Golan Heights. Escalation of tension around Israel due to the Golan Heights. Zionists march on the Golan

The UN responded to anti-Israel terror with five anti-Israel resolutions. One of them demands that Israel immediately return the Golan Heights to Syria.

The EU recently supported this demand by including the Golan among the Israeli regions whose products sold in Europe will be labeled with special stickers indicating that they are products of the “occupied territories.” President Obama supported the EU's decision, saying that "the settlements are not inside Israel." Thus, Europe - with the support of America - included the products of Israeli kibbutzim in the Golan Heights on the list of discriminated against goods.

In this regard, it is worth recalling once again the history of the Golan Heights, which were liberated by the Israel Defense Forces from Syrian occupation in 1967 and officially annexed in 1981.

Political leaders of Europe and America take advantage of the fact that, since 1994, many Israeli prime ministers have more than once been ready to negotiate with the Syrian regime on transferring the Golan Heights to them in exchange for a worthless piece of paper with the word “peace” written on it. and with Syria's commitment to break its alliance with Iran's proxy Hezbollah. It is difficult to even imagine the dire situation in which Israel would now find itself if such negotiations ended in an agreement and the IDF retreated to the eastern shore of Lake Kinneret.

For those who have not been to Israel and have not climbed the Golan Heights, it is difficult to imagine the view that opens from this mountain plateau hanging over the Upper Galilee. In clear weather, there is a view not only of Lake Kinneret splashing at the foot - the main freshwater reservoir of the country - and of the fertile Khule Valley. From a height of 518 m, the entire country is visible from there - from coastal Rosh Hanikra on the border with Lebanon to Ashkelon, bordering the Gaza Strip. All Israeli cities, all power plants, all ports, including the international airport. Ben-Gurion, all the highways with vehicles moving along them, all the fields with agricultural machinery working on them... It will not take much time for enemy artillery to resume shelling Israeli populated areas, as it was before June 1967. That year the army a generation has arrived that grew up in bomb shelters. Many had fathers killed working in the fields of Galilee at the hands of Syrian snipers, for whom anyone on Israeli territory was a moving target.

But at that time Syria did not have such long-range guns as today’s ones supplied by Russia. Today - should Israel enter into a suicidal agreement with the Syrian regime - any outcome of the massacre going on there can mean only one thing for Israel: the appearance directly above the Kinneret of heavily armed terrorists of one color or another, ready to attack Israel.

However, the legitimacy of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan stems from more than just the strategic needs of our country. We do not need recognition of our deep ancestral and historical ties to the Golan Heights by one or another White House occupant or by corrupt European officials. Our connection to the Golan goes back thousands of years and is undeniable.

The Syrians have never cared about this territory other than turning it into a springboard for an attack on Israel. This is confirmed by the fact that during all the years of Syrian ownership, the land of the Golan was not cultivated, agriculture did not develop on it, it was just as wild and abandoned as the rest of Eretz Israel before the return of the Jews.

What is the history of the Golan Heights? Why are they so important to a revived Jewish state? Every good guide in Israel leads his tourists through any territory with a book of TANACH in his hand. That's what it says about the Golan.

Before the tribes of Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land, the first of them - half the tribe of Menashe, Gad and Reuben - had already liberated Bashan and Gilead from the Amorites, having taken possession of the territory east of the Jordan, and wanted to remain in this fertile land. earth. The biblical Bashan is today part of the Golan territory. Gilead is a region in the northeast of what is now Jordan.

Canaan, west of the Jordan (which today many thoughtlessly call the “West Bank”), was to be conquered. A tough battle lay ahead. And in response to the request of the sons of Gad and Reuben, the Teacher of the Law, Moshe, said to them: “Shall your brothers go to war, and you sit here?” “And... they said: We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our children; Let us ourselves be the first to arm ourselves and go before the children of Israel until we bring them to their place... We will not return to our homes until the children of Israel are settled, each in his own allotment. For we will not take with them the allotment on the other side of the Yarden and beyond, for we got our allotment from the eastern side of the Yarden.” Moshe accepts their promise and tells them that if they fulfill all that has been said, they will be clean “before the Lord and before Israel,” “and this land will be yours to possess before the Lord.”

