Caesarea and Akko Israel

I traveled throughout Israel and Jerusalem most every weekend during my stay.  The first weekend my colleagues and I visited the north coast of Israel from Tel Aviv to Caesarea, Haifa, Akko and Rosh Hanikra near the border with Lebanon.  The following weekend we went to the Holy Land to visit Nazareth and the sea of Galilee,  Church of the Annunciation, Cana, Capernaum, and the Mount of Beatitudes.  Next we went to Samaria to visit some ancient caves and a winery in the Judean hills.  After moving on to Jerusalem we took a day trip to Masada and also visited the nearby nature reserve at Ein Gadi and the Dead Sea.   The rest of the time was spent visiting Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Jaffa and the West Bank including the ancient site of Herodium.  I had visited the old city in Jerusalem several times before so I didn't need to visit the holy sites again.  However, I did take the opportunity to visit the Israel Museum, Holocoust Museum, the Friends of Zion museum and the Tower of David.

Caesarea is a town in north-central Israel. Located midway between Tel Aviv and Haifa on the coastal plain near the city of Hadera.   The town was built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BCE as the port city Caesarea. It served as an administrative center of Judaea Province of the Roman Empire, and later the capital of the Byzantine province during the classic period. Following the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, in which it was the last city to fall to the Arabs, the city had an Arab majority until Crusader conquest. It was abandoned after the Mamluk conquest.  It was re-populated in 1884 by Bosniak immigrants, who settled in a small fishing village.  In 1952, a Jewish town of Caesarea was established near the ruins of the old city, which were made into the national park of Caesarea.

Caesarea's amphitheater is generally well preserved.  At its fullest capacity, the amphitheater was able to seat 15,000 viewers, making it the biggest performance venue in all of Palestine. The amphitheater is still in use today with performances by Israel's biggest stars held daily during the summer months.

The city’s aqueduct was built along its sandy beaches and carried water from the feet of Mount Carmel in the north to the city center. A system of pipes and arched walls, which carried the water to the city, is still visible today

The group standing in front of the old hippodrome.  Caesarea's hippodrome is a circular structure originally built as a racetrack, and is similar in style and function to Rome's grand Circus Maximus. The walls that lined the arena have remained intact. On the left would have been the entrance to the old port on the Mediterranean sea.

North Coast of Israel near Rosh Hanikra

Michael Standing at the border between Lebanon and Israel.  Beirut is only 60 miles from the Israeli border. 

Akko was incorporated into the empire of Alexander the Great after his conquest in 332 B.C.E. The city was subsequently seized by the Egyptians until the Muslim conquest in the 7th century CE, when its ancient name was restored. Confusion over what to call the city was compounded by the Crusaders' conquest in 1104, after which it became known as St. Jean d'Acre, or Acre for short.  In 1291, the Mamluks invaded and destroyed the city, killing every remaining Crusader and putting an end to the Latin Kingdom. Acre ceased to be a major city for almost 500 years. The Ottoman Empire in the mid-18th century named the capital of Akko his capital and built a large fortress. It was subsequently fortified by the Turkish governor (1775-1804), Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzer ("The Butcher"). The mosque al-Jazzer built is one of the most beautiful in Israel and the most distinctive building in the old city.  Napoleon landed in Palestine and assaulted Akko in 1799, but he was unable to take the city. His Middle Eastern campaign subsequently collapsed and he withdrew to France.

The towering, stone-vaulted Knight's Halls of Akko, built 800 years ago by the Hospitallers (a monastic military order) and the medieval knights called Templars who once lived here. Legend has it that Marco Polo may have dined here on his way to meet Kublai Khan.  Following the conquest of Jerusalem by Salah Al-Din in 1187, the Templars made their home in Akko and began to build a strong fortress with its entrance protected by two powerful towers with 28-foot thick walls.  

The Templars aided pilgrims and the ailing coming from Europe to visit the holy sites of the Land of Israel. They first settled in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, hence their name, "the Templars", the guardians of the Temple.

The tunnel is 1100 feet long and extends from the Templars fortress in the west to the city's port in the east. The lower part of the tunnel is carved in the natural stone and its upper part is made of hewn stones covered with a semi-barreled dome. The tunnel was discovered in 1994 and in 2007 the entire length of the tunnel was made available to the public. 

Right outside, a tunnel leads out to the Turkish Bazaar via a souvenir shop that was here long before the tunnel was opened to the public.

