As I stood atop Mount Bental on the Golan Heights , a cold wind carried echoes of a restless Syria. I wasn’t just looking across a tense border – I was staring into the heart of a forgotten story. I had come here to understand this region better, but what I found, thanks to my friend and colleague Yair Jablinowitz of Israel Destination, was something far more personal.

Yair, whose connection to the Golan stretches back to his teenage years of hiking and camping the rugged hills, had invited me on a journey to understand this region better. For him, the Golan is not only strategic – it’s sacred, rooted in memory and meaning. He spoke of his childhood adventures, of sleeping under stars that watched over generations of shepherds, soldiers, and seekers.

Even now, after years of guiding ot

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