Near the end of the Six-Day War, attention shifted away from Jerusalem. About 120 miles away, Israeli troops took control of the Golan Heights. Over the last 50 years, that battle has proven to be one of the most strategic of the war.  “Whoever sits on the Golan Heights totally dominates this whole region,” said Middle East expert and author of Inside the Middle East Avi Melamed. That’s in part because of its proximity to the Sea of Galilee. The Golan Heights shares borders with Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, with Damascus just 40 miles away.
For decades Syria controlled the Golan Heights. Here on the high ground overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Syrian artillery and snipers shot and shelled the Israelis below. Children grew up running to bomb shelters and residents lived under the constant threat of attack. Overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Melamed explained why it’s so important to understand what happened in the Golan during the Six-Day War. READ MORE