Courtyard of Khan al Omdan 

The Holy Land Nazareth, Sea of Galilee and Capernaum

Nazareth is the capital and the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel".  In 2015 its population was 75,726. The inhabitants are predominantly Arab citizens of Israel, of whom 69% are Muslim and 31% Christian.  "Upper Nazareth" is built alongside old Nazareth, and had a Jewish population of 40,312 in 2014. The Jewish sector was declared a separate city in June 1974.  In the New Testament, the city is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and as such is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical events.

The church of the Annunciation was established at the site where, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the Angel Gabriel proclaimed that she would give birth to Jesus.  The current church is a two-story building constructed in 1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era and then Crusader-era church.

Inside, the lower level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation, believed by many Christians to be the remains of the original childhood home of Mary. The site has been a pilgrimage destination since earliest times and remains an important stop for Holy Land pilgrims today.

The Sea of Galilee is situated in northeast Israel, between the Golan Heights and the Galilee region, in the Jordan Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the African and Arabian Plates.  Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. In those days, there was a continuous ribbon development of settlements and villages around the lake and plenty of trade and ferrying by boat. Many of his miracles are also said to have occurred here including his walking on water, calming the storm, the disciples and the boatload of fish, and his feeding five thousand people in Tabgha.

The gospels describe how Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee: the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James. 

The earliest building at Tabgha was a small chapel built facing the sea of galilee in the 4th century A.D. by the Jewish convert to Christianity, Joseph of Tiberias. According to the new testament it is believed that Jesus stood on this rock when he blessed the fish and loaves just before the feeding of the crowd who had come to hear him.  

The Jordan River is a 150 mile-long river in that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and on to the Dead Sea. Israel and the West Bank border the river to the west, while the Golan Heights and Jordan lie to its east. Both Jordan and the West Bank take their names from the river.

The church of the Beatitudes is located on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and built on the traditional site of Jesus delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, pilgrims are known to have commemorated this site since at least the 4th century. Some of the beatitudes are:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of               heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth

Inside the Church of Beatitudes

Capernaum was a fishing village established during from the 2nd century BCE on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  It had a population of about 1,500.   A house turned into a church by the Byzantines is said to be the home of Saint Peter.  The village was inhabited continuously until the 11th century CE, when it was abandoned sometime before the Crusader conquest

Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other. 

Under the monumental building are the remains of the early Roman synagogue from the times of Jesus, which was built with the local black basalt rock. This earlier synagogue was the center of activities of Jesus, where he taught.

Parts of the synagogue stones are displayed in the area around the excavations, such as this element which shows the ark of covenant.

Church at Capernaum built over the house of St. Peter.   

Tel Aviv

Overview:

Israel has emerged as a regional economic and military powerhouse, leveraging its booming high-tech sector, massive defense industry, and concerns about Iran to foster partnerships around the world, even with some of its former foes. The State of Israel was declared in 1948, after Britain withdrew from its mandate of Palestine. The UN proposed partitioning the area into Arab and Jewish states, and Arab armies that rejected the UN plan were defeated. Israel was admitted as a member of the UN in 1949 and saw rapid population growth, primarily due to migration from Europe and the Middle East, over the following years. Israel fought wars against its Arab neighbors in 1967 and 1973, followed by peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 war, and subsequently administered those territories through military authorities. Israel and Palestinian officials signed a number of interim agreements in the 1990s that created an interim period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. While the most recent formal efforts to negotiate final status issues occurred in 2013-2014, the US continues its efforts to advance peace. Immigration to Israel continues, with more than 20,000 new immigrants, mostly Jewish, in 2020.

The Israeli economy has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 25 years, led by cutting-edge, high-tech sectors. Offshore gas discoveries in the Mediterranean, most notably in the Tamar and Leviathan gas fields, place Israel at the center of a potential regional natural gas market. However, longer-term structural issues such as low labor force participation among minority populations, low workforce productivity, high costs for housing and consumer staples, and a lack of competition, remain a concern for many Israelis and an important consideration for Israeli politicians. Former Prime Minister Benjamin NETANYAHU dominated Israel's political landscape from 2009 to June 2021, becoming Israel's longest serving prime minister before he was unseated by Naftali BENNETT, after Israel's fourth election in two years. BENNETT formed the most ideologically diverse coalition in Israel's history, including the participation of an Arab-Israeli party. Under the terms of the coalition agreement, BENNETT would remain as prime minister until August 2023, then Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair LAPID would succeed him. Israel signed normalization agreements – brokered by the US – with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco in late 2020 and reached an agreement with Sudan in early 2021.

