ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 400

Smoke rises from a fire which broke out from missiles fired from Lebanon at a forest outside the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, September 24, 2024. (David Cohen/ Flash90)
Smoke rises from a fire which broke out from missiles fired from Lebanon at a forest outside the northern Israeli city of Tzfat, September 24, 2024. (David Cohen/ Flash90)

Head out to nature, or stay near a bomb shelter? The Israeli Sukkot dilemma

As the Jewish state’s ultimate hiking holiday approaches, millions debate whether to get fresh air and risk being caught by enemy rockets – as this writer did

Just before Rosh Hashanah, it became clear: for this holiday, we have to get out into nature. We need a break from the war, from work, and from the city — and that break needs to be green, and offer direct contact with the earth, trees, water, and sky.

When I presented my plan to the family — a day’s hike in the Carmel Mountains — I was met with skepticism and reservations. The main point: hiking trails in the Carmel, like many areas in Israel, are “open spaces” as defined by the Home Front Command. And in open spaces, beyond the lack of shelters, there are no sirens, and, most importantly, no missile interceptions.

“It’s purely relying on luck,” one family member said, and to a large extent, she was right.

I argued that it was a manageable risk and that… well, “everything will be okay.” In the end, everything was fine, but there were a few scary moments: While rock climbing in the Nahal Nesher stream bed, we heard loud explosions above us.

Moreover, not only were there no sirens nearby, but with no cell signal, even the Home Front Command app remained silent. Later, we found out that Hezbollah missiles fired from Lebanon were intercepted just a few kilometers north of us.

Many Israelis are now facing the same dilemma specifically ahead of Sukkot, the ultimate hiking holiday — when even the Sabbath-observant folks can explore the country.

A young Israeli hikes through the forest in the Carmel Mountains near Haifa on a Saturday afternoon, on December 7, 2013. (Hadas Parush/Flash90/File)

Summer is fading, the breeze is blowing, and after a year of anxiety, getting into nature has become a mental and physical health necessity.

In a survey conducted by the Nature and Parks Authority, 90 percent of Israelis said that getting out into nature improves their mental and physical well-being. At the same time, every Israeli is familiar with the IDF’s announcements that “rockets fell in open spaces, no warning was issued according to policy.”

“The Home Front Command is basically telling us — when you go out into nature, it’s at your own risk,” says a father of two young daughters, who preferred to speak anonymously. He is debating whether to take his daughters hiking this Sukkot.

“On one hand, they don’t forbid us from hiking,” he says, “but on the other hand, it seems we’re not really protected. I understand the economic considerations of saving munitions, but the question is whether at some point, especially on weekends and holidays, this turns from a calculated risk into abandoning the public.”

The Nature and Parks Authority, the government body managing nature reserves and national parks, evades any criticism of the Home Front Command’s interception policy. Instead, they emphasize that they operate according to the guidelines.

A deer escapes fire at the Golan Heights on July 2024. (Raphael Altberg, Nature and Parks Authority)

The Home Front Command divides Israel into zones with different alert levels — red indicating restricted activity, orange indicating limited activity, yellow partial activity and green full activity. The Nature and Parks Authority opens and closes the reserves and parks accordingly.

As of October 10, the Golan Heights and most parts of the Galilee were marked in orange, while the valleys, Haifa Bay, and the Lower Galilee were marked in yellow. The rest of the country, including the Carmel Mountains, is completely green. The list of closed sites includes all northern streams and mountains, usually highly popular with travelers and nature lovers: Banias, Meron, Gamla, Hula, Kziv, and others.

In the Carmel area, strangely enough, Carmel Park is closed, but the Wildlife Carmel Nature Reserve is open. In the Kinneret region, Majrase is closed, but Capernaum is open. In any case, the list is updated frequently, and it is worth checking the Home Front Command’s website before heading out.

The number of visitors at Nature and Parks Authority sites over the past month indicates that the hiking map is changing in response to the war map: on Saturday, September 7, before the escalation in Lebanon, northern sites recorded 8,411 visitors, while central sites had 6,689.

By the last Saturday of September, deep into the war with Hezbollah, northern sites recorded just 1,848 visitors (20% of the early September figures), while central sites had 5,255. This trend continued over Rosh Hashanah.

The Banias spring waterfall, after a particularly rainy weekend, February 6, 2011. (Doron Horowitz/Flash90/File)

A report by the Nature and Parks Authority published this week shows that in the past year of war, the number of visitors to nature reserves and national parks dropped by 38% — from 9.5 million to 5.9 million visitors. This is a significant decline, yet it also highlights the determination of many Israelis to get out into nature.

Eight Nature and Parks Authority sites along the northern border have been closed since October 7, 2023, including Banias, which alone attracts half a million visitors annually. Sites closer to the center, such as Palmahim Beach (1.23 million visitors) and Yarkon Springs, have taken their place.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel offers a surprise on its website: Among the many guided tours available during Sukkot, some are in the north, including in the Golan Heights. If that were not enough, one of the tours, a hike to see the Sternbergia flowers in Tel Hazeka, is already sold out.

