VIDEO: Israel's Amazing Qumran Caves

Wednesday, April 29, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

In 1946, a Bedouin shepherd went looking for a lost goat and instead found a series of ancient caves that ended up shedding a tremendous amount of light on the early Jewish communities living in the area.

The Qumran Caves and nearby settlement, since partially uncovered in excavations, tell the story of the Essene sect of religious Jews, and contained some of the oldest copies of the Scriptures ever found.

The entire area is today open to visitors and is a popular hiking spot for Israelis. For those who can’t make it in person, local film producer Amir Aloni has provided the following drone’s eye view of Qumran.

Qumran Caves from Amir Aloni on Vimeo.

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Get our Health Benefits of the 7 Species eBook! ✡ "Pomegranates are in Bloom"

“Let us go early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flowered, if its blossoms have opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give my love to you.” SONG OF SONGS (7:13)   נַשְׁכִּימָה לַכְּרָמִים נִרְאֶה אִם פָּרְחָה הַגֶּפֶן פִּתַּח הַסְּמָדַר הֵנֵצוּ הָרִמּוֹנִים שָׁם אֶתֵּן אֶת דֹּדַי לָךְ שיר השירים ז:י’’ג nash-kee-ma la-k'-ra-meem nir-e im par-kha ha-ge-fen pi-takh ha-s'-ma-dar hay-nay-tzu ha-ri-mo-neem sham e-tayn et do-dai lakh

Today's Israel Inspiration All of God’s bounty is beneficial for us and there are many delicious foods that grow in the Land of Israel, yet the Creator of the world singled out seven species of fruit and grain as being particularly blessed (Deut. 8:8). Did you know that Israel’s Seven Species are not only delicious foods, but contain special properties contributing to a healthy body and spirit as well? Just in time for the upcoming festival, the Jewish new year for the trees, our fascinating eBook will contribute to your understanding of the Lord’s secret pharmacy.   Get our eBook "Health Benefits of the 7 Biblical Species" for only $1 » Treat Your Senses at Jerusalem's Market This fantastic video brings to life Jerusalem's largest outdoor market where you'll meet Ezra the Juice Man and others while learning some great local lore and history.   Watch here » Israel's Bedouin Schools Flourish in Negev Reflecting the diversity of Israel, this is the story of the Al-Sayed tribe in the northern Negev whose teenagers attend Israel's Al-Sayed Technological School, one of eight high schools operating for Bedouin students by the Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network.   Read more » Health Benefits of the 7 Biblical Species eBook There is a Jewish custom on the upcoming festival of Tu B’Shvat (the New Year of the Trees) to eat from the foods that are mentioned in describing the Land of Israel, “A Land of wheat, barley, grape, fig and pomegranate; a Land of olive oil and honey” (Deuteronomy 8:8).  Learn more about the power packed nutrition and healing in the Seven Species in our fascinating eBook! Get this Great Deal for only $1 » Today's Israel Photo A pomegranate juice stand in Israel by Ron Shoshani. Pomegranate in Hebrew is "rimon" [plural "rimonim"] and juice is "meetz," so on your next trip to Israel, be sure to order it in Hebrew: "meetz rimonim b'vakasha! [please!]"   See more photos by Ron Shoshani »  Thank You Today's Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Carolyn Hanks from Mount Sterling, Ohio. Toda Raba!   Sponsor a day » “Israel365 Has My Complete Support” It’s great to hear from so many of you - stay in touch and let us know where in the world you are enjoying Israel365!   Stay in Touch » Shalom Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Israel365 has my complete support as does the entire nation of Israel. I am sending my best to you in support of your work, I wish it were more. Please know Israel is in my daily prayers for peace and blessings. - Sharron Quimby Cleaveland, TN Thanks for the good news you send me everyday. God bless Israel - Willem C. Shalom, Rabbi Tuly Weisz RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

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World War I in the Middle East - I'd Walk 100 Miles with My Camel

Israel's History - a Picture a Day (Beta)

