Pollard: Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu was my rabbi, remember what he stood for by Jonathan Pollard and the Most Beautiful and Dangerous Road in Israel. Nobody Can Drive There and No rainbow’s end for the Jews of Oz and a workout at the gym and desert jokes and Part V: Did the Germans Treat the Jews and the Gypsies in the Same Manner?By Alex Grobman PhD.
Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.
Former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard took part in a memorial event honoring the late former Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu.
The event, which was held in Jerusalem Thursday, marked the 12th anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Eliyahu, who served as one of Israel's two chief rabbis, alongside Rabbi Avraham Shapira, from 1983 to 1993.
"I am very honored to be here to celebrate the hilula [anniversary of passing] of my rabbi, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu…and to be with so many of this followers and students and family members," Pollard told Israel National News.
"I hope that by honoring him today, as we will on every occasion of his hilula in the future, we will remember exactly what he stood for and exactly what he lived for – and that was Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael Al Pi Torat Yisrael [The Jewish people, the Land of Israel, following the Torah of Israel]."
"That is what we have to keep in mind going forward because that was his lesson for all of us."
The Three Musketeers at the Kotel
The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember.
The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave.
Part V: Did the Germans Treat the Jews and the Gypsies in the Same Manner? By Alex Grobman PhD.
photo Credit: Screenshot
Nazi church bell in Thuringia, Germany
*Editor's Note: This is Part V in the author's second series with JPRESS ONLINE, dealing with Nazi persecution of Jews, Gypsies, and other minorities.
A number of leading Holocaust historians refute the notion the Germans dealt with the Gypsies in the same manner they did with the Jews. Historian Lucy S. Dawidowicz said, when we refer "to the murder of the Six Million Jews as a distinctive, as unique, [it] is not an attempt to magnify the catastrophe that befell them nor to beg tears and pity for them. It is not intended to minimize the deaths of the millions of non-Jews that the Germans brought about, or to underplay the immeasurable and unendurable suffering of the Russians, Poles, Gypsies, and other victims of the German murder machine." By rejecting "the particularity of the Jewish experience under the German dictatorship, and still more, the enormity of the Jewish loses, by equating the destruction of European Jews with other events, they succeed in obscuring the role of antisemitism in accomplishing that murder. " [1]
The Holocaust is the first time, she noted, "where murdering was not an end by itself, but a means to an end, even if those involved did not agree if the results were good or evil. In the destruction of European Jewry, the ends and the means were the same. The Germans assumed the right to decide who deserved to live on this earth, and who did not." In doing so, the "parameters of the Holocaust have been defined the universe of evil and of good, have marked the limits of human bestiality and human arrogance, set the measure of human endurance and courage." [2]
Historian Saul Friedländer agreed with this analysis when he observed that the Gypsies, who were not viewed as "enemies," but as "asocial" elements, and a member of an "inferior" racial group, who even served in the German army until July 1942. and their execution was "planned only after many hesitations." [3] The Nazis, he said, viewed the Gypsies as "essentially passive threats," whereas "The Jew was a lethal and active threat to all nations, to the Aryan race and to the German Volk (people ). [4]
"The Romany [Gypsy] experience under the Nazis" observed Robert Rozett, a Senior Historian in the International Institute for Holocaust Research, Yad Vashem, "most closely parallels that of the Jews. The testimonies of Romany survivors often sound nearly identical to individual victims. Yet despite the experiences of the individual victims, one must recognize that Nazi policies toward the Romanies and the Jews differed on two very central points." The Romanies were not persecuted because they were regarded as a racial threat to the German nation, as were the Jews; but because they were deemed to be "a social problem." In addition, the Germans never planned to annihilate every Romany, just the ones they conserved most dangerous, "as was the case with most of the other groups they decimated." [5]
Historian Richard Breitman added, "The Nazis are not known to have spoken of the Final Solution of the Polish problem or of the gypsy problem." The term "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" (die Endlösung der Judenfrage) applied "to a single, specific group defined by descent." Nazi officials used this phrase to "avoid dirtying their lips with words like 'mass murder' or 'extermination.'" The Final Solution was an attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish "race" from the face of the earth. Throughout the war, Breitman concluded, the Jews continued to be "the most important target, the arch-enemy." [6]
"There were profound differences between the Nazi treatment of Jews and Gypsies, though the fate of the latter has often been compared to that of the Jews." asserted Jacob Robinson. At the Nuremberg trials, Robinson, a distinguished international lawyer, served as Advisor for Jewish Matters to Judge Robert H. Jackson, who headed the Prosecution for the United States. After Adolf Eichmann was captured by Israel, Robinson joined the prosecution team headed by Gideon Hausner.
