The Golan Heights

A TASTE OF ISRAEL

The Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a volcanic plateau rising from the Sea of Galilee to Mount Hermon, Israel's highest peak. Israel captured it from Syria in 1967 and applied Israeli law there in 1981, a step the United States recognized in 2019 but most other countries have not. The sites here include ancient synagogues, vineyards, and the

battlefields of 1967 and 1973.

LEBANON

SYRIA

Gamla

The Masada of the north

Gamla was a Jewish town on a steep ridge in the Golan, shaped like a camel's hump, from which its name derives. In 67 CE it held out against Roman forces in the Jewish revolt, and according to Josephus thousands of its people died when the town fell, many by throwing themselves off the cliff. Excavations have uncovered a synagogue from the first century, one of the oldest known, along with a city wall, houses, and a ritual bath. The nature reserve around it has a high waterfall and a colony of griffon vultures that nest in the cliffs.

Glossary: Gamla

Katzrin

Life in the Talmudic era

Katzrin was a village of the Talmudic era in the central Golan, inhabited from about the fourth to the eighth centuries, with a synagogue, houses, and an olive press. A partial reconstruction shows how its people lived, with stone homes and a working press, and there are demonstrations of bread baking and grain grinding. The archaeological park sits beside the modern town of Katzrin, founded in 1977, which serves as a regional center for the Golan. Nearby are a winery and a museum of Golan antiquities, which displays finds from many ancient synagogues.

Glossary: Katzrin

Valley of Tears

A battlefield remembered

The Valley of Tears, in the northern Golan, was the scene of fierce tank fighting in the first days of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973. Syria attacked with several divisions, and outnumbered Israeli armored brigades held the line for days until reserves arrived. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers died in the battle for the Golan, and a memorial on the hillside honors those who fell. Burnt-out tanks remain along the road, and a museum recounts the battle through the accounts of those who fought.

Glossary: Valley of Tears

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A TASTE OF ISRAEL

T H E G O L A N H E I G H TS , CO N T I N U E D

Quneitra Viewpoint

A window onto a tank-strewn battlefield

At the Quneitra viewpoint, near the Israeli border, visitors can look down on the abandoned Syrian town of Quneitra. Israel captured the town in 1967 and withdrew from it under the 1974 disengagement agreement that followed the Yom Kippur War. The town was heavily damaged, and Syria and Israel blame each other for that. A UN observer force, UNDOF, has patrolled a buffer zone along the line since 1974. Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011 the area has seen fighting among several groups, and the border is closely watched.

Glossary: Quneitra Viewpoint

Banias

Sacred springs and ancient shrines

Banias, at the foot of Mount Hermon, is one of the main sources of the Jordan River. A spring flows from a cave once sacred to the Greek god Pan, from which the name Paneas, later Banias, derives. Herod built a temple to Augustus here, and the city became a regional center, with a Roman bathhouse and a palace. The Gospels place a conversation between Jesus and his disciples nearby, at Caesarea Philippi. A short trail leads to a waterfall, and the nature reserve has riverside paths and a Crusader fortress above.

Glossary: Banias

Mount Hermon

The roof and eyes of Israel

At 2,236 meters, Mount Hermon is the highest peak in the Israeli-held part of a range that straddles the borders of Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Its snow feeds the headwaters of the Jordan River, and in winter it hosts Israel's only ski resort. Israel took the southern slopes in the Six-Day War of 1967, and an Israeli intelligence outpost on the summit became known as the Eyes of the Nation. The Hebrew Bible mentions the mountain several times. In summer, a chairlift and trails offer cool air and views toward Syria and Lebanon.

Glossary: Mount Hermon

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