Upper Galilee: A modern crisis echoes 1920's struggles - opinion

Since October 7, the reality in the Upper Galilee is more reminiscent of 1920 than we would like to admit: Political and social isolation, Israelis risking their lives just by commuting to work, and basic civil services such as healthcare and education barely functioning. 

Most importantly, citizens of the Upper Galilee feel like they must deal with the country’s issues on their own. They have been forced to choose: give up on their homes or become pioneers, resettling in an unstable region.

During World War I, in 1916, the Sykes-Picot Agreement divided parts of the Middle East into British and French rule. Britain received control over Palestine, while France got Lebanon and Syria, including the northern tip of the Upper Galilee, where there were already four small Jewish settlements – Metula, Hamara, Kfar Giladi, and Tel Hai. 

This political separation from the rest of the Zionist movement’s enterprise in British Palestine heavily isolated these four northern settlements. Their area was largely populated by Bedouin who adamantly opposed the French government. The French did not maintain sovereignty over the region due to the Bedouin’s violent opposition. The area became a no man’s land and the Jewish settlements were caught in the middle of a conflict that wasn’t theirs.

In 1918, roughly 250 pioneers lived in the four settlements, 200 of them in Metula. Food, equipment, and ammunition were scarce. The four settlements suffered from occasional thefts and vandalism from their Bedouin neighbors. As time went by, the situation worsened and the attacks and harassment intensified. 

In villages around Metula, the Bedouin fought Christians who supported the French and caused chaos. They steadily formed organized armed branches, even robbing and disarming a French military post in Lebanon. They were preparing for war against the French. 

The Jews weren’t the main targets of the Bedouin. If they were, they would have been easily defeated. Nevertheless, the Jews suffered from the tense situation and endured continuous violent incidents. During 1919, a few pioneers were injured and killed from both intentional and stray bullets, in the crop fields and their homes.

ON A LARGER scale, during the past 10 months nearly 800 northern homes were damaged by rockets, civilians have been killed in and around their homes, and hundreds of fires have damaged more than 100,000 acres of land. 

Amid the growing threats and uncertainty in 1919, the Jews lived in fear, acknowledging their limited defensive abilities and feeble resources. Instead of working, they had to patrol and guard themselves constantly, knowing that if the Bedouin planned an organized attack against them, it would be hopeless. 

Today, residents of the Upper Galilee live in fear. Every day, new bomb shelters appear at bus stops and public spaces, sending a message that our reality is being maintained instead of changed. Amid constant sirens, local businesses are closing daily. 

In 1919, throughout the escalation, members of the settlements sent letters to the Zionist leaders in Palestine, giving updates and asking for advice and assistance. Few people and little aid were sent, some failing to arrive due to Bedouin ambushes and robberies. Since the Zionist institutions failed to help, the pioneers understood that they were on their own. 

When the pioneers addressed the French military for help, they were told that the French have more important regions that they want to invest in. When they addressed the British military, claiming the British northern border was being threatened, the British replied that they had no intention to enter the French territories. 

TODAY, UPPER Galilee residents feel abandoned by the government’s lack of planning, communication, and funding. The government is preoccupied with running a war on the southern front and has left the North without a solution in sight.

In January 1920, the violence reached Metula, after the French army had a failed attempt to overpower the Bedouin. The Bedouin surrounded Metula and burned down Hamara, making French soldiers flee to Lebanon and the Jews of Metula and Hamara to Palestine. 

The reality became apparent that the Jews were at war against the hostile Bedouin. Few from Metula decided to stay and guard the settlement. Others joined the efforts to protect Kfar Giladi since half the Jews in Kfar Giladi despaired and had escaped to Palestine. 

Only after hearing of these events, the Temporary Committee of the Jews in Israel debated the fate of the settlements and decided that it wanted to help reinforce and strengthen them. At this point, both Tel Hai and Kfar Giladi had roughly 30 people defending each settlement.

In March 1920, Tel Hai fell after a battle. The survivors fled. The following day, Kfar Giladi and Metula were abandoned. Help from the Zionist institutions failed to arrive on time.

Today, more than 60,000 people have been evacuated from the Upper Galilee. Only local farmers and security forces remain. Stores, schools, and businesses are closed. 

Executing the government’s policy, the IDF has been maintaining a quid pro quo against Hezbollah on the Lebanese border. This has effectively done nothing to strengthen the Galilee’s ability to rehabilitate itself and return its residents to their homes. 

If the Upper Galilee was abandoned at the height of the Zionist movement’s settlement activity in 1920, what reason do we have to believe that it will be different this time around? 

The mass evacuation has given Hezbollah easy targets to attack, with a low risk of escalating into a full war. It has also reduced pressure on the government to act swiftly because there are almost no civilians on the border to protect. The government has delayed making clear, long-term decisions regarding the future of the North.

The good news is that the government can more easily react to civilian initiatives and movements. Enough time has passed to understand that if we continue waiting, in two years we will be in the same situation.

Time for action

Residents of the Upper Galilee need to stop awaiting instructions and start acting. Despite the difficulty and uncertainty, people need to return to their homes, start shaping reality, and set the tone for the government. This has happened before. Symbolically, on October 7, 1920, 20 pioneers returned to rebuild Kfar Giladi and Tel Hai. Later that month, 30 farmers returned to Metula. The Zionist institutions were absent from promoting the initiative.

Those of us who are dreaming of some magical day when everybody happily and safely returns to the Galilee, need to wake up. There’s much work to be done and the locals can’t do it all on their own. Just like the Gaza border communities, the Galilee needs funding, hardworking volunteers, new residents, and lots of spirit and faith.

Thankfully, the Haba’ita Chozrim Lagalil (Returning Home to the Galilee) movement, created by locals who have had enough, is calling on northern residents to return to the evacuated areas. Its initial goal is to create conditions that will enable those internally displaced to return to the North: recruit formal and informal educators; and fix and renovate damaged structures, parks, and gardens. 

As long as the homes in the North are empty, the government won’t change its current course. Only when the people of Israel physically return to settle the northern border will the government begin to carry out its responsibility to truly protect the Galilee.

The writer is an active reservist and proud resident of the Galilee. For more information, visit galilback.co.il.