top of page

Mitzpe Gadot (Gadot Lookout) and War Memorial

From the Gadot Lookout you can look out over the entire Upper Galilee. You can also appreciate the ease with which the Syrians were able to shell Israeli settlements in the Hula Valley below prior to the 1967 Six-Day War, particularly Kibbutz Gadot. This lookout also contains a memorial to soldiers from the 33rd battalion who gave their lives fighting for this and an adjacent site during the Six-Day War, and to those killed during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and 1982 Lebanon Campaign.

This site was a fortified Syrian position that overlooked the Hula Valley and protected the main road to Quneitra against a possible Israeli attack. From 1948 until the Six-Day War, the Syrians indiscriminately shelled Israeli settlements in the valley below. Agricultural workers had to work in the fields behind tanks and children spent much of their time in shelters. Kibbutz Gadot, which is located on the west side of the Jordan River and a bit beyond the Beit Yaakov Bridge, is just below Gadot Lookout and its buildings were destroyed twice by shelling. On the second occasion, over a thousand shells were fired on the kibbutz. Only after the Golan Heights was in Israeli hands following the 1967 Six-Day War were kibbutz members able to lead normal tranquil lives.

      The two Israel travel books that everyone was waiting for!  

Bestseller! "In and Around Jerusalem for Everyone - The Best Walks, Hikes and Outdoor Pools"  and new! "The North of Israel for Everyone. The Best Family Activities, Hikes and Historic Sites" by Arnold Slyper — with essays, directions, maps, and much more.

For courier service from Pomeranz Booksellers in Jerusalem (tel: 02-623 5559) click here and here.  For Amazon click here and here. For details about these books and outstanding reviews click here and here.

WALK TO THE LOOKOUT, MEMORIAL AND BUNKERS

 

Time: About 30 minutes total.

Distance: About ¾ Km there and back.

Type of walk: Same way there and back.

Difficulty: An easy walk along a concrete path that is stroller and wheelchair friendly.

Directions and parking: Enter “Mitzpe Gadot” into Waze. The parking lot is close to the turning from the main road.

Public transport:  Enter "Gadot Lookout" into Moovit. There are frequent buses between Katzrin and Chazor Hagliglit and between Haifa and Katzrin and both stop at this lookout.

Memorial at M Gadot.jpeg

  • From the parking lot walk up the hill to the memorial. It is made of concrete and shaped like the entrance to a bomb shelter.

 

  • ​Just beyond the memorial is a recording in Hebrew or English explaining the significance of this site.

 

  • Walk along the path to the far bunker for a good view of the valley below.

​

A sign points out the settlements below that were threatened by Syrian guns. After the Six-Day War, when looking at the destruction on Kibbutz Gadot caused by the Syrians, the brigade commander commented: "From here you seem sevenfold bigger!" By this he meant to extol the courage of the kibbutz in persisting for 19 years from the 1948 War of Independence. His words were put on a stone near the sign.  

Bunker overlooking.jpeg

A Syrian bunker position from before the Six Day War.

For the overview "The defeat of Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War" — see my book "The North of Israel for Everyone: The Best Family Activities, Hikes and Historic Sites."

bottom of page