“And Moses gave them, the sons of Gad and the children of Reuben and half the tribe of Menashe the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Emorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities and its environs, the cities with the lands around.” (Bamidbar 32:6-34).

Earlier, in 15 ch. The Book of Genesis says that Bashan - the current Golan - was promised to the Forefather Abraham and the people of Israel as an everlasting possession.

The Book of Deuteronomy (4:43) says that Bashan was one of the cities of refuge.

During the period of the Kings, a battle took place in the Golan between King Ahab and the army of Aram. The Jews won a victory on the site of the current Kibbutz Afik, a few kilometers from Lake Kinneret.

After the Babylonian exile during the Second Temple period, Jews returned to the Golan. They were later attacked by their non-Jewish neighbors, and Yehuda Maccabee took his troops into the Golan to protect the Jewish inhabitants.

At the end of the Hamonean period, King Alexander Yanai finally conquered the Golan and the Jews returned there, rebuilding communities in the central Golan, including the major cities of Banias and Susita, whose inhabitants fought heroically against the Romans in the Great Revolt of 135 AD. BC, known as the revolt of Shimon Bar Kokhba (Son of the Star). 10 thousand inhabitants of Gamla died defending their city from the Romans, and the remains of stone rams are still found in these places.

After the liberation of the Golan in 1967, coins from the second century AD were also found here. with the words “For the revival of Holy Jerusalem.”

During the Talmudic period, Jewish communities flourished and developed here. Archaeologists have found the remains of 34 synagogues in the Golan. After the defeat of the Byzantine army by the Arab hordes that came from the Arabian Peninsula under the banner of Islam, Jewish life collapsed and the area was plunged into a long period of desolation.

But at the end of the 19th century. Jews returned: members of the Bnei Yehuda Society from Safed bought land in the Golan. In 1891, Baron Rothschild purchased 18,000 acres in the Golan in the area of ​​what is now Moshav Ramat Magshimim. The pioneers of the First Aliyah began to cultivate the purchased land in the Golan in the Horan region. But in 1898, the authorities of the Ottoman Empire expelled them from there, and in 1923 the entire territory of the Golan Heights was transferred by Britain - which brazenly disposed of foreign land - under the French Mandate over Syria and Lebanon.

It was only in 1967, when Israel had to defend its right to exist, as a result of the incredible Six Day War, full of miracles and heroism, that the Golan returned to Jewish possession.

In 1981, Israeli sovereignty was extended to the Golan. In 1994, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin broke his own election promises and was the first to come up with the crazy idea of ​​​​giving the Golan to Syria “in exchange for peace.” Since then, many have repeated this wild proposal after him, intoxicated by the illusion of peace with the surrounding terrorists. Most Israelis had the common sense to adamantly resist this madness. Many people remember Israel, entirely, from north to south, plastered with “Country with the Golan” posters. Political leaders can sometimes throw away their ancestral and strategically important territory - the people, despite all the brainwashing, do not accept this.

From the Golan to Haifa is less than 100 km. Mount Hermon, the highest point in the area, is the “eyes and ears” of Israel. Once this hill is handed over to the Syrians, Israel will lose its radars and early warning stations against attacks from Syria and Hezbollah.

To talk about Israel’s abandonment of the Golan today, when right next to them on the territory of Syria some thugs are fighting with others, and some are supported by Shiite Iran rushing for nuclear weapons, and others by the Sunni “Islamic State” dreaming of a world caliphate - can only be said by those who dreams of the destruction of Israel by any of the fighting parties.

Between Israeli and Syrian forces at the end of the Six Day War.

Geography

View from the Golan Heights.

The Golan Heights are a mountain plateau of volcanic origin, extending east from Lake Tiberias (Hebrew: Lake Kinneret) and the Hula Valley, and further into Syria. Most of it is located at an altitude of more than 1000 meters above sea level. The area of ​​the Golan Heights occupied by Israel is about 1,150 km² with a length of 60 km and an average width of 25 km.

In the west, the plateau drops steeply towards Lake Tiberias, in the south and southeast it is limited by the deep and narrow gorge of the Yarmouk River. There are no clear natural boundaries in the east. Most of the Golan Plateau (about two-thirds) is in Israel, the remaining third is in Syria.