"The Nazi attitude toward the Gypsies vacillated between two extremes," he said. At one extreme, Alfred Rosenberg, Nazi theorist and ideologue, held a certain fascination with the alleged Aryan purity of the Gypsies. An opposing opinion maintained the Gypsies were subhuman and should be annihilated. Even as early as 1935, elements within the SS office of racial policy discussed the possibility of congregating them on board ships and drowning them. "In the case of the Jews," Robinson, noted, "there was never vacillation and never an alternative extreme." [7]
Actions regarding the Gypsies were always intended only for those in Germany or in German-occupied territory, especially Poland, Robinson pointed out. No attempts were made to implement any anti-Gypsy campaigns throughout Europe. Even in Romania and Hungary, which were German satellites, containing considerable numbers of Gypsies, the Germans did not request them to initiate any measures against these residents. [8]
"Limited Importance of Gypsies"
Significantly, there is no mention in Mein Kampf about the Gypsies, because it seems that Hitler had "no interest" in them asserts historian Guenther Lewy. "At most," Hitler considered them to be "a minor irritant." Throughout his 12-year reign, Hitler referred to Gypsies just two times in reference to serving in the military. Hitler's basic "lack concern" in the "Gypsy problem," helps us understand why the Jews and Gypsies were "ultimately treated no differently." The Jews were the incarnation of evil, who unquestionably posed an existential threat to humanity. Gypsies, however, were a "plague and a nuisance," that could be managed through conventional methods. [9]
The "limited importance of the Gypsy issue," is also apparent when the Nazis issued the first two crucial racial laws (The Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor on September 15, 1935) and the Law for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of the German People of October 18, 1935), no mention is made of Gypsies. In 1933, there were approximately 523,000 German Jews living in Germany, many of whom held substantial positions in German society. In contrast, there were about 26,000 Gypsies, who were merely a "marginal element" at best.
In a quasi-official essay published in 1938, two officials in the Ministry of the Interior, made this fact quite clear: "The racial problem for the German people is the Jewish Question, since only the Jews are numerically significant as members of an alien race in Germany." They concluded that in comparison to the Jews, other foreign races in Germany "are of little significance." Furthermore, as other have affirmed, Gypsies were considered "mentally inferior," and therefore "were unable to penetrate the leading strata of society." [10]
In October 1939, the Germans planned the 'cleansing' of all Gypsies in 'Greater Germany,' which was partially begun a year later. When German Gypsies were deported to Auschwitz in early 1943, they were not subjected to the selection process of determining who was fit for work and who was not, which meant no one was sent to the gas chambers upon arrival. Two years after the gassing of the Jews began, the gassing of Gypsy children and adults began, which continued for only one month. [11]
"In the Jewish case alone," Robinson concluded, "there was an absence of inhibitions, conflicting purposes, and compromises, and a complete disregard for rational considerations, which did have a part in Nazi persecution of non-Jews." [12]
Footnotes
[1] Lucy S. Dawidowicz, The Holocaust and the Historians (Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1997), 13-14,17.
[2] Lucy S. Dawidowicz, "The Holocaust in Historical Record," in Dimensions of the Holocaust (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1977): 28, 32.
[3] Saul Friedländer, "On the Possibility of the Holocaust: an Approach to a Historical Synthesis," in The Holocaust As a Historical Experience: Essays and a Discussion, Yehuda Bauer and Nathan Rotenstreich, Ed.(New York: Holmes & Meier, Inc., 19871), 2; Despite the order prohibiting Gypsies from serving in the German military, "not a few continued to serve in the armed forces." They "were protected by their commanding officers, probably more as a matter of soldier solidarity than because of a conscious rejection of racism." Guenther Lewy, The Nazi Persecution of the Gypsies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 94-97.
[4] Saul Friedländer, The Years of Extermination: Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945 (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2007), xix; The term Volk, Mosse explains, is a difficult German term to define, because it means more than just people. It connotes a "union of people with a transcendental 'essence'…which might be called 'nature,' or 'cosmos,' or 'mythos.'" In each case, "it was fused to man's innermost nature, and represented the source of his creativity, his depth of feeling, his individuality, and
his unity with other member of the Volk;" George L. Mosse, The Crisis of German Ideology: Intellectual Origins of the Third Reich (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1964),4-5.
