Israel Speaks
Israel's Northern coast is an area rich in natural beauty and history.
Acre is located on this Mediter- ranean Coast and it is one of the
oldest port cities in the world.
In time Acre was the gate to the land of Israel.
It has, therefore, been conquered many times throughout its history
and at times the country was even ruled from there.
David Harari has lived in the city for over 50 years.
He is the director of the develop- ment committee of Acre's old city.
We are in one of the oldest cities in the world.
It has a history of 5000 years.
It is a multifaceted city with an ethnic and religious mixture
of Jews, Mouslims, Bahais, Christians and Druze.
This city has the most mixed population in Israel.
It has always been this way.
This city has a magnificent history.
It is important for Christians, Jews, Mouslims and others.
Mouslims as well as the Ottomans
have reigned here.
For Christians it was, of course, the capital and the port city
of the crusaders.
For Jews it is the city of Rambam, rabbi Nahman
and many other religious notables.
In the New Testament it says that Paul visited some brothers in Acre
on his way to Cesarea.
We have a traveller's track which interests both
Catholics and Evangelical Christians.
It is a beautiful track which takes you to churches and sites
where Paul visited.
Therefore, it is also an important site for Evangelical Christians, -
many of whom come and visit here.
In excavations all the layers of history are revealed.
Under the Ottoman city you will discover the city of the crusaders.
This is the only site in the world
with two entire cities on top of each other.
When we removed the sand and the stones we discovered a layer
from the Crusader period.
It is partly located on top of the Hellenistic and partly on top of
the Roman findings.
These city layers are an archeological treasure.
A few months ago during the renovation work
we found a Hellenistic pier in the sea
from the 3rd or 4th century BC.
We also found coins and ceramics from the same period.
The development committee of Acre's old city
is a completely governmental committee, which was established
to support the development of the city.
In 1993 the government made Acre an international tourist city.
Prior to that the city was not developed.
The only way to lift Acre on its own feet was to renovate
and increase the value of the city.
Tourist guide Pascale Oguen tells visitors about the old city sites.
The Emperor of France Napoleon is one of the notables in the city's history.
His army marched to Acre after having first conquered all of the
country's Southern coastal cities.
Acre is a city of some 50 000 residents where Jews and Arabs
have lived side by side already for decades.
Elias Haddad is a social worker and an Israeli Arab who has lived in Acre
since the 1950's.
The Jewish and Arab populations lived together in the 50's
when I lived in the old city.
The majority were Jews and only 6% of the property was private
belonging to the Arab population who stayed here after the war.
Others had left the city.
When I came Jews and Arabs lived here together and the city was
full of life.
Gradually, mostly Jews moved out of the old city.
Today, most of the Arabs who lived in the old city have moved
to the city's Jewish neighborhoods.
Only a small part live in the old city of Acre.
There are 16 000 Arabs in Acre, 4 500 of whom live in the old city.
The rest live in the new city together with the Jews.
Some individual Jews also live in the old city.
The trade business is shared as it's supposed to be.
Our only choice is to live together.
Everyone understands it.
There is still a lot to do. We cannot yet sit still.
The buildings need to be renovated.
The society needs to be taken care of; -
education, culture, drug problem and security -
all the problems of society, in order for everyone to feel good.
You can walk here in the middle of the night without fear.
I'm more afraid of walking at night in big cities than here.
Bigger challenges are education, culture and customs.
The trash is not thrown on the ground but in a trash can.
Public property has to be respected the same as private property.
Many travellers continue from Acre to the nature reserve of Rosh Hanikra.
It is located at the Northest point of the Israeli coast line -
right at the Lebanese border.
Yariv Hameiri is the person in charge of the nature reserve.
Rosh Hanikra is one of the natural wonders of the world.
It is a point where the sea and rock meet.
During thousands of years water has dug crevices
in the soft rock.
It is nature's work of art.
We have the world's shortest and steepest tramway, -
which descends in a 70 degree angle. That's an experience in itself.
This is the way to the crevices.
A short movie explains about the nature and history of the place.
This is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.
Almost half a million visitors come here every year.
Half of them come from abroad from all over the world, -
from all religions.
Many Christian groups sing in the crevices
as if in a small mass.
And, of course, Israelis come also.
A relevant question: How does the closeness of the border affect?
There have been some border incidents, but far from here.
It's very quiet here.
The border is 40 m away; you can see the border signs in the water.
We trust the army to do its job, and we can safely enjoy.
At the moment everything is fine.
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
Psalm 42:7
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:2
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls.
Translation: Sonja Mattayev