The highest point in the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights is Mount Hermon with an altitude of 2236 m. The territory occupied by Israel accounts for 7% of the Hermon Range, and the highest point in Syrian territory reaches 2814 m. At least from November to March, the top of Hermon is covered with snow. Israel built there ski resort.

Agriculture is well developed and consists of numerous orchards (apples, cherries), berries (raspberries, strawberries). Grape growing and winemaking enjoy great success.

At the southwestern tip of the plateau are the thermal springs of Hamat Gader, known since Roman times.

The Golan Heights are a picturesque place. There are numerous nature reserves, streams and waterfalls here. The climate of the Golan is very temperate. Thanks to the altitude, it is not very hot here in summer and quite cold in winter, relative to the rest of Israel.

The hydrographic network is well developed. Rivers and streams formed by the precipitation that falls here (the main type of nutrition is rain) are relatively numerous and flow into the Jordan and Lake Tiberias (Lake Kinneret), from which Israel takes a significant part of its drinking water. According to various estimates, up to a third of the water consumed in Israel comes from the Golan Heights

Story

Archaeological excavations in the Golan have revealed many archaeological sites from the biblical, Roman and medieval eras. A large number of ancient finds that shed light on the history of the Golan Heights are presented in the Golan Antiquities Museum in the city of Katzrin and in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

The most ancient sights of the Golan Heights include the Wheel of Spirits, a megalith of the late Copper - Early Bronze Age.

Archaeological excavations, which began at the end of the 19th century and became systematic only after the Six-Day War, have discovered many architectural monuments indicating the existence of a large Jewish population there at least from the time of Herod I until the Arab conquest in the 7th century. Ruins of synagogues, columns with images of Jewish symbols and with inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek were found in the areas of the villages of Hamat Gader, Khirbet Kanaf, Kafr Harib, the city of Katzrin and in many other places.

In biblical times, the Golan Heights area belonged to Bashan and was inhabited by the Rephaim. The name "Golan" comes from the name of the biblical city "Golan in Bashan" (Deut.).

Ottoman Empire

World War I

In November 1917, a declaration was issued by the British Foreign Secretary (and previously Prime Minister) Lord Arthur Balfour, in which the British Government stated that it “looks favorably on the establishment in Palestine of a homeland for the Jewish people and will use all its possibilities to hasten the achievement of this goals…". The main motive for supporting the idea of ​​​​creating a Jewish national state in Palestine was to gain the sympathy of world Jewry at the end of the First World War (this was especially true for American Jews).

The fighting on the Palestine front ended only in October 1918 with the signing of the Armistice of Mudros. Shortly after defeat in World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Mandates

Borders around the Golan Heights at different times.

At the same time, in 1920, the “Syrian Arab Kingdom” was founded with its center in Damascus. Faisal from the Hashemite dynasty, who later became the king of Iraq, was declared king. But Syria's independence did not last long. Within a few months, the French army occupied Syria, defeating Syrian troops on July 23 at the Battle of Maysalun Pass.

The British Mandate for Palestine was supposed to come into force in September 1923, but Britain transferred the Golan Heights to France in March 1923, and they became part of the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon. In early 1924, in accordance with the agreements, the border area of ​​the territory containing the sources of the Liddani (Dan) and the ruins of Tel Dan was transferred to British mandate by France.

From that time on, Jewish attempts to establish settlements here met with constant opposition from the French authorities in Mandatory Syria. The French Mandate existed until 1943.

In 1936, a treaty was signed between Syria and France providing for Syrian independence, but in 1939 France refused to ratify it.

In 1940, France itself was occupied by German troops, and Syria came under the control of the Vichy regime (governor - General Henri Fernand Denz). Nazi Germany, having provoked the rebellion of Prime Minister Gailani in British Iraq, sent units of its air force to Syria. In June-July 1941, with the support of British troops, units of the Free French (later renamed the Fighting France) led by generals Charles de Gaulle and Catroux entered Syria during a bloody conflict with Denz's troops. General de Gaulle in his memoirs directly indicated that the events in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon were directly related to German plans to invade the USSR (as well as Greece, including the island of Crete, and Yugoslavia), since they had the task of diverting armed forces Allied forces to secondary theaters of war.

On September 27, 1941, France granted independence to Syria, leaving its troops on its territory until the end of World War II.