[5] Robert Rozett, Approaching the Holocaust: Texts and Contexts (Portland, Oregon: Vallentine Mitchell, 2005), 2.
[6] Richard Breitman, The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution (New York: Alfred A. Knopf:1991),19-20, 181.
[7] Jacob Robinson, And the Crooked Shall Be Made Straight: a New Look at the Eichmann Trial (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1965),97; Race and Race History and Other Essays by Alfred Rosenberg, Robert Pois, Ed.(New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1974),175-190.
[8] Ibid. 97-98.
[9] Lewy, op.cit. 38; Robinson, op.cit. 98.
[10] Lewy, op.cit. 43, 50.
[11] Robinson, op.cit.98.
[12] Ibid. 100.
RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TERRIBLE DESERT JOKES OF THE WEEK
A group of hikers was being led through the wilderness by a guide.
On the third day, the hikers noticed that they had been traveling in circles.
"We're lost!" One of the men complained. "I thought you said you were the best guide in the United States."
"I am," the guide answered, "but I think we may have wandered into Canada
A large, well-established, Canadian lumber camp advertised that they were looking for a good Lumberjack. The very next day, Avrumel a skinny little yid showed up at the camp with his ax, and knocked on the head lumberjacks' door.
The head lumberjack took one look at little Avrumel and told him to leave. "Just give me a chance to show you what I can do," said Avrumel.
"Okay, see that giant redwood over there?" said the lumberjack. "Take your axe and go cut it down."
Avrumel headed for the tree, and in five minutes he was back knocking on the lumberjack's door.
"I cut the tree down," said Avrumel. The lumberjack couldn't believe his eyes and said, "Where did you get the skill to chop down trees like that?"
"In the Sahara Forest," replied little Avrumel.
"You mean the Sahara Desert," said the lumberjack.
Avrumel laughed and answered back, "Oh sure, that's what they call it now!"
Benny from Haifa passed away and was sent 'below'. He was amazed, however, to discover lush vegetation, running streams, waterfalls, and beautiful lakes everywhere. Everyone seemed happy.
"You look surprised," said a resident.
"Yes, I am," replied Benny, "I expected this place to be very dry and exceedingly hot. Like a desert. But all I can see are trees full of all kinds of fruit, beautiful flowers, lots of vegetables, lush grass and water everywhere. This is not hell"
"Well," said the resident, "it used to be like you thought, but then the Israelis started to arrive and they irrigated the daylights out of the place!"
A disappointed Coca-Cola salesman returns from his assignment to Israel. A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Israelis?" The salesman explained, "When I got posted, I was very confident that I would make it. But, I had a problem. I didn't know Hebrew. So, I planned to convey the message via three posters.
The first poster was a man lying in the hot desert sand, totally exhausted.
The second poster was the man drinking the Coca Cola.
The third poster was the man now totally refreshed.
"These posters were pasted all over the place."
"That should have worked!!" said the friend.
"Of course it should have!!" said the salesman. "ButI didn't realize that Israelis read from right to left!!!"
Two adventurers John and Jack were hunting for gold in the desert. After roaming all day long under the hot sun, they set up their tent and fell asleep. Some hours later, John woke up his friend.
"Jack, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
Jack looked up and replied, "I can see millions of stars."
"What does that tell you?" asked John.
Jack thought for a minute and said.
"Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time-wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you?"
After a moment of silence, John spoke.
"It tells two things to me. First is that...you are an idiot."
Jack looked at John, surprised. "Why do you say so?" he said.
"Because it has still not occurred to you that someone has stolen our tent," replied John.
Recently, while going through an airport during one of his many trips, President Bush encountered a man with long gray hair and a beard, wearing a white robe and holding a staff. President Bush went up to the man and said, "Has anyone told you that you look like Moses?"
The man didn't answer. He just kept staring straight ahead.
In a loud voice, the President said, "Moses!" The man just stared ahead, not acknowledging the President.
Bush pulled a Secret Service agent aside and, pointing to the robed man, asked him, "Am I crazy or does that man not look like Moses to you?" The Secret Service agent looked at the man and agreed.
"Well," said the President, "every time I say his name, he ignores me and stares straight ahead, refusing to speak. Watch!"
Again the President yelled, "Moses!" and again the man ignored him.
The Secret Service agent went up to the man in the white robe and whispered, "You look just like Moses. Are you Moses?"
