"The war was irresponsibly made into a story of failure with the blame attributed to the fighting echelons-the easiest prey and scapegoat." Brigadier-General(res.) Gal Hirsch is still paying the price

My ears begin popping on the last leg of the steep climb along Highway 9977 to Kibbutz Misgav Am on Israel’s border with Lebanon. The discomfort is slight in contrast with the sights to behold.

Rows of tall young pine trees give way to grapevines and apple and pomegranate trees whose fruits are ripening in the summer sun. The verdant Hula Valley lies serenely 2700 feet below while the volcanic brownish-black rock of the Golan Heights towers above.

Nestled in the Golan foothills is Har Dov thought to be the location where G-d made His covenant with Avraham Avinu. Today it’s known as Shebaa Farms territory the IDF has declared a closed military zone and Lebanon claims as its own. The red-roofed Israeli town of Metulla stands out in the distance. Like most towns in this area both Metula and Misgav Am are surrounded on three sides by southern Lebanese villages in what’s known as the finger of the Galilee.

Misgav-Am recently built a visitor’s center so tourists can enjoy this panoramic breathtaking and historic view. Its 300 year-round residents are hospitable to both vacationers and to the IDF which has stationed troops and a listening post on the kibbutz’s highest peak. But despite the idyllic scenery danger lurks close by.

“The view you’re looking at and the one I see are remarkably different” says a strapping high-ranking IDF officer who we will call “J.” The IDF military censor forbids us to take J’s photograph or identify him even by first name. “You see a house but the house I see has a kitchen a children’s bedroom and a missile room. I see tunnels and Hezbollah operatives arming and preparing always on the move looking for places to maneuver from to go on the offensive if they decide. Nowhere in the world do you have a terrorist army with such capabilities.”