Israeli hikers turn Lifta natural spring into bubble bath
Inspectors from Israel's Nature and Parks Authority are currently investigating the incident.
By ZACHARY KEYSERNatural spring in Jerusalem(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Hikers visiting the Lifta natural reserve, on the outskirts of Jerusalem attempted to turn the village's popular spring into a giant bubble bath over the weekend, according to the Hebrew website N12.The bathers poured what appeared to be bubble bath soap into the springs, causing it to foam up. While seemingly lighthearted, the soap and bubbles settled on the water, which has the ability damage the spring and the surrounding environment."I arrived at the spring and saw some hikers there, and the water was normal then," Ella Moore, a patron of the spring, told N12. "When we returned an hour and a half later, everything was completely white and foamy. At first we didn't understand what it was, but as we got closer we smelled soap. "We've seen trash and litter all along the route. It's a shame that travelers leave garbage and don't keep the nature sites clean. It's important to have fun but also to take care of the environment."Inspectors from Israel's Nature and Parks Authority are currently investigating the incident.The scenic area is famous for the old stone buildings that are visible from the entrance to Jerusalem, which were built into the steep hillside by Arab residents in the 19th century.Lifta has been inhabited since the First Temple Period, and was first mentioned in the Mishna. Within the village still stand some of the buildings from the First Temple and Crusader periods. It is known as one of the original suburbs of Jerusalem’s Old City, along with Malha and Ein Karem.Historical Lifta reached from Mevaseret Zion to the walls of the Old City, an expansive 100,000 dunams (10,000 hectares) that was home to 3,000 people and had 600 houses. “Old Lifta” is the part that travelers on Highway 1 see upon entering the capital, though there are still a few original Lifta houses near Sheikh Jarrah.Over the centuries, it went through all the historical developments of the region under various and successive cultures. Until 1948 it was an Arab village, whose residents left after the War of Independence.The strategic location of the village, climbing up a steep wadi and stretching towards the Old City, looking down on most of modern-day Jerusalem, meant it was one of the first villages to experience violence leading up to the siege of the city.After the Arab families left due to the heavy fighting in early 1948, the state moved Yemenite and Kurdish Jewish refugees into the homes in the 1950s. The Jewish families were evicted in the late 1960s.Today the houses and the village are abandoned, and the area is considered a national reserve by the State of Israel. Melanie Lidman and Peggy Cidor contributed to this report.