The man leaned over and whispered back, "Shhhh! Yes, I am Moses. But the last time I talked to a bush, I spent 40 years wandering in the desert and ended up leading my people to the only spot in the entire Middle East with no oil."
A Palestinian terrorist, desperate for water, was plodding through the desert when he saw something far off in the distance. Hoping to find water, he walked toward the object, only to find a little old Jewish man at a small stand selling neckties.
The Arab asked, "Do you have water?"
The Jewish man replied, "I have no water. Would you like to buy a tie? They are only $5."
The Arab shouted, "Idiot Jew! Israel should not exist! I do not need an overpriced tie. I need water! I should kill you, but I must find water first."
"OK," said the old Jew, "it does not matter that you do not want to buy a tie and that you hate me. I will show you that I am bigger than that. If you continue over that hill to the east for about two miles, you will find a lovely restaurant. It has all the water you need. Shalom."
Muttering, the Arab staggered away over the hill. Several hours later he staggered back, near collapse. "Your brother won't let me in without a tie."
A baby camel was asking his mother a bunch of questions.
"Ma, why do we have huge, three toed feet?" asked the baby camel.
"They help us trek across the desert," answered the mother camel. "The large toes stay on top of the soft sand."
"Why do we have such long eyelashes?
"To keep the sand out our eyes on our long treks in the desert."
"Why do we have these giant humps on our backs?"
"They help us store great quantities of water, so we can make long treks through the desert."
Summing things up the baby camel said, "So we have huge feet to stop us from sinking in the sand, long eyelashes to keep the sand out of our eyes, and these humps to store water?"
"That's right dear." said the proud mother.
The baby camel thinks for a moment and says, "So why are we living here in the San Diego zoo?
********************************
No rainbow's end for the Jews of Oz
New Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called Israel an "oppressor" and accused it of collective punishment against the Palestinian Arabs.
Melanie Phillips
JNS) Australian Jews woke up this week to a new and unsettling reality. Scott Morrison's conservative, pro-Israel Liberal Party government was defeated, and the new prime minister is the Labour Party leader, Anthony Albanese.
Albanese has a history of anti-Israel positions. He has declared himself a "strong advocate of justice for Palestinians," called Israel an "oppressor" and accused it of collective punishment against the Palestinian Arabs.
In 2019, he traveled to Britain, where he met the British Labour Party's hard-left former leader Jeremy Corbyn. Afterwards, he posted a photograph of himself and Corbyn smiling together with the caption: "Great to catch up with @jeremycorbyn today in #Westminster at a critical time in British politics."
Like his friend Corbyn, Albanese is rooted in radical socialism. He would have taken note, however, of how Corbyn and his hard-left cronies made the British Labour Party unelectable through their extremist policies and omnipresent anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.
So Albanese has now taken care to tone down his Israel rhetoric. Earlier this month, he declared that "Israel will have Australia's friendship and support" from a Labour government and said he was "passionate" about opposing the movement to boycott Israel.
Yet last year Penny Wong, who is expected to become the new government's foreign minister, moved an amendment at a special platform conference cementing a 2018 commitment for "the next Labour government to recognize Palestine as a state," and expecting "that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor government."
This means that Albanese's party supports the unilateral denial of political and legal reality with which the Palestinians seek to establish a terrorist state on Israel's doorstep working for its destruction under the imprimatur of the West.
It means that Albanese's party supports the agenda of a Palestinian Authority that pumps out incitement to kill Israelis and steal their land, teaches its children to hate Jews and rewards the families of those who murder them.
Israeli left-wingers maintain that the Australian Labour Party's position is no different from standard left-wing support for Israel in the West—supporting the "two-state solution" and opposing Israeli "settlements" in the "occupied Palestinian territories."
But that's precisely the problem. For you don't have to be a rabid anti-Semite or overt Israel-basher to present a danger to Israel.
The supposedly "moderate" leftist position does that, too, since it promotes the Palestinian narrative that is predicated upon demonizing Israel through falsehoods and distortions, writing the Jews out of their own national story and promulgating grotesque, Nazi-style anti-Jewish tropes.
Not only does this mean that the "moderate" left gives ground to Israel's existential Palestinian enemy by denying that it is indeed an existential enemy. And not only does it mean that such self-professed "friends" of Israel fail to make the case that there is no "occupied Palestinian territory" and that Israel stands for law, justice and truth against those who would snuff all of those things out.
