The Golan Heights are a hill on the Asian side of the Syrian-African fault, located between the sources of the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret. From a political point of view, this is a disputed territory in the Middle East, the right of ownership of which is claimed by Israel and Syria. The heights are currently controlled by Israel, which considers them an integral part of itself, while Syria views it as a foreign occupation.

The Golan Heights became part of Israel in 1967, when, following the Six Day War, Israel annexed the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. This step was dictated by security considerations, and after the political situation in the Middle East changed for the better for Israel (the country ceased to be a fringe of world politics and began active cooperation with the United States), the Jewish state concluded peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, according to which the Sinai Peninsula was returned Egypt, and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip the formation of the Palestinian Authority began. However, the issue of transferring the Golan Heights to Syria never went beyond debate in the Knesset, and after the outbreak of the civil war in Syria, it completely turned into political fantasy. In this article we will explain the reasons for this territorial policy of Israel.

Maps of the Golan Heights

Golan Heights on a map of the Middle East
Source: 200stran.ru

Golan Heights Map
Source: wikimedia.org

Antiquity

Archaeological finds show that Jews lived in the Golan Heights from at least the time of King Herod until the Arab conquest of Syria and Palestine in the 7th century. Along with the Arabs, Kurds, Moroccans, Druze and Turkmen came to this territory - most of them arrived here as part of the Arab armies. Later, during the Crusades, the Crusaders settled here and built the Nimrod fortress at the foot of Mount Hermon (the highest point of present-day Israel).

Ruins of the Nimrod fortress
Photo by the author

During Turkish rule (1517–1918), the Golan Heights became depopulated and most of the settlers left the area. The fact is that the metropolis of the Ottoman Empire did not deal with the problems of the province at all, and only the most desperate settlers could survive there. A small influx of population began only in the 19th century, after Circassians expelled from the Russian Empire settled in the area of ​​the city of Quneitra (today it is located on Syrian territory).

Zionists march on the Golan

According to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 (an international document that first declared the world community's intention to promote the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine), the Golan Heights were part of the British colonial mandate for the administration of Palestine and Transjordan, and the settlement of this land by Jews was strongly encouraged. However, in March 1923, in violation of international agreements, Great Britain transferred the Golan to the French colonial mandate for the administration of Lebanon and Syria. From now on, all attempts by Jews to populate these lands were suppressed in every possible way. Both the British and French colonial authorities preferred to have good relations with the Arab population, which, according to the recollections of veterans of the Jewish resistance of those years, in every possible way demonstrated its loyalty to the colonial administration and carried out all its orders. It should be noted that even during the period of Turkish rule, the first Zionists tried to create Jewish settlements in the Golan Heights, but encountered serious opposition from the Turkish administration and the local Muslim population. The only Jewish settlement in the Golan during this period was the village of Bnei Yehuda, which existed from 1888 to 1920, when the head of the last Jewish family remaining there was killed by local Arabs.

Under Syrian rule

In 1947, after the creation of the state of Syria, the Golan Heights became part of it, and following the results of the Israeli War of Independence (1947–48), they remained Syrian territory. After the end of hostilities, the Syrians installed artillery pieces in the Golan, and the region itself was completely subordinated to military needs. During the 23-year period of Syrian rule, this area was covered with minefields, most of which remain uncleared to this day.

Minefields on the Golan Heights
Photo by the author

The topography of the Golan Heights and the valleys at their foot is such that it is difficult to find a more convenient place to shell Israeli settlements, instill fear and create an atmosphere of constant threat. It is difficult to convey this with photographs - you need to visit the Golan yourself to fully understand its military significance.

Valley near the city of Kiryan Shmona. View from the Golan Heights
Photo by the author

As a result of constant artillery shelling of Israeli territory from the Golan Heights, as well as the actions of Syrian snipers, from 1948 to 1967, 140 Israelis were killed and hundreds of people were injured.

