The
Routine of War: How One Northern Israeli Community Coped During the Second
ISBN
978-1-934440-10-0
For
over twenty years the residents of Kibbutz Gesher Haziv, just a few kilometers
south of the Lebanese border, have been caught in the crosshairs of the
Lebanese, the P.L.O., and the Hezbollah artillery. There is a beautiful beach
not far away, and the valley around the kibbutz holds fields of wheat as well as
groves of bananas, avocado, and persimmon tress. As one tourist put it: “On a
normal day you would think you had found the Garden of Eden.”
The
author, Bethe Schoenfeld, lives in the Kibbutz Gesher Haziv community as do the
people interviewed in this book. During the Second Lebanon War, which lasted 34
days, dozens of katyusha rockets rained down on the kibbutz. Some families
refused to move and exemplified the unwavering spirit of the Israeli people as
they faced an unstoppable barrage of missiles.
The
author’s daily dairy, and her interviews with the stalwarts who stayed in the
community during those fearful days, gives us an awe-inspiring glimpse of these
resolute Israelies. The first person account goes beyond the war, into the days
after the cease fire when the residents of Kibbutz Gesher Haziv began rebuilding
their homes and their lives.
The
Routine of War is
currently available at:
e-mail:
sales@ArtzyBooks.com