Ronen Kalimi, a researcher of Eretz Yisrael and author of books on the Golan Heights and the Judean Desert, joined a field day for the Leshomrah chareidi tour-guide course near Modi'in this week to teach navigation and map-reading. Kalimi was critically wounded in Lebanon on 14 November 2024 while commanding Company C of Golani's 51st Battalion, and is now a disabled IDF veteran.
The course coordinator, Yisrael Shapira, a historian and researcher for Kikar Hashabat, invited Kalimi to address the trainees as part of a practical navigation day. Kalimi, who wrote "Streams of the Golan Heights" and "Canyons of the Judean Desert", accepted and came to share what he has learned from years of fieldwork across the country.
On 13 Cheshvan 5785, Kalimi took command of his company after the fall of Lieutenant Ivri Dikstein zt"l, led the force in an assault, and was critically wounded. He has since been unable to return to the field surveys that formed the basis of his work, but continues to pass on his knowledge of the land to the next generation.