It also means that these "friends" fail to hold the line against the unabashed enemies of Israel, whose hostility—as has happened in Australia, just as in America and Britain—accordingly bleeds into brazen anti-Semitism.
These days, the "hard" left has swallowed the "soft" left, which either lacks the arguments or the courage to face it down. In America, members of the Democratic Party who consider themselves to be "moderate" leftists and friends of Israel have allowed themselves in effect to be held hostage by "The Squad" of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic Congress members, and by the radical Bernie Sanders wing.
In Britain, the Jewish community's principal representative body, the Board of Deputies, has been all but paralyzed over their need to stand up for certain truths—such as the legality of Israeli "settlements" or the anti-Semitism of Black Lives Matter or the Muslim community—as a result of the disproportionate influence of left-wing Jewish activist groups.
In Australia, these dangers are now far worse because Albanese will probably need to govern in coalition with the Green Party.
Green politics were key to Morrison's defeat, thanks to the obsession with man-made climate change that appears to have gripped the Australian public. Politicians nicknamed the "teals"—they blend green ideology with "blue" conservative fiscal restraint—saw off a clutch of Liberal Party politicians, mostly in affluent areas of Sydney and Melbourne.
The most prominent of these Liberal scalps was the Jewish parliamentarian Josh Frydenberg, who had been touted as Morrison's likely successor as Liberal leader.
But while many Jews themselves subscribe to man-made climate change theory, green politics are highly dangerous to the Jewish people.
In Australia, the Greens are the only political party to have rejected the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)'s working definition of anti-Semitism. Last year, their national conference voted to "halt military cooperation and military trade with Israel."
Two months later, a former high-profile Green parliamentary candidate, Julian Burnside, tweeted that Israel's "treatment of the Palestinians looks horribly like the German treatment of Jews during the Holocaust." After a public rebuke from the Jewish community, Green leader Adam Bandt said his party "abhors anti-Semitism in all its forms."
Across the West, green supporters tend to be venomously hostile to Israel. This is not surprising, considering that fundamental to deep green ecology, which was enthusiastically embraced in the 1930s by the German Nazi Party, lies implacable hostility to the Jewish roots of the West.
Green ideology, which gives priority to the inanimate and animal world over humanity, is pagan and inimical to the narrative and values of the Hebrew Bible. It sets out explicitly to oppose the book of Genesis by dethroning humankind as the pinnacle of creation.
Setting themselves against modernity and capitalism, its supporters gravitate towards the anti-Semitic belief that behind capitalism lies global Jewish money driving the world to hell in a handcart in the interests of Jews worldwide.
Repudiating reason, the Greens' driving cause of man-made global warming theory shares with anti-Zionism the disturbing characteristic of a narrative based on nonsense that has nevertheless been accepted by many as an unchallengeable truth.
For the evidence just doesn't support this theory. Current global temperature fluctuations are within normal historic climate patterns. Extreme weather events are not occurring more frequently.
Global temperatures, which according to climate-change dogma are inescapably pushed upwards by rising CO2 levels, have actually been flat-lining for the past seven years.
There is a pernicious symbiosis between anti-Zionism and "progressive" ideologies such as the green agenda and identity politics. All are based on untruths or malevolent distortions. All aim to destroy Western culture. And all are fundamentally anti-Judaism.
Australia is a very different society from America or Britain. With no comparable history of imperialism, racial segregation or religious persecution, it is less haunted than America or Britain by cultural ghosts conjuring up historic guilt or communal vengeance, although Australia has one or two specters of its own.
Nevertheless, just like other Western countries, Australia has also been troubled by rising anti-Semitism and Islamic radicalization, and the indulgence of both by the left-wing intelligentsia.
The danger is that Australia's Labour government will now emulate the Democrats in America—professing support for Israel while pursuing an agenda that undermines it at every turn, puts it in danger and inescapably makes the lives of Australian Jews more difficult.
The unhappy fact is that wherever a left-wing administration is elected today, this presages a rocky road ahead for all who care about justice, freedom and truth.
The election of Albanese's Labour Party isn't just a blow for defenders of Israel. It also threatens to turn Australia into a weak link in the defense of the West, which becomes more urgent by the day.
