Like a bridge over troubled water

This painting hangs in the lounge of my flat, prominent on a wall where there might otherwise be a television screen. Instead we have this painting.

Over the years I've spent hours just looking at it, sitting in the armchair feeling the calm scene wash over me: the relaxing rushing and babbling of the stream, the cool shade of the trees in contrast to the bright cloudless sky, the gentle rustle of the leaves stirring in a languid breeze.

I imagine walking over the bridge, the better to soak up the delicious refreshing air over the water or strolling along the banks listening to bird song from the treetops and rushes. I can lose myself there for eons it seems, a little piece of the tranquil, serene northern Galilee countryside transported to my home. 

My mother took the photo it was based on. More than twenty years ago now, the last Passover we spent together. She said she'd never been to kibbutz guesthouse for the holidays, so she treated us to a few days in this gorgeous green corner of the Israeli countryside, kibbutz Hagoshrim, named for its streams and bridges,  exotic fare for a mostly arid country. 

People come to this guesthouse for the thrill of falling asleep and waking to the sound of lazily gurgling brooks beside the guestrooms and walks in the grounds that include a wooded nature reserve famous for its dense concentration of Great Horsetails, a fern-like plant that grows near water, the lone remnant of prehistoric species the reproduced via spores, like fungi. A rarity in Israel, Haghoshrim is the prime location to see this quirky native plant. 

DH's grandmother was a painter and whenever my mother went somewhere beautiful she would take a photo or buy a postcard of the view and send it to her, knowing how much she enjoyed painting landscapes.

DH's grandmother was so delighted with this photograph from Hagoshrim that she painted it in my mother's honour, dedicating it to her. My mother passed away before she could see the finished painting and so instead it hangs in our home in memory of two great ladies, the one who photographed it and the one who painted it. 

Uri Dimand also loves the view. A veteran member of kibbutz Hagoshrim and enthusiastic naturalist, educator and local guide, he was instrumental in founding and protecting this small nature reserve, writing the pamphlet and website about it and over the years guiding visitors to the kibbutz guesthouse, local school children and residents around the natural gems in Hagoshrim. 

He passed his love of the land and nature to his grandson, Nir. 28 year-old Nir was also a resident of Hagoshrim and worked as a manager at the popular nearby Kfar Blum Kayaks tourist attraction where visitors from around Israel and the world enjoyed refreshing water activities and camping out by the river. 

When Hamas invaded Israel's Gaza border on October 7 2023 Hizballah supported the assault from the north by firing missiles from Lebanon. Located close to the northern border, kibbutz Hagoshrim was one of the Israeli villages evacuated by the authorities because of the escalating Hizballah bombardment. 

Many essential workers however chose to stay behind, including Nir who understood how vital it was to maintain agriculture in this vital farming region and remained in Hagoshrim to work in agriculture. 

Hagoshrim is one of the communities that is so close to the Lebanese border that there is often not enough time between a launch being detected in Lebanon and the projectile falling in Israel. Sometimes the siren goes at the same time as the rocket impacts in Israel, sometimes the launch is in such close proximity to the Israeli border that there is no warning before something smashes in to an Israeli home or field or road. Sometimes Iron Dome intercepts the rocket. Sometimes it's an anti-tank missile who's trajectory makes it almost impossible to intercept. 

And so day after day, week after week, month after month, these northern kibbutzim, moshavim and other villages have been bombarded by Hizballah. All over the region homes, farms, factories, wineries and schools are pitted with holes, windows smashed, roofs or walls caved in, telltale craters mar fields and roads and vast tracts of forest and orchards have been charred black by fires sparked by falling missiles or shrapnel. 

All through this Nir stayed determinedly in Hagoshrim to work the land, tend the crops. Until this week when he was fatally wounded by shrapnel from a rocket which scored a direct hit on his home, one of many damaged in the fierce Hizballah barrage. The medics who rushed to the scene despite the risk were unable to save Nir. 

This week his grandfather Uri, the local guide and educator, eulogised his beloved grandson as he was laid to rest in the land he loved so much "My grandson Nir, a huge part of my world, was killed by a Hezbollah missile here at his home, my home, in HaGoshrim. There is no consolation."