Tickets are still available for a night tour at Hurvat Hushniya in the Golan Heights and for a hike in Sfunim river and cave in the Carmel. How does this align with Hezbollah’s rocket launch map?

“We advertise the hikes well in advance and cancel them a day or two before, depending on the situation,” says Dan Alon, CEO of the Society for the Protection of Nature. “Obviously, there won’t be any hikes in the Golan now. We’re also reconsidering hikes in the Carmel two or three times before making a final decision.

Dan Alon, CEO of the Society for the Protection of Nature. (Dov Greenblatt)

“Some hikes are sold out because people signed up a month ago, but the situation has changed, and they haven’t canceled. Recently, most northern hikes have been canceled, even in the Carmel and areas where the Home Front Command technically allows hiking. It’s a day-to-day judgment call. If we think there’s even a small risk, we won’t go out.”

The Society for the Protection of Nature provides numerous hiking services to the education system, where they don’t have discretion: “The Ministry of Education has decided that no trips should take place north of the Taninim River–Ma’agan Michael line,” says Alon. “The Home Front Command has actually been more lenient regarding the Carmel, so when it comes to our activities, like holiday hikes, we need to make the call.”

While Alon says it is not ideal that the country’s parks and reserves are essentially not protected by Israel’s missile defense systems, he understands why the government prioritizes more densely populated areas, from an economic standpoint and in relation to the Iron Dome’s limited capacity during heavy barrages.

“You have to remember that when you’re in an open space, just like when you’re on the street, even if there’s an interception, your exposure to injury is significant,” Alon says. “Most injuries so far haven’t been from the rockets themselves but from the fragments of the interception. And, by the way, a large portion of interception debris falls in open areas, causing numerous fires.”

A defense source speaking to The Times of Israel on the condition of anonymity agrees that the level of risk is not only about whether an area is under aerial defense.

“Even when you’re driving on the streets of Acre or Nahariya,” says the source, “most likely you won’t have time to get into a nearby building when a siren is sounded, and like in open areas, you need to lie down in the most protected spot possible and cover your head.”

People take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, June 19, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

The defense source says that taking such measures to protect oneself is absolutely necessary — even in built-up areas under the protection of the aerial defense systems, which are not 100% accurate. In addition, they say, many injuries are caused by falling shrapnel — fragments from the missile interception that can be quite large falling at or near terminal velocity, which can easily kill or cause grievous bodily harm.

They also note that Israel’s aerial defense is not fully automated, as some may think.

“The Home Front Command and the Air Force operate in the same operations room — a lesson learned from the Second Lebanon War,” they say. “There’s human input in the decision to intercept and where. It can vary between day and night and if it’s known that a large public is in a particular place — and other factors. In the end, it’s a matter of risk management, and I don’t think it would be right to tell everyone not to go hiking on weekends and holidays just because a rocket might hit.”

The Home Front Command faces an additional challenge in communicating alerts to many in the Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, community, who use “kosher” phones that do not have internet access and therefore can’t download the RedAlert app, which issues incoming missile warnings in real-time.

This summer, as yeshivas took their collective summer break and tens of thousands of young ultra-Orthodox people flooded out into nature, the Home Front Command printed guidelines strongly urging them not to venture out too far without a smartphone — and that was before the escalation in Lebanon.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews inspect the debris of what is believed to be an intercepted Iranian missile near the city of Arad, southern Israel, on April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

It is important to remember that, in many hiking trails across the country, especially in streambeds, there is no signal anyway, so no matter how smart the phone is, it would not be able to warn hikers of incoming rockets.

By all indications, the public’s self-risk management will guide the flow of hikers southward. During the Passover holiday, the Society for the Protection of Nature reported that southern field schools — Ein Gedi, Hatzeva, Eilat, and the Negev Highlands — were packed to capacity, while those in the north were deserted.

Obviously, a precise drone strike in the south could suddenly change the picture.

When asked about the expectations for Sukkot, Alon smiles: “I wish I could give you a forecast. We had plans, and still have, to do a lot, but we’re checking things day by day. Sukkot is still a week away — don’t ask me questions about such a distant future.”

The IDF spokesperson said that while the army is doing its best to provide the optimal aerial defense, “it’s important to note that the aerial defense is not airtight, and adhering to Home Front Command guidelines is crucial to ensuring the best protection.”

The spokesperson pointed potential day-trippers toward the hiking and safety guidelines provided by the Home Front Command via its telephone hotline (dial 104 locally), as well as the Nature and Parks Authority website or phone service at 3639.

Sunset at the Negev, near Mitzpe Ramon, August 2022. (Omer Sharvit)

While the IDF and authorities are doing their best to manage the situation, it is clear that nature lovers face a tough decision this Sukkot. The desire to break free from the stress of everyday life and connect with Israel’s landscapes is strong, but the looming threat of rockets and the reality of incomplete protection make every trip into nature a calculated risk.

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