On The Way to Jerusalem

A remainder to the 1948 siege on Jerusalem: steel plate armored truck on the road to Jerusalem @ D-A Vider 2016

The road to Jerusalem evokes different emotions in each of us. Christian pilgrims coming from thousands of miles away are excited to end a life long journey. Anticipating a life changing event as they enter the city. they will remember every detail vividly. Zionists, who heard stories told by and old man on the Burma road can hardly believe the small rusted trucks used to break the 1948 siege. On the 480 Egged bus from Tel Aviv, most of the riders are in their own little worlds. Tourists even on their own, are not seen on buses these days. Organized groups travel in their own buses. Individuals rent cars. If you want to see how Israelis travel take a public bus.

The rusted broken trucks are memorials to the fight for Jerusalem in 1948. The new state was cut in a few pieces by the Arabs. The road to Jerusalem was cut off by Jordanian forces. The story is told in a few places (see Wikipedia Burma Road and Battle for Jerusalem). Sadly, Israelis take this heroic effort to keep the city in 1948 not as vividly as the liberation of the Jerusalem in 1967. Yet the carcasses of old armored trucks with simple steel plates welded to ward off bullets still tell the story. So when you are heading from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on route 1, keep your eyes open for the small rusted trucks. In the mean time, read up on this heroic battle for Jerusalem in Israel's 1948 war of independence (search on Amazon, many interesting books).