Israeli annexation

During the Six-Day War of 1967, after heavy fighting, the Israeli army occupied the Golan Heights and, as a result of the confrontation, announced their annexation. Fierce battles for the Golan also took place during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Arab attempts to regain the heights did not stop even after the end of the war and the adoption of UN Resolution No. 338, which called on the parties to ceasefire. As a result, a small strip east of the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan became a buffer zone and received the official name “UN Disengagement Observer Force Zone.” Almost all of the territory controlled by the UN Disengagement Monitoring Force (UNDOF) is the former Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights. The border between the buffer zone and Israel is called "A" or "Line Alpha", and the border between the buffer zone and Syria is called "B" or "Line Bravo". The city of Quneitra fell into no man's land - after the Israelis left this city, the Syrians saw only ruins in its place. According to the Syrian version, the city was razed to the ground by the Israelis using dynamite and bulldozers. This version is supported by the US Committee on Refugees, as well as UN Special Representative Nils-Goran Güssing. According to the Israeli version, the city suffered as a result of massive shelling by Syrian artillery, which was trying to hit Israeli positions on the Golan, but missed, and the shells hit Quneitra. The Israeli version is supported by the American public organization CAMERA (Committee for Accurate Reporting of Events in the Middle East in America).

Map of the UN Disengagement Observer Force Zones
Source: wikimedia.org

UNDOF's mandate to manage the buffer zone is renewed every six months. UNDOF's responsibilities include:

• general monitoring of the buffer zone;
• monitoring the Israeli and Syrian military presence in the region;
• suppression of attempts to introduce armed forces into the UNDOF zone;
• regular (once every two weeks) inspections of Israeli and Syrian military facilities in areas bordering the zone;
• assistance to the International Red Cross in the transportation of local residents, mail and medicines;
• demining the territory.

UNDOF's work is currently hampered by the ongoing civil war in Syria.

After Israel took control of the Golan Heights, this place went from the hottest place in the country to the quietest. Syria, which took an extremely aggressive position towards Israel during the Arab-Israeli wars, has moderated its ardor. And if in South Lebanon, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, Israel constantly faces problems in the form of terrorist and military organizations PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah and marginal Islamist gangs entrenched in the Sinai Peninsula, then There is no military activity observed on the Syrian side. The reason for this is simple: any attempt to storm the Golan Heights in the context of the current military disparity between Israel and Syria is suicide for the Syrian army.

In 1981, Israel officially announced the annexation of the Golan Heights. The annexation was not recognized internationally, but, nevertheless, the Golan remains under Israeli control today. There are several reasons for this.

Strategic importance

The Golan Heights are the key to peace or war in northeastern Israel. From the Golan Heights, approximately 40% of Israel's territory is freely covered, and the most densely populated part of Syria, including Damascus, is also visible. At the same time, Israeli artillery can strike throughout southern Syria. While this hill was occupied by the enemies of Israel, it was a time of fear and terror towards the Israelis. When the heights came under Israeli control, the situation stabilized.

Control of the Golan Heights ensures the security of Israel's water supply. A third of all water used by the country comes from Lake Kinneret, the Jordan River and its three main tributaries - the Banias, Dan and Snir rivers. According to many Israeli politicians and military experts, the loss of the Golan Heights will inevitably entail serious problems with water supply as a result of sabotage on the Syrian side, as well as the negligent attitude of the Syrians towards the ecology of the region. Intelligence received by the Israelis before the Six-Day War indicated that Syria was already developing canals and drainage systems that would deprive Israel of the lion's share of fresh water.