Melanie Phillips, a British journalist, broadcaster and author, writes a weekly column for JNS. Currently a columnist for "The Times of London," her personal and political memoir, "Guardian Angel," has been published by Bombardier,
It's the Most Beautiful and Dangerous Road in Israel. Nobody Can Drive There
Ma'aleh Akrabim, descending from the mountaintops to the Arava Desert, is an ancient, adventurous, and winding road
May. 25, 2022
A moment after reaching the summit of Ma'aleh Akrabim – "Scorpion Pass" – there was silence. Each of us took a deep breath, raised a palm to shade the eyes and looked east. From the top of the ascent, one can see the verdant banks of the Nahal Zin, Mount Zin and the expanse of the Arava Desert. The view is mesmerizing. Below us winds a narrow road, descending south in 18 hairpin turns. This is one of the most beautiful and singular roads in Israel, but it has been closed for over five years, and driving on it is prohibited. But people are attracted to the forbidden.
Ten minutes later, we had traversed 2 kilometers down the slope, slowly navigating four switchbacks and parking at the Ma'aleh Akrabim lookout point, which offers a fine view of the Roman-era part of the road, the twists and turns of the road beyond, the famous "frog rock" and below, the ruins of the Rogem Zafir fortress. It is hard to leave this little observation point. Signs explain the importance of the location and a bit of its history. You know Snakes and Ladders? This is the real version.
I drove to Ma'aleh Akrabim with Israel Nature and Parks Authority personnel to understand why the pass is closed, how it's possible that an ancient road that connects biblical stories to archaeology, history, landscape, heritage and modern Israeli history, is closed to travelers. Why is a beautiful road that all agree has massive tourism value not open for travel? The Nature and Parks Authority's involvement and influence significant, because the longer road that Ma'aleh Akrabim is part of, passes through nature reserves – Mishor Yamin, Machtesh Katan, Machteshim Ein Yahav and the Judean Desert.
Ma'aleh Akrabim is not a transit route. It is a destination unto itself. Those who have traveled it in the past know this well. Those who haven't face a difficult dilemma. They can get there, but it's illegal. Signs at both ends of Route 227 clarify this in the most unmistakable manner. And yet, there is currently no physical barrier impeding the visit. Any car can reach the monument to the engineers who paved the road, shaped like a rook chess piece, and slalom down Ma'aleh Akrabim to the Arava Desert. It's a dangerous drive, as the shoulders are crumbling following years of neglect and closure, but it's a thrilling experience.
The road runs some 30 kilometers from the northwestern end to the Ein Hatzeva Interchange on Route 90. It is not maintained, there are no guardrails and, according to authorities, it is unfit for vehicular traffic. What needs to happen for Route 227 to be reopened to the general public, then?
Everyone would benefit: Nature lovers and hikers would have another, wonderful, destination. The area would have more visitors. Residents of Yeruham would have another attraction to offer their guests. The big question is who is preventing the road from reopening, and why the obvious move hasn't happened yet.
Biblical and Roman past
Ma'aleh Akrabim is mentioned in the Book of Numbers – "and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin," (Numbers 34:4) – and a few other places in the Bible as the southern border of the Land of Israel, the border of the Kingdom of Judah and a route from the Judean Hills and Hebron to the Arava Desert and the Red Sea. While there is no definitive identification that this is the same ascent, few ancient roads descend from the mountains to the Arava.
Archaeological excavations at the site uncovered numerous finds from the Roman and Byzantine periods, especially the second century C.E. The Romans paved the pass, putting in the series of switchbacks to ease travel, and erected walls and built stairs. At the top of the road stands Zafir fortress, a square fortress that was built in the third century and used as a guard station in the Byzantine period. At the bottom of the lower end of the hill stands the small Rogem Zafir fortress, and next to it the remains of a khan, or caravansary.
The road in its current form was built by the British in 1927, following the beautiful turns of the Roman route. It was paved to connect two British camel cavalry police stations in the area.
In November 1948, the Israel Defense Forces conquered the road as part of Operation Lot. Six months later, Golani Brigade forces used it on their way south to Eilat. They were followed by the Alexandroni Brigade, on its way to capturing Ein Gedi and the shore of the Dead Sea. A year later, the turret monument (our starting point) was erected, commemorating the Engineering Corps' roadbuilding project, called Operation Arava.
In March 1954, a bus carrying 15 passengers back to Tel Aviv after celebrating the fifth anniversary of the capture of Eilat was ambushed by gunmen as it slowly ascended Ma'aleh Akrabim. Eleven people were shot dead at the scene and two others were severely wounded, including a 10-year-old boy who remained in a paralyzed and semi-conscious state until his death in 1986. To this day, the Ma'aleh Akrabim massacre is remembered as one of the young state's first security-related traumatic incidents. There is a memorial plaque to the victims at the top of the ascent.
