The Secret of the Oak Tree

Ken and Shmuel

My friend Rabbi Ken Spiro recently came to visit. Since he is a sought-after licensed Israel Tour Guide, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see the Sea of Galilee when it was full.

We spent a couple of hours at the Kinneret and the Jordan River and on the way back to Yavne’el I challenged him, “Now I’m going to show you something in the Land of Israel that you’ve never seen before!”

After entering Yavne’el I turned left all the way to the edge of the Village. Then I pulled onto a dirt road leading out to the agricultural fields belonging to the farmers of our Moshava.

Fifteen minutes of a bumpy ride with stunning views led us to a lonely-looking solitary Oak Tree.  It looks quite ordinary, but in reality it is national historic symbol.

The Symbol worn on Golani unifroms

After the United Nations vote on the 29th of November that declared the end of the British Mandate for “Palestine” and the partition of the Land into a Jewish State and Arab State, we knew that it was only a matter of time before the British Soldiers would leave and the Arabs would attack in an attempt to annihilate the Jews.

To prepare for this war a number of clandestine brigades of Jewish soldiers began training. The northern brigade was called the Golani Brigade and it was established in February 1948. They were headquartered in our little village of Yavne’el and trained at nights out of the sight of the British in the nearby fields. (The same fields we drove through to arrive at the oak tree)

When it came time to select a symbol for their brigade, they chose this oak tree, under which they most likely convened and rested. It remains the shoulder tag for this elite brigade in the IDF to this day.

The main battles in the 1948 War in the north were directed from Yavne’el and fought by the brave members of the Golani Brigade.

In 1967 it was primarily the heroic soldiers of the Golani Brigade who captured the Golan Heights from the Syrians. Particularly at the Battle of Tel Faher

One of the old-timers in our synagogue, Yehuda Baidetch was a Golani Soldier who helped capture the Golan Heights in the Six Day war.

I didn’t realize when I brought Ken to this special spot that one of his own sons served in the Golani Brigade as a sniper and a medic. He asked me to snap this photo of Ken next to the Golani Tree to send to his son.

You’ll love Ken’s books.

Here are links to learn more about his books and to order them!