The non-Jewish population of the Golan is represented predominantly by Druze loyal to Israel. They are completely satisfied with the current state of affairs, except for the fact that part of the Druze population lives in Syria. Many Israeli Druze are forced to hide the fact that they work in Israeli enterprises or rent apartments from Israelis, since such information could lead to persecution and even murder of their Syrian relatives and acquaintances. Today, Israeli Druze are primarily employed in agriculture and tourism. There is a possibility that at the end of the civil war in Syria, a Druze state will be created on Syrian territory, which may include part of the Israeli Golan. Such a course of events would be extremely beneficial to Israel, as it would remove the international legal problem of the Golan Heights, and would also lead to the creation of the first state friendly to Israel on its borders.

Druz Yusuf Mushlaf – IDF Major General

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 Kochba (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 who 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, some supported by Shiite Iran, which is eager 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.

In contact with

The Golan Heights is a disputed territory in the Middle East, currently controlled by Israel. Until 1967, it was part of the Syrian province of Quneitra, captured by Israel during the.

In 1981, the Israeli Knesset adopted the “”, which unilaterally proclaimed Israeli sovereignty over this territory. The annexation was declared invalid by UN Security Council Resolution No. 497 of December 17, 1981.

Both Israel and Syria consider the Golan Heights to be part of their territory.

Geography

The Golan Heights are a mountain plateau of volcanic origin, extending east from (Lake Kinneret) and, and further into Syria. Most of it is located at an altitude of more than 1000 m 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 the Sea of ​​Galilee, in the south and southeast it is limited by a deep and narrow gorge. There are no clear natural boundaries in the east. Most of the Golan Plateau is located in Syria.

The highest point on the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights is 2236 m high. The territory occupied by Israel accounts for 7% of the Hermon range, and the highest point on Syrian territory reaches 2814 m. At least from November to March, the peak of Hermon is covered with snow. Israel built there.

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 there are thermal springs known since Roman times.

The Golan Heights are quite 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.

Precipitation is relatively plentiful and flows into the nearby Galilee, from which Israel obtains much 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 on display at the Golan Antiquities Museum in the city and at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

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

Archaeological excavations began at the end of the 19th century. and which became systematic only after the Six-Day War, many architectural monuments were discovered, indicating the existence of a large Jewish population there at least from the time and up to the 7th century.

In November 1917, the British Foreign Secretary (and previously Prime Minister) Lord Arthur Balfour issued a statement 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. Shortly after defeat in World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

Mandates

In April 1920, after the First World War, a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Entente Powers and the states that joined them was held in the city of San Remo (Italy), where the distribution of class “A” mandates of the League of Nations for the management of the territories of the former Ottoman Empire in the Middle East took place. In accordance with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the League of Nations included the Golan Heights. The mandated territory, where, as stated in the text of the sixth paragraph of the mandate, “the settlement of lands by Jews was encouraged,” was carved out along the geographical boundaries of Eretz Israel.

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.

In 1922, the League of Nations decided to divide the former Syrian dominion of Turkey between Great Britain and France. Great Britain received Palestine, including modern Jordan, and France received modern territory of Syria and Lebanon (the so-called “League of Nations Mandate”). The League of Nations, based on the decisions of the San Remo conference, awarded Great Britain a mandate for Palestine, explaining this by the need to “establish in the country political, administrative and economic conditions for the safe formation of a Jewish national home.”

The British Mandate for Palestine was supposed to come into force in September 1923, but England transferred the Golan Heights to France in March 1923, and they became part of Syria and Lebanon.

From that time on, attempts by Jews to establish settlements here met with constant opposition from the French authorities of 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 Denz). Nazi Germany, having provoked the rebellion of Prime Minister Geilani in British Iraq, sent units of its air force to Syria. In June–July 1941, with the support of British troops, units of Free France (later renamed 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.

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.

Independent Syria

On May 14, 1948, one day before the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, he 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 five Arab states (Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq and Transjordan) attacked the new country, thereby beginning what is called in Israel the “War of Independence.”

On July 20, 1949, following the results 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 Jewish settlements 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.

Israeli occupation since 1967

On June 9-10, 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israeli troops launched an offensive and, after 24 hours of heavy fighting, occupied the Golan Heights. Thus, the Golan Heights, having come under Syrian control in 1944 after the termination of the French mandate, were under Syrian control for 23 years.