In the 1950s, the southern section of Route 40 was opened, descending from the town of Mitzpeh Ramon to the crater below, Machtesh Ramon, and continues south. Route 25, which descends from the town of Dimona to the Arava Desert, was also built then. Route 31, between the town of Arad and the Dead Sea, was opened in 1964. These new roads nearly eliminated dependence on Ma'aleh Akrabim, heralding its decline.
The greatest damage has been caused by flash floods. Traveling on the road, it's easy to see that its original builders knew their craft well and made sure to build small drainage ditches and retaining walls on the sides of the road – but these have failed and been destroyed by massive flash floods. The road was closed in 2007, reopened in 2014 and closed again three years ago after it was declared unsafe.
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Several hiking trails originate near Ma'aleh Akrabim. The best-known, in Nahal Gov, is a popular route with experienced hikers and youth groups. The road's closure deters many trip organizers from coming. Today, it is an "orphan road," falling between the jurisdiction of several bodies, including the Transportation Ministry, the regional council and the Nature and Parks Authority.
A quick Google search for "world's most scenic roads" turns up a few mountain routes with switchbacks that resemble Ma'aleh Akrabim. Some would say it equals them in beauty, while others say it surpasses them. Included on the various lists are Stelvio Pass in Italy; Furka Pass in Switzerland; Paso de los Libertadores, also known as the Paso del Cristo Redentor, between Chile and Argentina; and the Lacests de Montvernier, in France.
Each of these roads has dozens of switchbacks. Most people don't take them to get from one place to another. They take them to enjoy the view and the uniqueness of the road, to scream in fear on the turns, to drive slowly, to stop at every possible lookout, to take innumerable photos, to complain of dizziness while enjoying every moment. Ma'aleh Akrabim can easily compete with any of these roads, but it does not appear on any of the lists. It is closed, neglected and crumbling at the edges. What a waste.
Fascinating shortcut
None of the officials I spoke with objects to reopening the road. In fact, they all agree that it's a great asset and that the location is fascinating and worth visiting. Everyone also agrees that something must be done before it can be reopened, improvements to make it a little safer. That's where the disagreements begin. Some demand that Ma'aleh Akrabim be modified to comply with the standards for regular traffic routes, with guardrails and wider lanes. Others say that its special character must be preserved in a way that honors its history.
Gilad Gabbay, the southern region director of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, took me on a tour of the area. He emphasized the importance of Ma'aleh Akrabim within the overall context of recreational travel in the south: "The Machteshim Road – a longitudinal axis from Lake Yeruham to the Arava – is the most traveled in the Negev. There is a large variety of hiking trails: Mount Avnon, the colorful sands park, Ma'aleh Palmach, the 'small fin' and 'great fin' paths, Ein Yarkam and Ma'aleh Akrabim itself in the center of the axis. Mamshit National Park is the place that supports this area, from our perspective. The road closure is a traffic jam that blocks this important axis.
"In the past year we improved three campgrounds along this axis," Gabbay says. "We blazed hiking trails and maintained archaeology sites along the road. We are making an effort to create a balance here between vehicles and pedestrians, and it is clear that everyone must be satisfied."
He says that since the Transportation Ministry ordered the closure of Ma'aleh Akrabim in 2017, the Nature and Parks Authority has been holding talks on reopening it. "The line that guides us is that we don't want the road to be opened and then destroyed. We want proper, good preservation. The historic barrels on the side of the road are part of the heritage of the site. We say to the Transportation Ministry: Find a way to preserve it. Don't build a standard, six-meter-wide road with guardrails. Ma'aleh Akrabim is not a regular road. It has a special character."
The Nature and Parks Authority has drawn up a proposal dividing the road into four sections. Gabbay says three of them could be reopened immediately. It's the middle section, with the switchbacks, that is the problem and the focus of disagreement. There's no problem with reopening the first section, a 13-kilometer stretch from Route 206 to the Israel National Trail. Currently, hikers on the national trail in the area can't replenish their water or other supplies, and everyone understands that this is untenable. Buses avoid this section because it's not covered by insurance. This section, the northwestern one, has no particular scenic value, and the Nature and Parks Authority is happy to let any improvements be made.
Most hikers and other travelers reach Route 227 because they're interested in the second section, a 3-kilometer stretch from where it meets the Israel National Trail at Nahal Ma'aleh to the Nahal Gov area and the monument. There is agreement over the repairs needed to allow for a rapid reopening.
