Israel forges a new trail through history

The government is planning on spending NIS 500 million over five years to restore and preserve heritage sites across the country.

They are hoping the investment will work to strengthen the Israeli and Jewish connection to the historic and Zionist heritage of Israel.

The existence of the plan, whose steering group is headed by Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser, was reported in Haaretz about a month ago.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu devoted a large part of his address at the Herzliya Conference to outlining the plan.

"The guarantee of our existence is dependent not merely on weapons systems or military strength or economic strength or our innovativeness, our exports, and all these forces which are indeed so vital to us," he said. "It is dependent first and foremost on the intellectual capacity and the national feelings that we inculcate - from parents to children, and as a state, in our educational system."

Netanyahu said that he plans to present a blueprint to the government on February 25 that will include, among other things, the inauguration of two trails, in addition to the existing Israel National Trail ("Shvil Yisrael").

One is an historical trail connecting dozens of archaeological sites, and the second is an "Israeli Experience" trail linking up over 100 places important to the nation's more recent history and will include buildings that are to be preserved, settlement sites, small museums and memorials.

At present, the plan includes about 150 projects.

The really old

Thirty-seven archaeological sites will be upgraded in the framework of the program.

These include some sites that are already considered well kept, like Caesarea National Park or Masada, where relatively little work, such as the introduction of new sound and light equipment, will be needed.

Other important archaeological sites, like Tel Lachish or the synagogue at Hurvat Amudim near the Golani Junction, will require extensive restoration and preservation work.

At Tel Lachish, which Netanyahu referred to in his speech, the plan is to restore the gate into the city and the city walls, to prepare trails, to build an entrance hall and to add signposts, among other things.

Other sites marked for restoration are Neot Kedumim, Susya, Qumran, Jason's Tomb in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin Garden, the Eshkolot Cave, Umm al-Amad, the Beit Shean antiquities, Tel Megiddo, Tiberias, Tel Arad, Tel Dan, Hurvat Madras, the park around the Old City of Jerusalem and the City of David.

The less old

There are another 109 heritage sites and projects earmarked for restoration and preservation. They are to be found throughout the country and include such sites as the Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, the Aronson farm and the signaling station at Atlit, the Emek train between Haifa and Tzemah and the Tzemah train station, the Old Courtyard Museum at Ein Shemer, the original homes of the settlers at Migdal in Ashkelon, the street of the Biluim and the winery in Gedera, the courtyard at Kinneret, the Montefoire quarter of Tel Aviv, the agricultural school at Mikveh Yisrael, the old Jerusalem train station and others.

The program also calls for training guides and the creation of preservation task forces as well as setting up a national database of historical buildings.

Museums and archives

The initiative also includes restoration and preservation of museums, collections, archives and public art.

There are 39 such projects being planned at present, with the most important being the establishment of a center for documentation in Israel which will also supervise the archives.

There are also plans to document private albums, preserve still photographs, save and make accessible the Steven Spielberg Jewish film archives and those in the Educational Television archive, and the material in the Central Zionist Archives.

The non-material heritage of the nation, including works of art, will be saved through processes of digitalization and restoration.

Planners are also hoping to take a literary tack by reissuing plays, stories and poems dealing with the nation's past and providing literary tours of heritage sites.