Yehudiya

The Yehudiya Reserve (Hebrew: שמורת יהודיה) is a nature reserve in the central Golan Heights. With the area of 134 sq. km, it is the largest reserve in the Golans. The height differential of its landscape - from 200 meters below the sea level to 600 meters above - provides for high waterfalls. It is named after the ancient village of Yehudiya, one of many archaeological sites located within the reserve. Due to the varied scenery of streams, gorges with waterfalls, woodlands, rich wildlife, and volcanic basalt landscape it is a popular tourist destination in Israel.It is located between Katsrin in the north east and Bethsaida (north of the Sea of Galilee) in the south west, and between Road 888 in the west (Bethsaida junction – Customs House Junction) and the borders of the Gamla nature reserve and Road 869 in the south. Road 87 from Yehudiya Junction to Katsrin South Junction crosses it. Most of the area are covered by basalt strata. In many places there are hexagonal basalt columns. The most impressive display of them is in the Hexagon Pool on the Meshushim Stream (Nahal Meshushim, "Hexagons Stream"), although notable hexagonal formations exist by the Zavitan Stream (Nahal Zavitan) and the Ayit Waterfall.A part of the reserve (south of Yehudiya River towards the Daliyot River) is a training area for the Israeli Defense Forces, which sometimes causes fires. The Yehudiya forest area covers 66 square kilometers. It is rather sparse and trees cover about 10% of the woodland, and the rest is savanna-like landscape. The most prevalent tree is Quercus ithaburensis (Mount Tabor Oak).The reserve is abundant in water sources. Most important rivers (streams) are Meshushim, Zavitan, Yehudiya, Gamla, and Daliyot.

Highway 87 is a 35 km long east-west highway in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It extends from the northern shores of Lake Kinneret through the central Golan Heights. It begins in the west at Kfar Nahum/Capernaum and ends in the east at Bashan Junction.

The Hexagon Pool (Hebrew: בריכת המשושים, Breichat HaMeshushim) is a natural pool by the Meshushim River in the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve, the central Golan Heights. The pool, at the bottom of a canyon, is named after the shape of the hexagonal basalt columns that make up its walls. This geological formation was created by the slow cooling of layers of lava flows over a long period. When the lava solidified and cooled, it was split into polygonal shapes due to its contraction.

Aniam (Hebrew: אֲנִיעָם) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav, located in the Golan Heights. The settlement was built in 1978 and falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Golan Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 502.The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.

Golan (Hebrew: גּוֹלָן, romanized: Gōlān; Arabic: جولان, romanized: Jawlān) is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (Onomasticon, early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village east of Wadi ar-Ruqqad in the Daraa Governorate, where early Byzantine ruins were found. Israeli historical geographer, Zev Vilnay, tentatively identified the town Golan with the Goblana (Gaulan) of the Talmud which he thought to be the ruin ej-Jelêbîne on the Wâdy Dabûra, near the Lake of Huleh, by way of a corruption of the site's original name.According to Vilnay, the village took its name from the district Gaulanitis (Golan). The ruin is not far from the Daughters of Jacob Bridge. The traces of the town were described by G. Schumacher in the late 19th-century as being "a desert ruin," having "no visible remains of importance, but [having] the appearance of great antiquity."In the Grecised form Gaulanitis (Ancient Greek: Γαυλανῖτις, romanized: Gaulanîtis), it is the name of the region apparently named for the town of Golan. During much of the Hellenistic period, when the name Gaulanitis was coined, the region was part of the Seleucid Empire. In Roman times it was shared between the Roman provinces of Judaea and Phoenice.

Gamla, alt. sp. Gamala (Hebrew: גַּמְלָא, lit. the camel) was an ancient Jewish city on the Golan Heights. It is believed to have been founded as a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars which was turned into a city under Hasmonean rule in 81 BCE. During the Great Revolt, it became an important stronghold for rebels and because of this Gamla is a symbol for the modern state of Israel and an important historical and archaeological site. It lies within the current Gamla nature reserve and is a prominent tourist attraction.

Ohalo College (Hebrew: מכללת אוהלו, Mikhlelet Ohalo), also known as the Ohalo College of Education, is an Israeli leading institution that specializes in teachers' and kindergarten teachers' training toward a B.Ed. degree in various disciplines, including biology, mathematics, English, special education, Jewish Studies, and physical education, as well as toward an M.Ed. degree in Management and Organizational of Education systems. The college currently has 2,500 learners, of which 60% are students in the Education and Teaching professions, while the rest are in continuing education programs, advanced studies, professional development and external studies. Since 1998 it has been located in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Gamla nature reserve is a nature reserve and archaeological site located in the center of the Golan Heights, about 20 km south to the Israeli settlement of Katzrin. It adjoins the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve. The nature reserve stretches along two streams, Gamla and the Daliot, and includes natural and archaeological attractions. Among the former are the largest nesting colony of griffon vultures in Israel, various other birds of prey, among a variety of wildlife and wild plants. Among the latter are the ancient city of Gamla and a Bronze Age dolmen field containing 716 dolmens. At the head of the Gamla stream there is a 51-meter high waterfall, the highest in Israel and the Israeli occupied territories, which dries up during summer and autumn.The reserve also contains several other sites, such as a memorial monument and the ruins of a Byzantine-period village. The memorial is dedicated to the Jewish Golan Heights settlers who were killed during the Israeli wars and as a result of attacks; the remains of the Christian village from the 4th–7th century CE, known by the Arabic name of Deir Qeruh, include a well-preserved monastery centered around a church with a square apse - a feature known from ancient Syria and Jordan, but not present in churches west of the Jordan River.

Ma'ale Gamla (Hebrew: מַעֲלֵה גַּמְלָא) is an Israeli settlement and moshav located in the west part of the Golan Heights, under the administration of Israel. It falls under the municipal jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 574.The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the United States and the Israeli government dispute this.

Nofey Golan High school (Hebrew: נופי גולן), was founded in 1985 in the Israeli town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights. The school is the only high school in Katzrin, and the main high school in the whole Golan Heights region. Even though it is the main school in the Golan Heights it only has about 600 students. Nofey Golan's principal is Ofra Stein.

Katzrin (Hebrew: קַצְרִין; also Qatzrin, Arabic: قصرين, romanized: qaṣrīn) is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council in the Golan Heights. Known as the "capital of the Golan", it is the second-largest locality there after Majdal Shams, and the largest Israeli settlement. In 2021 it had a population of 7,606. It is the seat of Golan Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, though the Israeli government disputes this.

The Golan Archaeological Museum is a museum of the archaeological finds of the Golan Heights, located in Katzrin. The museum features artifacts from all historical periods. Among these are artifacts and decorated architectural fragments from a number of Byzantine-period Christian churches and villages, including finds from Kursi, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is identified with Gergasa, the New Testament site of the "Miracle of the Gadarene swine" (Luke 8:22-39). A room in the museum is dedicated to the story of Gamla, the Jewish town besieged and razed by the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War. A scale model and film are used to describe the conquest and destruction of the town and all of its inhabitants by Vespasian in 67 CE. On display are finds from the site, including arrowheads, ballista stones, clay oil lamps, and coins minted in the town during the siege.Other artifacts of note in the museum are many columns, lintels and other architectural parts recovered from the ruins of ancient synagogues throughout the Golan Heights. These are elaborately carved with dedicatory inscriptions and with Jewish symbols.