The park authority's proposal for the problematic third section, about 2 kilometers of switchbacks, suggests making the road one-way, preferably downhill. It proposes a speed limit of 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) an hour, careful preservation, and no modern guardrails or severe intervention. The fourth section, a stretch of about 12 kilometers from the bottom of the incline to Ein Hatzeva Junction, is not in dispute.
Gabbay speaks of Route 227 with emotion and it is clear that the issue is close to his heart. At one point in our conversation, he says: "I will not let Ma'aleh Akrabim be destroyed just to open it. I am not willing to come and mow down the barrels that have stood here for almost 100 years. I cannot approve that. We proposed good alternatives, and nothing was accepted. It isn't a problem of money at all. The whole thing is a matter of principle. It frustrates me terribly because I don't feel we can get [the Transportation Ministry] to listen. By my understanding we've come a long way and we cannot get it to reopen without losing its uniqueness."
Gabbay acknowledges that he is under pressure by those pushing for the road to be reopened, particularly the Central Arava Regional Council. "Look what an amazing road," he says. "Obviously, we want it to reopen, but we will not allow its beauty to be destroyed. Metal guardrails and widening the road will destroy everything," he adds, before walking around the lookout to collect empty beverage containers left by visitors.
Meir Tzur, the head of the Central Arava Regional Council, also speaks of Route 227 with great enthusiasm: "It's a scandal that the road is closed. It must be opened quickly. The Transportation Ministry must invest in it, renovate where needed. Let them take care of the hazard and open it. We want it to be open to traffic in both directions, but we're willing to compromise on it being one-way – downhill. The Nature and Parks Authority is doing nothing in order to open it. On the contrary, it does everything to keep it from opening.
"Opening the road will help tourism, hikers, bicyclists," Tzur says. "It will help tourism throughout the Arava. The road is critical for us and for all Israelis. It's one of the most beautiful roads in the country, with history and with heritage, and it's closed because of bureaucracy."
Shahar Shilo, a tour guide, lecturer and the director of tourism at the Ramat Negev Regional Council, explains: "The road and the ascent to the top have very great importance for what we call the 'southern product.' The road makes for a short and fascinating juncture between the central Arava and Yeruham. A detour on Route 25 takes over an hour … It has the ancient and the modern Israeli history, and countless stories are hidden here. For example, the fact that members of the [pre-state underground militia] Lehi, who after the founding of the state joined the Combat Engineering Corps of the Israel Defense Forces and participated in the road's restoration, concealed in the support pillars of each of the hairpin turns a rock on which they had chiseled the Lehi emblem. Over time, these stones disappeared, and to the best of my knowledge only one remains. There are loads of stories like these about this special road."
Liat Aviely of the nonprofit organization Zionism 2000 is the director of tourism development in Yeruham. She stresses Ma'aleh Akrabim's importance to the town, and says the town is doing all it can to press for the road's reopening. "Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli visited Yeruham a few weeks ago and the issue was raised with her," Aviely says. "We made it clear that it's important for the development of Yeruham tourism. She seemed excited about the topic, which isn't new to her, and said the ministry will examine it in a positive light.
"For us, it is an important link between Yeruham and the Arava. We're the gateway to the hiking trail," she adds. "It's one of the most traveled routes in the south. Reopening the road will increase the number of visitors to Yeruham. These are amazing places and we don't get to them enough and don't know them well enough.
"It should be kept in mind that this is soft tourism. These are visitors with the character of hikers. For them, Yeruham is a star town, from which there are many routes to take. The road's nature must be preserved; it mustn't be turned into a regular road. The driving experience on the switchbacks is important, as well. We have seen this in many places abroad."
In a written response, the Transportation Ministry said that Ma'aleh Akrabim was closed due to serious safety deficiencies that could endanger people. "The ministry intends to restore the road in cooperation with the relevant local authorities," the ministry stated. "Ministry representatives conducted several tours and met with the Arava Regional Council. Our ministry endeavors to schedule an additional meeting with council representatives. In the near term the road will remain closed to vehicles, and only hikers will be able to enjoy the views in the area."
Lots of words. Good intentions. The language of lawyers and bureaucracy. In the end, there is a spacious, beautiful, open desert. From which you can descend from the top of the mountain, at an altitude of more than 400 meters, to the Arava, 350 meters below, along an ancient, marvelous road that leaves the traveler with a sense of adventure. Let us drive.
