We decided to overcome the fears sparyed by the media. The idea was to travel throgh the natural heritages of palaestine and gush etziyon, to see the landscape as it is reflected by the trees ands rocks, to meet the pepole as the live on the land: farmers, setllers, dreamers and vagabons.

We came with no political intensions. we came empy handed with peace in our mind. In the pictures bellow you can see how the land look without the media trying to blow fire.

We met nany pepole from all colors. We were lucky to meet only the good sons of Abrham, hopefully, we are still the majority on this land.

Ezra

Starting the hike towards the mountains
קדימה לעבר הרי יהודה
 

daffodils - נרקיסים
 

The green line - the border between where soldiers stoped in 1948 to where they went 19 years later
 

Waddi fuquin
It have 11 good springs and lots of water near the soil 

The fields
השדות המושקים
It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a stately vine. 9 Say thou: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Shall it prosper? (Ezekiel Chapter 17 ' p 8/9)


אֶל-שָׂדֶה טּוֹב אֶל-מַיִם רַבִּים, הִיא שְׁתוּלָה--לַעֲשׂוֹת עָנָף וְלָשֵׂאת פֶּרִי, לִהְיוֹת לְגֶפֶן אַדָּרֶת. אֱמֹר, כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה--תִּצְלָח
(יחזקל פרק יז פסוקים ח וט) 

Local agriculture - Waddi Fuqin
 

Trading with the locals
 

The onion grower - wadi Fuqin
 

Hayim near the water source - Wadi fucin
 

The cave man
 

Old walls - new walls חומה חדשה וחומה עתיקה
Old wals - new walls
same same

Thousands of years ago somebody built here a huge wall, Thousands of stones with guardrooms within

just where new walls are now built 

Gabage in Ein-Fares

That's realy sad, but even the locals are destroying there own water sources

לא חרם. חוץ ממקומיים אף אחד לא מסתובב פה אז למה הם לא יכולים לשמור על הבית שלהם? 

He has time to collect every single olive

Here time is very little money.
He has time to collect every single olive that fell from the tree

זמן הוא מעט מאוד כסף בשבילי הגדה 

Fences between the fields around Nachalin
גדרות בין השדות. הכפר נחלין ברקע

וַיַּעֲמֹד מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה, בְּמִשְׁעוֹל הַכְּרָמִים--גָּדֵר מִזֶּה, וְגָדֵר מִזֶּה (במדבר פרק כב 

The olive tree
 

goats
 

rocks and vines
 

First tasty grapes - we didnt know how much we will eat during this trip

When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes until thou have enough at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. (Deuteronomy Chapter 23 verse 25)

כִּי תָבֹא בְּכֶרֶם רֵעֶךָ, וְאָכַלְתָּ עֲנָבִים כְּנַפְשְׁךָ שָׂבְעֶךָ; וְאֶל-כֶּלְיְךָ, לֹא תִתֵּן
(דברים כג - 25( 

mountain agriculture
 

שפוכת הקרקע של ביתר עלית
Modern negelctance infron of old agriculture 

Will the dump heaps cover the old fields?
האם ערמות השפוכת יקברו את מטעי הזיתים של נחלין
The building of the city of Beitar Elit is done with very little consideration to the environment. We need just a bit more money to build proper walls

הבניה של ביתר-עילית מורידה המון שפוכת לואדי.
איפה קירות התמך? 

Cabbage head - ראש כרוב
 

Driking from an old source - שתיה ממעין עתיק
 

The new pools הבריכה החדשה
In the last few years the locals are opening more and more new fields, using tractors to flattern the land. They use even small sources of water that were neglected by their ancesstors 

Modern technology - ancients sources
טכנולוגיה מודרנית - איגום עתיק
Here they buse modern technology to get to the equifer. The ideas of collecting the water to pools for irigation is the same like 3000 years ago.

In the recent years the locals are building many new pools and field to increase production