Independent Syria

In January 1944, Syria declared independence, and the Golan territory was included in the state borders of Syria. After this, the creation of Jewish settlements in the Golan Heights became absolutely impossible. Syrian independence was recognized on April 17, 1946.

On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the creation of an independent Jewish state on the territory allocated according to the UN plan. The very next day, the League of Arab States declared war on Israel, and immediately seven Arab states (Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Transjordan) attacked the new country, thereby starting the first Arab-Israeli war, called in Israel " The War of Independence."

On July 20, 1949, as a result of the war, an Armistice Agreement was concluded between Israel and Syria.

At the end of the war, the Syrians covered the Golan with a network of artillery positions and fortifications to bombard the Jewish settlements of the Upper Galilee and the Sea of ​​Galilee region, subordinating the entire economy of the region to military needs. As a result of systematic shelling of Israeli territory from these positions, from 1948 to 1967, 140 Israelis were killed and many were wounded. According to Syrian data, in 1966, about 147.5 thousand people lived in the Golan Heights (Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia gives a lower estimate of 116 thousand), of which approximately 80% were Arabs. On the territory of the Quneitra governorate there were 312 settlements and individual housing units, including two cities - Al Quneitra in its central part and Fic on South .

Under Israeli control

Buildings in Quneitra were also looted. Israeli officials claim that Quneitra was sacked by the retreating Syrians. The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nils-Göran Güssing, regards this version as unlikely, given the extremely short period of time between the erroneous radio announcement of the fall and the actual fall of the city several hours later. He concluded that "responsibility for carrying out this extensive sack of the city of Quneitra lay largely with Israeli forces."

The US Committee on Refugees and Immigrants reported that "the Israelis leveled the city with bulldozers and dynamite before withdrawing."

Since 1974, Quneitra has been located in a demilitarized no-man's land between the Israeli and Syrian borders, controlled by UN forces. The city remains virtually uninhabited to this day. The capital of the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan is the city of Katzrin.

In the late 1970s, the Israeli government granted Israeli citizenship to Syrian citizens living in the Golan Heights, and in November 1981, Israel officially annexed the Golan Heights, extending its jurisdiction over it. The act has not received international recognition ( see section ""). Today, about 39 thousand people live in the Golan. Of the Syrian settlements, 4 villages have survived: Majdal Shams, Masaada (local pronunciation - Masade), Bukata and Ein Qiniya; the majority of their inhabitants are Druze.

Warning sign on minefields.

A large number of old Syrian minefields remain in the Golan Heights. Most of them are fenced off and marked with warning signs, but they are not neutralized. As a result, natural nature has been preserved in a large area and there are places where no human has actually set foot since 1967.

After establishing control over the Golan Heights, the Israel Defense Forces established fortified posts here, equipped with electronic equipment for reconnaissance. The largest electronic reconnaissance stations are located on Mount Hermon (60 km from Damascus), as well as on the heights of Hermonit, Tel Fares, Avital and Booster.

Period of the Syrian Civil War

Since the beginning of 2011, units of the Israel Defense Forces began laying new minefields in the Golan Heights. The decision to re-mined the border was made after Palestinians, who came from Syria, managed to break through the border fence and enter Israeli territory, while the old mines did not work. Additionally, by 2012, Israel had built a separation wall there. The IDF has reinforced a wall along the ceasefire line and installed additional surveillance capabilities across the border to prevent possible infiltration attempts by Syrian refugees or militants, the Guardian newspaper reported.

During the civil war (2011-2018), Quneitra was almost completely captured by rebels and Mujahideen. Only in the summer of 2018, the Syrian Arab Army managed to oust most of the militants from the region.

Political status

Al Quneitra Governorate

Located in the southwestern part of the country. The administrative center is Madinat el-Ba'ath (city of Quneitra 1964-67). The area under control is 600 km (officially 1861 km²). In the northeast it borders with Damascus governorate, in the east with Daraa governorate, in the south with Jordan, in the west with Israel partially along the Jordan River and Lake Tiberias, and in the north with Lebanon.

Golan (District)

In December 1981, by decision of the Knesset, Israeli jurisdiction was extended to the Golan region. Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights is not internationally recognized. UN Security Council Resolution 497 of December 17, 1981 considers this area to be part of the Syrian occupied territories. The annexation was also condemned by the UN General Assembly in 2008. In official UN documents, the Israeli-controlled Golan territory is referred to as the “occupied Syrian Golan”.