Source:  CIA World Factbook

Israel's population of 8 million is approximately 75 percent Jewish and 18 percent Muslim, with smaller Christian, Druze, and other religious groups. According to the World Bank, Israel’s 2015 per capita gross domestic product of $35,440 places it between Japan and Italy in the high-income group of world nations. Support for Israel’s security and promotion of a negotiated Arab-Israeli peace settlement have been bedrocks of U.S. regional policy. Comprehensive, final status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority broke down in 2014. The United States is Israel's largest single-country trading partner. Bilateral trade has grown to $48.8 billion in 2014 since the two countries concluded a Free Trade Agreement in 1985. U.S. foreign direct investment in Israel was $10.8 billion in 2014, compared with $9 billion in Israeli foreign direct investment in the United States.

Source:  BBC Country Profile

American Embassy Tel Aviv:

The embassy faced several operational challenges. Its offices are located in eight facilities, which presents security risks as well as internal coordination difficulties. All other embassies of other countries were also located in Tel Aviv. Although the Ministry of Defense has offices in Tel Aviv, embassy staff must travel 40 miles to meet with most Israeli government officials who work in Jerusalem, the country's declared capital. While Embassy Tel Aviv and the consulate general in Jerusalem are independent diplomatic missions, they were operationally interdependent. This situation is a consequence of a long-standing U.S. policy to defer a decision on the permanent location of the embassy pending a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have regularly invoked the clause, delaying the move of the embassy to Jerusalem. That changed, of course, in May 2018, when the American embassy was moved to Jerusalem thus ending 70 years of international consensus and that the US effectively recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. and may effectively signal the end of moves to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Tel Aviv is now considered a Branch Office but still maintains much of the management functions.  Embassy Tel Aviv’s strategic goals focus on supporting lasting Middle East peace, strengthening the U.S.-Israel economic relationship and supporting Israeli-Palestinian economic engagement, helping Israel deter terrorism, and bolstering Israel’s security and regional stability.

Findings:

The Management Counselor was Johnathan Schools who was very responsive.  He returned to the embassy in Jerusalem and is now the Counselor.  OIG found deficiencies in the housing, motor pool, preventive maintenance, and cashier operations; in the disposition of one underused property including a recommendation to sell Hassadot property and put the $8 million in estimated sales proceeds to better use.  The Safety, Health, and Environmental Management (SHEM) program needed improvement.  Given the high number of motor vehicle accidents embassy drivers should take the required Smith driver safety training.

Paul Kenul was the FMO and actually, to me, he seemed to be miscast in his position.  I had to intercede in getting a fiscal irregularity cleared through CGFS once he had all the documentation submitted for a Cashier loss of $2,590.  Not surprised that now he is assigned to the Political-Military bureau. The senior LE Staff, Financial Specialist was Peter Dayan, a long time well respected local employee.  The Embassy Cashier was responsible for maintaining shuttle bus coupons and gas cards contrary to regulations.  The suspense deposit abroad Account was used improperly to deposit funds from private corporations and institutions to pay expenses for promotional events held at the Ambassador’s residence. The embassy reimbursed many of the Ambassador's representation claims in cash, although the Department required them to be reimbursed via Electronic Fund Transfer, in accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.  Embassy timekeepers did not submit time and attendance (T&A) documentation in a timely manner and the principal timekeeper was submitting T&A reports without backup documentation.

Supervisors of 15 Department LE staff employees had not submitted performance evaluations by the due date. There was no LE Staff training plan.  I was impressed with the HRO, Natasha Burney who had a lot on her plate.  She ended up being a Senior HRO and is now in Berlin.

Highlights:

I was the designated Co-CLO for the team and accordingly had to arrange tours every weekend.  Fortunately, I had contact with an excellent tour guide, Mike Terknick, from a previous visit to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 2012.  I set up tours with Mike of the Old Jerusalem, the Holy Land, including Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum, Caesarea and Akko and Haifa.   From Jerusalem we toured the area of Judah and Samaria, the West Bank town of Herodion, Massada and the Dead Sea and  Ein Gedi Reserve.  (see separate blogs for all tours).  Three of our inspectors spent a long weekend in Petra having arranged for Jordanian visas and flying to Eilat.     

