zone of the plants. Interestingly, when it rains, it actually pushes the salts back to the roots. To counteract this effect, the plants are irrigated during rainfall.
We toured a pepper packing house where the peppers were cleaned, mechanically sized, and packaged for export. Most of the labor on this farm comes from immigrants from Thailand or native Bedouin tribe members, earning around 20 sheckles/hour ($5.50/hour). Along the way we also stopped at the gallery of a local artist, JoJo, who made alternative metal furniture, vases, and colorful decor (www.jojo-art.com). His art is displayed all over the world. Lastly, we were treated to a home-cooked lunch made with fresh produce from the farm.
After lunch, we took a short bus ride to our next destination, the Masada. The Masada is a fortress built on a desert mountain plateau that rises straight up from the Dead Sea roughly 1,350 feet on all sides. King Herod built the Masada between 20 and 10 B.C. to provide protection against his enemies. After his death in 4 A.D., the fortress remained unoccupied until 70 A.D., when a group of Jewish soldiers, also known as Zealots, escaped to the Masada after the Romans conquered Jerusalem. Once the Romans tracked the Zealots to the Masada, they deployed 10,000 of their best soldiers to capture the 900 Jews (300 soldiers and their family members).
The Masada fortress was built to be able to sustain life for an indefinite period. It had a highly sophisticated water system and the Zealots were able to grow vegetables, crops, and raise sheep on the small plateau. The Zealots were able to hold off the Romans for three years until the Romans were able to build a large ramp to finally breach the fortress wall. Rather than become a slaves to the Romans, the Zealots selected 10 brave soldiers to kill all of the women and children and then kill the remaining 9 soldiers, leaving the last soldier to fall to his own sword. The Romans entered the Masada the next day to find all dead but one woman and child.
After the Masada, we hopped on the bus for our drive to Jerusalem. On the way, we made a pit stop at a tourist trap where a number of our class fellows went for a spin on a camel. It didn’t cost any money to ride the camel, but it was $5 to get off!
It was dark when we finally arrived in Jerusalem, but our tour guide took us to a vista point on Mt. Scopus for a view looking over the city and blessed us with a traditional Jewish prayer. The city lights were spectacular and our class is looking forward to our tour of Jerusalem.
Bill Hammond, Doug Phillips, and Chris Amble
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