The majority of the Syrian population of the Golan Heights left them as a result of the Six-Day War - they fled (according to the Israeli version) or were expelled by the Israelis (according to the Syrian version). According to the Syrian version, Israel banned these people from returning after the war. After the Six-Day War, only 6,400 Syrian citizens, mostly Druze, remained in the Golan. In 1981, following the annexation of the Golan by Israel, they were offered Israeli citizenship. Most Druze initially refused Israeli citizenship, but eventually accepted it. Today, according to Syrian data, 16 thousand Syrians live in the Golan.

Since 1967, Israel has built 34 settlements in the Golan. Their total population in 2007 was about 20 thousand people. The population of Druze villages in the Golan was about 18 thousand people. In general, a significant part of the territory is sparsely populated.

The issue of possible negotiations between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights issue has a long history. As a rule, this is associated with internal political events in Israel and/or Syria or with another international initiative. At US-sponsored negotiations between Syria and Israel in 1999-2000, Israel put forward a proposal to retreat to the 1923 borders (see Paulet-Newcombe Agreement) so that control of the coast of Lake Tiberias would remain with Israel ; negotiations were unsuccessful.

Israel's motives

There are several reasons why Israel defends its right to the Golan Heights:

• Legal aspect. Israeli legislators, jurists, historians and many politicians for decades have persistently argued and strengthened in the minds of most Israelis the point of view that the Golan is a land that has long belonged to the Jewish people and was illegally transferred to Syria in 1923. According to this point of view, initially the Golan, in accordance with the mandate of the League of Nations, was assigned to Great Britain, and the latter, guided by the Balfour Declaration, was supposed to promote the creation of a “Jewish national home” in the territories under its control. However, the border of the mandated territory was revised during the Anglo-French negotiations during the division of the Damascus vilayet, in violation of the international obligations of the victorious countries in the First World War.

• Economic aspect. The Golan Heights is economically one of the most prosperous areas of Israel. There is virtually no unemployment here. The Golan produces more than 50% of Israel's mineral water, about a quarter of all wines (including 40% of exports), and from 30 to 50% of certain types of fruits and vegetables. Good weather and the presence of historical and natural monuments ensure an influx of tourists. Despite the fact that the tourism business in Israel has suffered significantly from the ongoing confrontation with the Palestinians, the Golan continues to receive a steady influx of holidaymakers from Israel and abroad (about 2.1 million visits per year). The procedure associated with the withdrawal from the Golan, including the relocation of residents and the need to increase the military contingent on the border with Syria, will entail costs that Israel will not be able to cover from the state budget.

• Water supply aspect. Of the few rivers in Israel with a year-round aquifer, only the Jordan River and its three tributaries - El Hasbani (Snir), Baniasi (Banias) and Liddani (Dan) - replenish Lake Tiberias, which is the main reservoir of fresh water in the country and is already struggling meets her current needs. Currently [ When?] Israel draws more than 30% of its drinking water from springs flowing through the Golan Heights. According to experts from the Bureau of Relations with Jews of the CIS and Eastern Europe at the Office of the Prime Minister (“Nativ”), the transfer of the Golan Heights to Syria would be associated with the loss of 70% of the Kinneret watershed. According to this opinion, the transition of the Golan to Syrian control will inevitably lead Israel to water famine and environmental disaster [ ] .

Photos

Notes

1. Ethnicity and religion in modern conflicts. M., 2012
2. Golan Heights - Background, (Government Press Office), Jerusalem, 8 February 1994. Retrieved June 2, 2018.(English)
3. The melody of return sounds for the second century, Rodina magazine (inaccessible link - story) . Retrieved June 2, 2018. Archived January 9, 2013.(Russian)
4. Balfour Declaration (November 2, 1917). British Mandate. . Retrieved June 2, 2018.(Russian)

Jews have lived in the Golan since ancient times. From 953 BC these lands belonged to the kingdom of Israel, and from 586 to the Aramaic kingdom. In 332 BC the empire of Alexander the Great came here, and then the Romans. The Golan Heights seemed to attract conquerors. What about the Jewish population? Lived under both the Macedonians and the Romans, fought for independence. But the First Jewish War ended with the destruction of the Second Temple. Not a reproach to the Jews - they always fought heroically! But there was no way against Rome, as against scrap: the whole world belonged to it. Then Byzantium inherited Rome's rule over the Golan. And after the collapse of this empire, the Syrians ruled here. Subsequently, they were greatly hampered by the crusaders who were marching from the Holy Land to Damascus.