Tel Aviv is the second largest city in Israel after Jerusalem located along the Mediterranean coastline with a population of over 400 thousand.  It is the financial center and the technology hub of Israel.  The city was founded in 1909 by Jewish immigrants on the outskirts of the ancient port city of Jaffa.  Immigration by mostly Jewish refugees meant that the growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa's, which had a majority Arab population.  The United States was the first country to recognize Israel as a state in 1948.  Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950.  We stayed at the Renaissance hotel right on the beach. 

Tel Aviv’s entire west side faces the Mediterranean Sea.  There is nine 9 miles of some of the best beaches in the world with clean wide stretches of sand and stunning views of the sea, white sails and surfers.  All Tel Aviv beaches have clean toilets and outdoor cold showers, and at most of the beaches there are indoor shower stalls and changing rooms.

The Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center and Art Museum Complex

Tel Aviv Museum of Art comprises a comprehensive collection of local art from the beginning of the 20th century to the present, modern and contemporary art, and art from the 16th to the 19th century including old masters and impressionists.

Rabin Square, formerly Kings of Israel Square is a large public city square in the center of Tel Aviv. Over the years it has been the site of numerous political rallies, parades, and other public events. In 1995 the square was renamed 'Rabin Square' following the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.  The square is surrounded by the city hall building to the north.

The Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv is located in a five-story building along the Mediterranean coast.  

I rented a bike one afternoon and enjoyed the five mile promenade along the beach from Jaffa to Tel Aviv 

View from the bike path along the Yarkon River.  Hayarkon Park has 3.5 miles of jogging trails.


Goocha Restaurant in Tel Aviv known for its quality seafood 

Salads and appetizers for starters at the Old Man and the Sea restaurant at Jaffa port 

Judean Hills and Flam Winery

The Judaean Hills is a mountain range in Israel and the West Bank where Jerusalem and several other biblical cities are located. These mountains formed the heartland of the Kingdom of Judah, where the earliest Jewish settlements emerged.  The Judaean hills encompass Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah. The range forms a natural division between the coastal plains to the west and Gaza strip and the Jordan Rift Valley to the east. 

Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park is located in the heart of the Judean lowlands, a region of low hills covered with Mediterranean woodland mainly used for grazing, while the fertile soil that has collected in the valleys has been cultivated since ancient times.  

The national park is famed for the numerous and fascinating caves dug by its ancient inhabitants. These caves served many purposes – as quarries, cisterns, storerooms, tombs, storage chambers for produce and shelters for farm animals. Hewn caves are a common phenomenon in the lowlands because the rocks that make up the region are soft, light colored chalk that is easy to quarry.  The caves have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Inside the cave are several chambers of the oil production process, which was based on three phases: crushing, squeezing and collecting.  The first phase was to crush the olives using a crusher. The stone was held upright by an axis, which was connected to a long handle. The handle was pushed by human or donkey. The mashing stone rolled along a cavity on the circumference of the base, crushing the olives. The crushed olives would then be collected into a basket and then further processed by the oil press.

The Valley of Elah or Ella Valley best known as the place described in the Bible where the Israelites were encamped when David fought Goliath. Since the early 1970s, the valley has  contained a large satellite relay station, with an antenna farm containing some 120 satellite dishes. Today the valley is threatened by shale oil extraction though the Green Zionist Alliance is working to stop shale oil extraction in the region.

The site of the Emmaus Nicopolis church was the Roman name for one of the towns associated with the Emmaus of the New Testament, where Jesus is said to have appeared after his death and resurrection. Emmaus was the seat of the Roman Emmaus Nicopolis from the 3rd century CE until the conquest of Palestine by the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate in 639. In the modern age, the site was the location of the Palestinian Arab village of Imwas, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, before its destruction in 1967. The site today is inside Canada Park and is cared for by a resident French Catholic community since 1993.

Israel Flam, chief winemaker for 35 years at one of Israel’s leading wineries, is regarded by many as the pioneer of Israeli modern winemaking. His oldest son Golan, was born in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where his destiny as a future winemaker was decided. His brother went on to study law and business administration. Along with their sister Gefen they were able combine their love of wine and business to create the successful FLAM winery.  

The vineyards at Flam Winery

Flam 2014 Merlot Reserve

View of the mosque in Abu Ghosh  where we stopped for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant