The Israel Nobody Knows
Israel’s Vegetarian Retreat
Near the Sea of Galilee

By George Medovoy, Editor

Contact George at
tpostcard@aol.com

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to fall in love with Amirim.

Indeed, most of the vacationers who stay at this idyllic vegetarian retreat in the Upper Galilee woods know very little about vegetarianism.

What most of them come here for – in addition to the delicious gourmet meals – is the warmth and generosity of the gentle villagers and the overwhelming tranquility of the settlement, made up of about 80 families who live on this cooperative on a lower ridge of the Meron mountain range, about 20 miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee and about 15 miles from both Safad and Carmiel.

(A comfortable room at Amirim)

At over 600 metres above sea level, Amirim benefits from generally cooler summers and abundant winter rainfalls, which make the area greener and more fertile than the lower coastal plain.

Very well known in Israel as a resort village, Amirim has over 140 guest-rooms and holiday apartments all with modern up-to-date facilities. There are several vegetarian restaurants within the village and numerous alternative health treatments are available to guests and residents alike.

The village swimming pool is open during the summer season and jeep trips are one of Amirim's specialities.

(What a lovely view of the surrounding hills and valley)

Amirim has approximately 110 households, totaling almost 360 adults and 135 children. Among the residents are university lecturers, teachers, solicitors, architects, engineers, social workers, hi-tech, and artists. Amirim has its own nursery and kindergarten. Many of Amirim's residents are able to converse in English from a reasonable to high degree.

The synagogue in Amirim is open to all who wish to attend. Purim and Chanukka parties are held in the village hall and Shavuot is celebrated traditionally on the village green. Each year there are ceremonies marking Holocaust Day and Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers.

During the year there are various cultural events, such as music recitals and lectures. A regular meeting of senior residents also occurs during the week.

(A kitchenette below is perfect for preparing vegetarian meals)

Amirim’s people, whose stock in trade is tourism, rent cozy cottages and rooms and serve wonderful, gourmet vegetarian meals in their homes.

Cottages come with kitchenettes, but those cooking for themselves are on their honor to cook only vegetarian.

Among the many organized activities at Amirim are weekly movies, folk dancing and swimming. There are also opportunities for quiet walks by yourself, chats with the village’s members about vegetarianism – or just napping in a nearby hammock.

One of the most fun things to do is to visit the thriving Golan Heights Winery at Katzrin on the Golan Heights, about 40 minutes away by car, to sample the winery’s world-class wines from grapes whose original stock was from the University of California at Davis Viticulture and Enology Department.

(The Golan Heights Winery produces world-class wines).

And then stop perhaps at nearby Kibbutz Amiad to sample its own specialty – kiwi wine – in which the kibbutz specializes.

One spot not to be missed is Yehuda Avni’s honest-to-goodness dude ranch, Vered Hagalil (Rose of Galilee), not far off on the shores of the harp-shaped Sea of Galilee. Avni, a Chicago native, will also rent you cottages, but his restaurant, specializing in chicken in the basket and French fries, is obviously not vegetarian.

Up in the Galilee’s northern panhandle, you can spend the night in a comfortable guesthouse at Kibbutz Hagoshrim and then take a day hiking through the Tel Dan Forest with a guide from the Society for the Protection of Nature, one of the largest grassroots nature preservation organizations in the world.

(A nice fire makes sleeping so cozy)

But getting back to Amirim…Over cups of warm herb tea, Etti Sharir, an Amirim artist, gave this introduction to the village: "People come here to get away from it," she said, "to smell the flowers, to breathe the clear mountain air, and of course, to have the vegetarian food. It’s a family guesthouse arrangement and not a hotel. We like people."

At Dahlia Cohen’s house, a spacious residence built of stone and set in a lush garden, Cohen described her cooking as "simple and tasty." There was course after wonderful course, beginning with a plate of cabbage filled with rice and pine nuts in tomato sauce. Her tabouli salad came with tomatoes, celery, cucumbers and parsley.

(At Dahlia Cohen's, the food is simply wonderful!)

Then there was the following: a plate of marinated egg plant, a staple of Israeli cooking; basked moussaka built of layers of eggplant; Cohen’s homemade cheese; and whole-wheat tahini spread; then baked apple slices with sesame seeds. Dessert was herb tea, baklava and an apple puree topped with almonds and nuts.

Cohen, a retired home economics teacher, explained that she, like so many of her friends here, is a vegetarian on humanitarian grounds first – "and after for health reasons." And the life here, she explained, contributes to the community’s overall health: "We go to sleep early, and we wake in the morning very early. All the life here is quiet."

At 6:30 the next morning, you could hear Etti Sharir playing the piano, as a blue mist rose up over the valley, unveiling distant Mt. Tabor. I walked past the village kindergarten to Meira and Moshe Zarhi’s house for breakfast in the quaint A-frame country-style house.

From the second-story dining room you could see a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee in the distance. I marveled at the flavor of the breakfast meal, including puree of persimmons and bananas sprinkled with coconut. The dominant taste was banana, with the persimmons supplying a reddish color, of course.

(Wildflowers adorn the Galilee)

The importance of keeping the body healthy came up time and again at Amirim. "Our body is like a machine," Etti Sharir told me over mango juice one morning. "And like a machine, you have to give oil. So, our food as vegetarians is ‘oil.’ That’s the way the machine will work well."

Some of my best moments at Amirim were completely unplanned, like a chance encounter with Sara Peleg, Amirim’s manager, who invited me to sample her home-made wines – spearmint, fig and geranium, all surprisingly refreshing.

Then there was Phillip Campbell’s invitation to join his family for a New Year’s Eve party at his mother-in-law’s house here. Campbell, a good-natured British immigrant, loves taking visitors on spur-of-the-moment car trips through the green, rolling hills of Galilee. He will even take you as far north as Metulla, in Israel’s "finger of the Galilee," Israel’s "little Switzerland." The general area, the northernmost point of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, also is home to the Dan Forest Reserve, great hiking country.

Campbell’s way of describing his role here is perhaps the best reason for be a guest at Amirim, where he can "be with our guests and make them happy."

For information about Amirim, email Campbell at: alitamirim@hotmail.com. For general travel information, contact the Israel Government Tourist Office, at www.goisrael.com.

A Man and His Piano on an Israeli Mountaintop

Yitzhak Tavior is one of the luckiest men in the world.

For many years now, this Israeli pianist has carved out his own, very special way of life in a lovely spot called "Hemdat Yamim" -- Hebrew for "most coveted of days," a reference to the sabbath day -- high on the Meron Mountains.

Living in Splendid Isolation

At Hemdat Yamim, Tavior and his wife live in splendid isolation, his closest neighbors being the foxes and wild boar that inhabit the Meron National Park Reserve.

Tavior casts his musical spell over groups of visitors who drive up the narrow, winding road, borderded on either side by thick Jereusalem Pine, to enjoy classical music and memorable views.

On the Satyurday morning of my visit, Tavior presented a piano recital in his rooftop studio. Sometimes he is acciompanied by someone playing flute, violin or cello.

A typical program includes a brief history of Hemdat Yamim, followed by works from Scarlatti, Beethoven, Debussy, Schubert, Ravel and modern Israeli composers.

Cookies and Tea on the Terrace

During intermisison, Tavior's wife, Liora, a music therapist, served cookies and tea.

"I decided one day," Tavior said, "that I would build my own concert hall and attract people to come here to listen to music and enjoy the beautriful view."

On the terrace outside his studio, the eye beholds a magnificent panorama of the harp-shaped Sea of Galilee. It is a moment I will never forget.

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