Israel and You Spaces and Places in Israel
Prior to the Six Day War of 1967, Tel Facher was the strongest and most important Syrian base in the northern Golan Heights. For several decades, Syrian guns on Tel Faher dominated and terrorized the entire region. During the Six Day War, however, Israeli troops fought one of the fiercest battles in Israel’s military history, determined to retake the base and thus end the Syrian stranglehold over Israeli citizens. Today, the site is known as Mitzpe Golani or Golani Lookout, renamed for the Israeli Defense Force’s infantry brigade whose soldiers fought and died for this base.
Visitors who stop here as part of their tours of northern Israel can walk around the base while listening to prerecorded commentary in English. It’s still possible to descend into the trenches that were dug by Syrians troops and to walk through the narrow bunkers that protected the Syrians from counterattacks during their years of aggression against Israel. Flying next to the Israeli flag is the yellow and green flag of the Golani Battalion. The ironwork surrounding the monument features a Star of David pattern and the names of each of the fallen soldiers are inscribed on the low wall surrounding the memorial.
