In the last year, and especially in the last few months, a phenomenon known in the world as War Tourism has begun to develop in the surrounding settlements. People visit areas that have been or are in the midst of conflicts, battles or wars. The motivations for this type of tourism can be diverse, including an interest in military history, a search for unusual experiences, or a desire to personally witness places of political, military, or historical significance.
A significant part of war tourism is done at historical battle sites and there are many examples of this: in France, the beaches of Normandy (D-Day), the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland or the battle sites in the Vietnam War alongside Ammunition Hill, Saki Hill and more. Some of these places have become over the years memorial sites and national and world heritage.
Post-conflict tourism is currently taking place in a number of cities, the main ones being Berlin, Sarajevo and Hiroshima, and in them and in other places there are museums and remnants of battlefields, some of which are reconstructions of famous battles.
Tourism in active war zones
There is also tourism in active areas when tourists visit areas where active conflicts are taking place, sometimes at personal risk and violating the curfew. In the surrounding settlements there has recently been a lively movement of travelers, although under the protection of the areas allowed for sightseeing. Entry into the settlements themselves is prohibited without prior approval.
The motivations for these tours are usually curiosity and identification. And there is a wide variety of other reasons as well as educational and political motives, a desire to understand the conflict directly, to meet local residents, to understand the happenings firsthand or to try to change global public opinion.
Documentary point of view
I belong to the group of documenters. taking pictures Photographs the area and war tourism. The photography in this case is fundamentally different from news photography, as it does not document the war or its results, but brings a documentary perspective that comes to tell a deeper and wider story that also includes my personal point of view, which is expressed beyond the angle of photography and the composition during the photography, also in the selection and editing of the photos.
During Sukkot, I closely followed war tourism in the surrounding settlements, as part of a group of photographers. This is a photographed article, I hope the photos convey the range of feelings and emotions.
The first stop was the meeting point at the Yad-Mordechai intersection. The parking lot was packed with buses from which groups of travelers got off and on. The trunk was loaded with black bags of garbage, a silent testimony to the number of travelers and the return to normality and when leaving, driving on road 232, the main traffic axis in Otaef, the vehicle started to make noise and shake - tangible evidence of the chain grooves of the tanks that passed through this road a few months ago.
Reim parking lot - Nova site
The Nuba Festival, which was supposed to be a party of joy and celebration, turned into a brutal murderous killing field alongside many stories of heroism. Along with the many visitors, there are also family members who tell the story of their loved ones, groups of IDF soldiers and civilians who come to pay their respects.
Sderot Police Station - a commemorative site for the police officers of the station
The incident at the Sderot police station became one of the symbols of the October 7 attack. Mainly due to the great strength and courage shown by the policemen who waged a battle for many hours against the many terrorists who raided the city and some of them barricaded themselves in the police station. The police building was completely destroyed. Recently, a commemorative site for the station's officers was erected on the site, in the lot where the police station stood.
A look at the house to be
Opposite Sderot, on the other side of the fence, is Beit Lehia. When standing on the sand hills, the houses of the north of the Gaza Strip are revealed. The short distance makes it possible to see the houses and their ruins with the naked eye.
These pictures are in complete contrast to the pastoral of cows in the pasture...
Kibbutz Alumim
The alert squad of Alumim fought hard battles against dozens of terrorists and prevented the murder of the residents of the kibbutz, two years from the residents of Beer Sheva, the brothers Noam and Shay Slotaki, felt the help of the kibbutz and were killed in the battle. For this bravery they received the badge of civil heroism from the president of the country. In addition, 23 foreign citizens living in Nepal and Thailand who worked in agriculture were killed and captured. The terrorists burned the kibbutz structures and there is very tangible evidence on the ground of many hits from rockets fired at the kibbutz from the Gaza Strip.
the protection
Dozens of shields are deployed along the roads, in parking lots, in settlements and throughout the area. Not all of them were there on the seventh of October. Some of them were painted even before the seven in October. Almost every shield has its own story.
Takuma site - the car lot
The concentration of the cars that were burned and damaged by gunfire, in one site, arranged for visitors under the responsibility of the Ministry of Heritage makes the place a major tourist site in the region. This site will probably find its place soon as a heritage site and museum. The wall of cars of innocent citizens, people who came to celebrate happiness at the Nova festival, who lived in the settlements of the area and other road users who were caught in the killing field quickly became the background for selfies of pursed lips.
Eli-Gaza outpost
And there are also those who are waiting for the signal, to jump in and establish a new Jewish settlement in the territory of the Gaza Strip. The Eli Gaza outpost, located near the Erez checkpoint, wanders from place to place. Every time it is evacuated it is re-established, in a different place, within a few hours. The current location, under the bridge, combines a typical appearance of a settlement alongside the homeless colonies in the United States.
War tourism has many faces
The murderous attack on Israel that began on the seventh of October and has been going on for over a year is the greatest disaster in the country's history. Even if a ceasefire is declared in the coming days, the echoes of the war will not be silenced for many years to come. War tourism has many faces, some see it as voyeurism and attraction to pain and evil, and some see it as a tool for understanding conflicts and finding ways to prevent them, and there is the whole range of possibilities between good and bad. The manner of commemoration plays a large part in the preservation of the events. Already today you can see a noticeable difference between the rural area, the kibbutzim and the moshavim, the closed ones, debating which building to destroy and which to keep, in what way to preserve and perpetuate against the many cranes vigorously building the high-rises of Sderot and Nativot.
I hope that the abductees will return soon and that there will be no new war tourism sites.
A very important tour. Have a good and blessed week.
Excellent.
As a volunteer at a sand barn during the war, and a French-speaking tourist guide, I would love to receive more tips from you for building a route, including meeting with farm members in the various kibbutzim.