In the 16th century, the Golan Heights became the property of the Ottoman Empire. And they remained so until the end of World War I. Then the Entente countries divided among themselves dominance over the Turkish “splinters”.

Back in 1917, Great Britain, through the mouth of Lord Balfour, told the whole world that it looked kindly on the fact that Jews wanted to find a homeland in Palestine. However, in 1923 the British government transferred the Golan Heights to France. Mistress of the Syrian-Lebanese mandate. And Syria, feeling French support behind its back, began to drive the Jews out of “its” land. In 1944, Syria declared its independence and included the Golan within its borders. No longer could any Jew feel safe in this land. After the War of Independence of the State of Israel, the Syrians turned the Golan into a continuous military base. Shelling the Upper Galilee and the surrounding Kinneret. Comfortable from above!

War for the Golan Heights.

During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel needed 24 hours to end Syria's 23-year rule in the Golan. But hoping that Syria will not try to regain such an important strategic point is too naive. And so, together with Egypt, which lost the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War, Syria attacked the Golan. This happened on October 6, 1973. For Muslims, it is the 10th day of the month of Ramadan. For Jews - Yom Kippur. Day of forgiveness, atonement, cleansing from sins. But what kind of forgiveness is there when 1,300 Syrian tanks and 28,000 soldiers reached the Golan Heights. Syria hoped for a quick breakthrough of Israel's defenses. Here they are, bridges across the Jordan. If this happened, very soon enemy tanks would be driving through the streets of Tel Aviv.

But by 8 o’clock in the morning, Israeli tank crews in the Golan knew that they needed to prepare for battle. And by noon the tanks were ready to meet the enemy with dignity. Syria had numerical superiority, the effect of surprise, night vision devices, and strong artillery and aviation support. On the Israeli side there are only 200 tanks (6 times less than the Syrians) and 4,500 soldiers (7 times less than the enemy). And on Israel’s side there was an ardent desire to protect the Country. And Syria failed to achieve any “one-day breakthrough”.

Valley of Tears.

The Israeli reservists arrived too quickly, and Syrian casualties were surprisingly high. It was as if she was fighting not with a border garrison, but with the entire might of the Israeli Defense Forces. And where were the Syrian night vision devices? When 30 tanks were attacked at midnight by a single Israeli tank led by Lieutenant Zvi Gringold? He drove up close to the enemy (he had no night vision!), shot and changed position. It seemed to the Syrians that it was a whole formation operating! And they retreated under fire from the “Tswicki Detachment” of two tankers - Gringold and his mechanic.

There was a struggle for every meter of land. The battles near Mount Bental were especially fierce. The village of Quneitra, where Syrian forces were concentrated, was completely destroyed.

On October 8, the attack of the invaders failed. Already 10 they were knocked out beyond the Purple Line, drawn during the Six Day War.

After the incident, the valley under the mountain was nicknamed the Valley of Tears. There, near the village of El-Rum, there are still dead tanks. At the battle sites: half-filled ditches, anti-tank hedgehogs, coils of barbed wire. On - a war memorial. Preserved defensive structures and observation deck. On the way up the mountain you are greeted by funny iron monsters. These sculptures are made from the wreckage of military vehicles left after battles. The author is Dutchman Jupp de Jong from Kibbutz Merom Golan.

Merom Golan is the first kibbutz established in the Golan after the Six Day War. It is now a peaceful and picturesque village-style tourist center with a swimming pool, jeep and all-terrain vehicle rides and a meat restaurant.

85th kilometer - Orekhovo-Zuevo

What's on the public's mind right now? Well, the Arabs are on my mind, Israel, the Golan Heights, Moshe Dayan. Well, what if Moshe Dayan is driven out of the Golan Heights and the Arabs and Jews are reconciled? - What will remain in people’s heads then?..

The Golan Heights is a mountain plateau of volcanic origin located in northeastern Israel near the Syrian border.

