Been There, Done That

They say that those who know, do it; those who don't, teach. A half year into this course, in which the accent is supposed to be practice before theory, I think I can agree with that. I did the academic thing first and only now am (supposedly) working for a license to kill, so I can tell the difference.

For one, the field is our classroom. They drag us out week after week to see for ourselves what happened, where it happened. Our instructors and guides are more often than not the last word, the ones who made the discoveries themselves, uncovered the past with their own two hands. They tell us not only what they found, but how the mysteries of the past unraveled before their eyes. The dilemmas, the doubts, the debate and the dumb luck that bore discoveries. A generation from now, future courses will only be able to read about this stuff.

Like this week. It started at a site literally next door, Gamla. It was a fortress city that fought the Romans down to the last man, woman and child – those who couldn't fight to the bitter end jumping over a cliff lest they be taken captive. It came up again a couple of days later with Dr. Moti Aviam, the archeologist that dug out the forensic evidence corroborating Josephus Flavius' testimony of the siege of Yodfat (Jotapata) which fell a few months previous to Gamla. (Moti's also a leading authority on ancient synagogues in the Galilee.) He noted that there's a pattern of behavior when the Jews faced defeat at the hands of the Romans – they preferred to die fighting, or to just die (In the case of the mass suicide at Masada.) rather than surrender to the enemy. "Jews never lose, they simply kill themselves before the enemy can win", he quipped wryly.

This led to a debate. Martyrdom, heroism, suicide, murder – ideas and ideals bounced around. And then Moti told us his story.

He was a young tank commander in October of 1973. His platoon was attached to a paratroop company holding positions on the Golan Heights. At midday on Yom Kippur their positions were overwhelmed by a massive Syrian surprise attack. Falling back to a fortified hilltop called Tel Saki, Moti was the first one wounded, taking a burst from an Uzi from one of his friends. ("On the firing range, they always had him flip it on automatic 'cause he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and then I get three solid hits, including one to the forehead.") They realized that they were going to be overrun by Syrians. "Our commander radioed for 'fire on our forces', artillery firing on our positions while we duck for cover and hopefully wiping out the attackers. One shell fell short, and one fell long and so ended our artillery support."

Piled almost one on top of the other in one of the bunkers, they heard the Syrians take the positions above. Wary of trying to flush out the survivors, the Syrians threw in hand grenades. "At this point, we decided that this would be a good time to surrender." One of them went up with a white flag, but when they heard shots they realized that their options were limited. The paratroop commander gave an order to pass out grenades, take out the safety pins and release them if the Syrians come down. They tried to stay as quiet as possible, hoping the Syrians would take them for dead. One of the wounded, deafened by the grenade blasts, didn't get the message. He moaned and didn't hear them telling him to be quiet lest they draw attention. Finally the commander ordered his comrades to kill him, but instead one of them unrolled cigarette paper and wrote with some charcoal, "Syrians above – be quiet." The guy quieted down. "He was deaf, but he could see."

Taking us back 2000 years to the Jewish rebels facing defeat, Moti said, "From my personal experience, it's a thin line between suicide and martyrdom. All I know is that lying there wounded and holding a live grenade, I wanted very much to live."

History profs, archeological finds or even Josephus' accounts can't put you there with the Jewish rebels with their backs to the wall the way Moti Aviam does. Even the stones cans speak when translated by someone that dug them out.

So speaking as one that has done both, a hands-on course for a certificate can mean more than an academic degree. I want it from the source, from those who have been there and done that. If they haven't, let them teach.