In the late 1970s, the government granted Israeli citizenship to Syrian citizens living in the Heights, and in November 1981, Israel officially annexed the Golan Heights, extending its jurisdiction over it. The act did not receive international recognition.

Today, about 39 thousand people live in the Golan. Of the Syrian settlements, 4 villages remain: Majdal Shams, Masaada (local pronunciation - Masade), Bukata and Ein Kiniye; most of their inhabitants are .

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.

Since the beginning of 2011, units began laying new minefields in the Golan Heights. The decision to mine the border again 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 is strengthening a wall along the ceasefire line and installing additional surveillance capabilities across the border to prevent possible infiltration attempts by Syrian refugees or militants, the Guardian newspaper reported.

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Helpful information

Golan Heights
Golan
Hebrew רָמַת הַגוֹלָן‎
translit. Ramat HaGolan
Arab. هضبة الجولان‎‎‎ or مرتفعات الجولان
translit "hadbat al-Jolan" or "murtafaat al-Jolan"

Political status

In December 1981, a decision extended Israeli jurisdiction 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.

The Syrian population of the Golan before the capture of the territory by the Israeli Army was about 116,000 people. During the Six Day War, the largest part of this population fled (according to the Israeli version) or was expelled by the Israelis (according to the Syrian version).

According to the Syrian version, Israel prohibited 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 is about 20 thousand people. The population of Druze villages in the Golan is 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 connected with internal political events in Israel and/or Syria, or with another international initiative.

On March 25, 2019, Donald Trump signed a document recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

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.

• Military aspect. Israeli politicians argue that the Golan's natural topography is ideal for ensuring Israel's security on its eastern borders. And that, on the contrary, the loss of the Golan, from the tops of which almost half of Israel is freely shot at, significantly reduces its defense capability. As an example of the need to maintain an Israeli presence in the Golan Heights, the Israeli leadership usually cites the fact that the transition of this area under Israeli sovereignty has ensured more than three decades of “positive calm” in an area where constant military clashes had previously occurred. Conversely, the transfer of the Golan to Syria could destabilize the security situation.

• 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).
  In addition, according to Israeli experts, the entire procedure associated with leaving the Golan would cost the state treasury at least $10 billion (the Americans promise to provide only $17 million for this purpose), and the military contingent on the border would have to be increased with Syria. Israel cannot afford such expenses.

• 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 hardly supplies it today's needs. Currently, 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.

• Social aspect. Unlike the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the non-Jewish population in the Golan is small, and the Druze living at the foot of Mount Hermon are generally loyal to Israel and its policies.

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.

Golan Heights, or Golan(in Hebrew Ramat HaGolan) - a mountain plateau in northeastern Israel, on the border with Syria and Lebanon. Most of the Golan Plateau came under Israeli control as a result of the Six Day War in 1967. About 1/3 of the Golan Heights remains in Syria. The natural border of the Golan in the west is the Jordan River and the Hula Valley, in the southwest - Lake Kinneret (Lake Tiberias). A significant area of ​​the Israeli Golan today is occupied by natural parks and reserves.

The name “Golan” goes back to the ancient toponym “Golan” - the name of the city of Golan, located in the region Bashan. This city is mentioned in the book of Devarim ( 4:43 ) and in the book of Joshua ( 20:8 ), it referred to the allotment of half the tribe of Menashe, one of the 12 tribes of Israel to which the Most High gave this land.

The Golan Heights are distinguished by picturesque landscapes, a lot of greenery and vegetation, waterfalls and gorges. Here, as we said, there are numerous nature reserves and tourist routes. Therefore, the Golan Heights are a popular tourism destination, especially in winter, when a ski resort opens at the foot of Mount Hermon. Grape growing and winemaking enjoy great success. The most famous wineries in Israel are located in the Golan.

