Our hearts are with the north • Yossi Lubalski

Almost a year has passed since that cursed day on October 7, 2023 of the horrible massacre in the communities adjacent to the fence and the Nova party in Ra'im which since the establishment of the state Israel has not recognized an unprecedented number of victims and the kidnapping of prisoners who are still being held captive by Hamas somewhere in the enemy's tunnels. A war that also inflicted a heavy blow on the border settlements of the north of the country, most of whom left their homes for hotels and other residential alternatives that are far from the conflict lines and as I write, the fight of attrition is still taking place with an unknown expiration date.

When I see the yellow abductee symbol, I imagine a yellow lemon tree where most of the lemons are ripe and waiting to be brought back home to Israel.

draw the north

Most of my paintings document the city of Haifa, the Jezreel Valley and the Finger of Galilee regions. In March of this year, I even opened an exhibition describing the spaces of the city of Haifa and the northern regions called "Between Waves and Furrows" curated by Mrs. Rina Gnosov, held at the Chagall Artist House in Haifa. Today, my heart misses even more the wild and green natural sights of the Finger of Galilee area and the fence posts of the north that have been replaced by soot and fires from the incessant explosions of the missiles and drones from Lebanon. Trying to paint the cities of Haifa, but my heart is with the north and I want to share with you a pictorial journey in the north of the country. (Photo credit of the paintings: Dror Warshavsky)

Moshav Beit Hillel Mesk Korlander

The Kurlander farm was founded in 1951 by Luichi and Lily Kurlander and their 3-year-old son Tommy who came from Romania after World War II to the Beit Hillel settlement which was still in its first stages of construction. The Jewish agency that accompanied the settlers in the settlement gave them a pregnant cow and half a horse to start the journey. After 3 years, another wolf son was born to the family.

There is a dairy and cheese making and even tours of the barns feeding calves from bottles and more. The farm is also engaged in growing orchards and plantations. On one of my visits, I painted the farm complex of the sight of the barn and in the background the settlements of the fence and the kibbutzim in the mountains of Naftali Manara and Magev-Am.

Kibbutz Sde Nehemiah

Sde Nehemiah is a kibbutz in the north of the Hula Valley which is located near Kiryat Shmona and belongs to the Upper Galilee Regional Council. The kibbutz was established in 1940 by a group of Dutch immigrants. About 1,200 residents live in the kibbutz and the nature of the community is secular. 

On one of my visits I painted the orchards with Mount Hermon mirrors in the kibbutz fields.

Kibbutz Kfar Blum Pastoral Hotel

In the heart of the Hula Valley in the Upper Galilee, surrounded by green spaces and the chirping of birds, is the Pastoral Hotel in Kibbutz Kfar Blum. A meeting place for lovers of hospitality, culture, nature, music and the written word.

In my paintings, I describe the experience of the green spaces of the hotel complex in the kibbutz and recall the kibbutz pool bustling with happy bathers.

Kibbutz Dafna

A kibbutz in Emek Hula, not far from the border in the area of ​​the Upper Galilee Regional Council. The Dan River flows in its domain. A kibbutz that many visit because of the Dafna shoe factory store and how is it possible without the flow of the stream that runs through the kibbutz's borders.

On one of the visits I drew the anemone blossoms in the background of the Hermon.

after the war

I hope, like many of the residents of the north, to soon return to a routine that is so essential to them and to restore all the ruins following the multiple missile attacks and that we can safely enjoy all the beauty of nature and the sights of the streams around without fear and fear and move freely around the vineyards in the Naftali Mountains and the Golan.