During the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Golan Heights, and in 1981, the Israeli Knesset adopted the “Golan Heights Law,” which unilaterally declared Israeli sovereignty over this territory. The annexation was declared invalid by UN Security Council Resolution 497 of December 17, 1981. On many maps, the territory is designated as "occupied by Israel."

Since the Six-Day War, some of the territories have remained mined. Although, to be honest, the Turks began mining here when they fought the British at the beginning of the 20th century.

Today, about 39 thousand people live in the Golan. Of the Syrian settlements, 4 villages remain: Majdal Shams, Masada, Bukata and Ain Kaniya, most of their inhabitants are Druze (by the way, many still have Syrian citizenship).

The Druze are one of the national minorities living in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. In the Middle Ages, they broke away from the Muslims, founding their own religion. The Druze believe in one God and the transmigration of souls. They also never had their own state. In general, apart from the use of the Arabic language, nothing else connects them with the Arabs and Islam.

The Druze village of Majdal Shams is the highest mountain settlement in Israel.

The national symbol of the Druze is a multi-colored star

Religious Druze with mustaches and trousers

Young people play football here

Monument to fighters against the French occupiers (30s of the XX century)

Even here there are signs in Russian. It seemed to me that tourists rarely come here: the surprise of the locals at our appearance was too sincere. The goodwill was visible, but it was still somehow unusual.

In a souvenir shop in the village of Majdal Shams

Here I bought this broom with Arabic patterns.

By the way, for some reason El Al airlines (Israel Airlines) didn’t like my souvenirs: in 10 days in Israel I bought a Palestinian flag, Arabic rosary and this broom (really, why buy stupid magnets or a “Shalom” T-shirt, it’s much more interesting to bring something which no one has). They asked for a long time why I bought it, especially about the Palestinian flag, I said that this flag is very similar to the Syrian one, and Syria is a friend of Russia. In response to this, the border guard frowned and snorted, something from the series “It is not a Syrian flag.” I barely restrained myself from saying “Actually, I know that” in response.

Due to the constant threat of terrorist attacks, all passengers flying to and from Israel undergo multi-level control, giving the right to fly (fly) from the Holy Land: individual interview, thorough examination
baggage and hand luggage (selectively). It is clear that my luggage was examined with passion. They also use a special brush to look for radioactive dust.

In the photo taken with an iPhone, a red-haired lady is looking for a bomb in my photo backpack (London Heathrow Airport)

The crusader castle Nimrod is located on the Golan Heights, unfortunately we didn’t have time to get inside (everything closed at 3 o’clock in the afternoon)

And here is the Atar-a-Hermon ski resort (I’m already used to the barbed wire and barriers - it has its own charm)

Another national minority in Israel are the Bediun.
Bedouin villages can easily be found along the roads east of Jerusalem.

Israel, throughout its history, has pursued a policy towards the Bedouins aimed at settling the Bedouins in permanent places of residence and stopping them from leading a nomadic lifestyle. Israel is even ready to build normal houses, but the Bedouins do not need this - they prefer to live without electricity and running water, engaging in cattle breeding. In order to force the Bedouins to move to the villages built for them, the state constantly creates problems for the Bedouin population. For example, a very common measure is the failure to issue permits for the construction of houses in Bedouin villages, and when some Bedouin family, despite the lack of appropriate permission, nevertheless takes and builds a house, there is immediately a danger that comrades from the Land Administration will come Israel, accompanied by a heavy police presence, will destroy the newly erected building, under the pretext that this house is illegal. Every year, at the direction of the Land Administration, around 120-150 houses are demolished in the territory of unrecognized Bedouin villages. So in Israel it’s not just the Arabs who get it...

Bedouins are not conscripted into the army, but can serve voluntarily. There is also a Bedouin battalion GADSAR (Bedouin Pathfinder Battalion), which is part of the Southern Military District. Their knowledge of the terrain, keen eyesight and natural qualities of desert warriors make the Bedouin very useful in reconnaissance and patrolling. As a rule, a Bedouin tracker walks ahead of a military column, identifying mined areas by signs only he can understand. From a broken branch, from a barely noticeable footprint in the sand, a Bedouin can understand where and when the enemy passed, and where he can wait for an ambush.