EXPLORING MOUNT BENTAL

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• As you drive along the access road, you will see on the side of the road statues made of junk metal. They were created by the Dutch artist Joop de Jong, a member of close-by Kibbutz Meron Golan. His workshop is in the kibbutz. In front of you is the cafe Coffee Anan (literally Coffee in the Clouds), so called because this mountain is usually covered in clouds on winter and spring mornings. The name is also a pun on the former UN Security Council President Kofi Anan.

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• There are two observation points with recordings in Hebrew or English:

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The observation point on your right (as you face towards Syria) provides views of Mount Avital. From here you can see white buildings in the distance. They are on the Syrian border and belong to the United Nations. Beyond the Syrian border is the deserted town of Quneitra. This town was returned to Syria after the Yom Kippur War as part of negotiations between the two countries but was never repopulated. The fields in the Quneitra Valley up to the border are Israeli. The border between Israel and Syria has been the quietest of Israel’s borders since the Six-Day War, although there are now concerns about the military activities of the Hezbollah movement, a protégé of Iran. The 10 wind turbines provide electricity to about 10,000 inhabitants of the Golan Heights. There are also newer wind turbines closer to Mount Bental.

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The other observation point with a recording is just beyond the wooden balcony of the café. You are now overlooking Kibbutz Meron Golan. This kibbutz was the first settlement built on the Golan Heights after the Six-Day-War. It was initially established in the center of the Golan, and it then moved to the outskirts of Quneitra. It moved again to its present location west of Mount Bental in 1972, the thought being that the mountain would provide protection from shelling. The kibbutz has been privatized. The recording explains about the beginnings of this kibbutz, the orchards up to the border, and the Valley of Tears. 

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• Walk up to the bunkers. They were placed here some years after the 1973 Yom Kippur War on previous Syrian fortifications. The position was manned for about a decade, but then abandoned.  In the 1900s the site was prepared for visitors by Kibbutz Meron Golan and the Jewish National Fund. A room within the bunkers presents visually the story of the battle that took place in this area during the Yom Kippur War.

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During the Yom Kippur War, Syria attacked the Golan Heights with some 1,000 tanks and 1.500 artillery pieces. Syrian forces managed to penetrate Israel's border in the central Golan in the area of Tel Saki (see Tel Saki and the Yom Kippur War). In the northern Golan, however, its advance was prevented by the Israelis with only 160 tanks. The Syrians eventually fled, but it was a costly battle for both sides and by its end only 7 Israeli tanks remained operational. The area between Mount Betal and Mount Hermon was named the Valley of Tears to commemorate the bloody conflict that took place here.