Day 3 was yet another long day filled with fun activities. We began with an early (7:45am!) bus ride to the Golan Heights, where we went ATVing through fields of orange trees and along a section of the pre-1967 Israeli-Syrian border. We took turns driving the four-seat buggies on the unpaved and bumpy road, stopping at one point for a quick water break and some history. It was hot and extremely dusty - some of us didn't have windshields on our vehicles - but was fun nonetheless.
Next, we went rafting down the Jordan River. Some parts of the 4 km stretch of the river were calm and some parts were not. In my raft was the Mendelson/Mendelsohn duo and another Israeli soldier, Eran, an Operations Sergeant who loves heavy metal music and film. It was a lot of fun, filled with splashing and singing and even a little swimming, which was very refreshing in the hot sun. It was over much too quickly. After, we stopped for a late lunch in a small mall in the town of Kiryat Shemoneh - we were all very hungry after ATVing and rafting.
After lunch, we traveled north to the Tel Zaki bunkers, which is right at the current Israeli-Syrian border. There, we gazed across a small expanse of desert and saw some Syrian villages, and we learned about some of the history of Israeli conflicts with its neighbors over the years. In particular, we heard the story of the soldiers who fought bravely to defend Israel from the surprise attack by Syria and Egypt at the onset of the Yom Kipper war in 1973, including how 28 soldiers hid in a small 3 m x 5 m bunker, overlooked by the Syrians due to a heroic diversion of one of the Israeli soldiers. They hid for 30 straight hours and were eventually rescued by Israeli citizens in the reserves. We also had a chance to go inside the bunker at Tel Saki that was built after 1973 in case of another attack (our tour guide, who lives 10 minutes away from the point, assured us that the surrounding area was currently very safe). It was a surreal and harrowing experience.
Following Tel Zaki, we traveled back to the hotel for a quick nap and showers before a delicious group dinner and a night out in Tiberias to explore the city. It was tons of fun! We all returned to the hotel very late and are exhausted, but we will try to get a few hours of sleep before our early bus ride to Jerusalem.
Best,
Sam Engel