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World War I in the Middle East - I'd Walk 100 Miles with My Camel Posted: 29 Sep 2014 Volunteer Arab Camel Corps led by Turkish officers leaving Jerusalem (circa (1915) The scope of the World War I battles in Palestine are simply not understood by most students of the Middle East today.  The Turkish, German, Austrian, British, ANZAC and Indian forces numbered in the hundreds of thousands.  Mounted troops from the Australian, British, New Zealand and Indian battalions of the Imperial Camel Corps To provide some perspective, we present pictures of one of the most utilized tools of that war -- the camel.  Tens of thousands were used in the war in Palestine. Australian camel corps hat pin The difficult terrain of the Sinai, the Jordan Valley, and the Samarian/Judean hills required extensive use of the sturdy and powerful four-legged "supply truck." Consider this report by a New Zealand officer in his book With the Cameliers in Palestine: In the advance up the coastal plain in Palestine, in November, 1917, General Allenby used thirty thousand (30,000) camels for carrying food, water and ammunition to the troops of one portion of the eastern force of his army.  A Turkish account of the war, and specifically the 1914-1915 campaign against the British on the Suez Canal, describes the forces and the logistical nightmare of crossing the Sinai desert: Turkish Camel Corps in Be'er Sheva, 1915 The gathering point for the VIII Corps was Beersheba, which was inland, well away from the reach of British naval artillery. From there, 25,000 men would march 300 kilometres across the desert and reach Ismailia. However, this was nothing but a mission impossible. Moreover, every man was allowed one kilogram of food and drink water per day and this meant that they needed 15,000 camels. But what they had was just 2,000 animals. [Commander] Cemil Paşa mentioned this problem in his memoirs as follows: “I think there are many people who are wandering why we couldn't find the required 15,000 camels in a place like Syria and Hejaz.  We had to find 14,000 camels within one month.” Five kilograms of barley and 18 kilograms of water were allowed per horse and three kilograms of barley and five kilograms of water was allowed per camel. British Imperial Camel Corps outside of Be'er Sheva on November 1,  1917, during the critical battle to capture the Turkish outpost and wells  The Turkish account continues, describing the Turkish army's strength after difficult battles in Gaza and prior to the British General Allenby's move north into Palestine: As of May 1917, the Ottoman Fourth Army was consisting of 174,908 men, 36,225 animals, 5,351 camels, 145,840 rifles, 187 machine guns and 282 artillery pieces. Click on pictures to enlarge. Click on captions to view the original pictures. World War I combat ambulances. Camels carrying wounded Turkish soldiers -- two per camel  on a litter called a "kankalah" or "cacolet." (1917, Ottoman Imperial Archives) See also here Wounded Australian cavalrymen on their way to medical attention (Australian War Memorial) The following description is from  "With the Cameliers in Palestine:" The field ambulance, instead of using wheeled vehicles, transported the sick and wounded in "caco-lets," on the backs of camels. These consisted of two canvas stretchers balanced horizontally, one on each side of a specially constructed saddle. In these the wounded men could either sit or lie at full length, and were shaded from the sun by a small canvas hood. The jolting  Indian army's camel ambulances motion of the camel frequently was most trying to the badly wounded men, but it was sometimes a case of this kind of carriage, or death, and these camel cacolets, going as they did where wheeled transport was impossible, undoubtedly were the means of saving the lives of many wounded men who otherwise would have had a poor chance of being carried back to safety.  Only male camels were used in the  German soldiers loading wounded onto an "ambulance," 1918 Camel Brigade. It would have been an unworkable system to have mixed the sexes, as in the East no mutilation of male animals, either horses, donkeys or camels for sterilisation purposes, is ever practised by the Mohammedans.  British Imperial Camel Corps "ambulances" in action, 1916 Horses generally have a strong dislike for camels, but this dislike can be overcome by daily contact. Some of the officers of higher rank of each battalion used horses during part of the campaign, and these soon grew quite accustomed to the company of their more ungainly associates. Turkish army camel convoy, 1917. The caption in the Harvard University places the picture near the modern  northern Israeli town of Afula in the Jezreel Valley. The body of water, however, suggests it was taken near the  Hula Valley swamps which was sparsely populated by a Bedouin tribe living in reed huts, likely pictured here. Turkish officers at David's Citadel in Jerusalem Turkish camel corps in Jerusalem Original caption: The Camel Transport of the Australian Light Horse at the railhead dump, on the Philistine Plain (near Ashkelon). The camels are seen on their way to the forward area, loaded with Australian frozen mutton for the troops. In the background can be seen the tent camp.

The "Cigarbox Collection" Part 3 -- the Arabs of Palestine, and a Clarification

Among the photographs we received in the "Cigarbox Collection" 

are several pictures of Arab life in Palestine approximately 100 years ago.

 
Days before our formal "opening" of the collection, 

we continue to provide previews. 

An Arab street in Haifa, ironically called "al Yahud" (the
Jews) street, according to a note on the picture's back (c 1920)

 

The village of Kalkilya. Enlarging the photo shows a woman
with a jug on her head, suggesting the structure is a well

A Bedouin family near the Hula Lake. Homes were made from reeds. The
lake was partially drained in the late 1800s. Later Jewish efforts drained the
malarial swamps. (circa 1920)

Today's pictures come from the Arab 

communities in Kalkilya, Haifa and the Hula Valley.

Mishmar Ha'emek from the 1920s
(Keren Hayesod)












Clarification

We previously posted this picture from the Cigarbox Collection.  

Some of the pictures, such as this one, bear a stamp on the 

back saying "Photo Keren Hayesod."  The Central Zionist Archives 

contains some 50,000 pictures from the organization which was 

established in 1920.

We discovered this picture in the Harvard Library files, but it was 

dated "1948-1946."  We suggest that the photograph, part of other 

pictures in the Cigarbox Collection, was taken in 1926, soon after 

Mishmar Ha'emek's establishment.

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