Castel

Today we drove out of town a few miles to Castel on Mt. Moaz, the site of a major battle in the Israeli War of Independence in 1948. Basically, the Israelis took the hill without a struggle. Then the Arabs, realizing the strategic importance of a hill overlooking the main road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, fought to take it back. Essentially the Arabs finally took the hill, after a siege and 27 Israeli soldiers were killed. But after they retook it, the Arabs returned to their homes and the Israelis went back and took it again without a struggle. Having Castel helped enable them to keep supplies going to Jerusalem.

For me, M and our friend Tiffany, it was a nice chance to get out of town. M hasn't had a weekend off in forever, so she really needed the break. Plus, it was a chance for her to play with her camera. I'll post some pics to snapfish in a bit.

The view from the top was stunning, and a nice breeze and warm sun made it a really pleasant outing.