Since ancient times, there has been a Jewish settlement on the territory of the Golan Heights. During active archaeological excavations, about 30 Jewish synagogues have been found in the southern and central Golan in recent years. Above the entrance to one of them there is an inscription carved: This is the home of the teachings of Rabbi Eliezer HaKapar. A large number of ancient finds that shed light on the ancient history of the Golan Heights are presented in the museum of the central city of the Golan - Katzrina - and in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Geographical data

The Golan Heights mountain plateau extends northeast from Lake Kinneret deep into Syria. The geological platform is formed from the remains of frozen volcanic lava; the mountains here are frozen volcanoes or the ruins of volcanic craters. Therefore, all historical and archaeological buildings on the Golan Heights are made of characteristic black volcanic basalt.

Most of the Golan Heights are located at an altitude of more than 1000 meters above sea level. Israel controls about 1,154 km² of the 1,800 km Golan Heights, which represents about two-thirds of the geographic plateau.

There are a large number of mountain streams in the Golan Heights. Several of them divide the Golan Heights into three sectors: northern (between the Hermon massif and the Gilbon stream), central (between Gilbon and Daliot) and southern (between Daliot and the Yarmouk River). The beds of the streams, especially in the Lower Golan with its fertile soil, formed deep gorges separating small areas of the plateau from each other.

The highest point of the Israeli part of the Golan Heights is Mount Hermon, its height is 2236 m (at the same time, only 7% of the Hermon range is located in Israel). The highest mountain on Syrian territory is 2814 m.

At the southwestern tip of the plateau are the thermal springs of Hamat Gader, known for their healing properties. In the language of the sages of the Talmud they were called Hamei Tiberias- “Hot Springs of Tiberias”, after the name of a large city located on Lake Kinneret.

History of Jewish settlement in the Golan Heights

Before the Jewish conquest of the land of Israel, the Golan Heights were part of the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan ( see Bemidbar, 21:33). As the Torah testifies, the lands of Bashan passed to Israel after Og, the king of Bashan, and his people went to war against the Jews and were defeated.

The tribes of Gad and Reuven settled on the land captured from the Emorite king Sihon, and part of the tribe of Menashe settled in the lands of Bashan, in the area where the Golan Heights were located.

During the period of the Kings (around the middle of the 9th century BC), the Golan Heights were the site of battles between King Ahab and Ben-Hadad II, king of Aramean Damascus ( Malachim I, ch. 20).

At the end of the Hasmonean era, the Golan Heights were captured by King Alexander Yanai, and Jewish settlements were established there. From then on, Jews lived in the Golan for approximately 700 years. The regional center was the city of Gamla, which became famous thanks to the heroic battle during the Great Revolt against the Romans (mid-1st century AD). When the Roman army besieged the city and defeat was inevitable, the remaining inhabitants, about 1,200 people, chose to commit suicide by jumping into the abyss rather than be captured alive by the enemy.

After the destruction of the Second Temple, Jewish life was maintained in the Golan Heights, reaching its peak during the time of the Talmud. The Jerusalem Talmud names 8 Jewish cities and settlements in the Golan Heights, among them Nov, Hispiya and Kfar Haruv, which have survived to this day, are mentioned.

After the conquest of the Middle East by the Arab Caliphate (638 AD), the Golan entered into governorate Damascus. From this moment on, Jewish life in the Golan Heights ceases.

Since 1886, attempts have been made to populate the Golan Heights with Jewish activists (for example, in the areas of Quneitra in 1887 and present-day Ein Gev in 1898, on the initiative of the Bnei Yehuda society created by the Jews of Safed; the creation of a settlement of Crimean Jews in 1904), but most of them were unsuccessful due to difficult climatic conditions, as well as opposition from the authorities and local residents.

The establishment of Jewish settlements in the Golan at the expense of Baron E. de Rothschild (in 1894, 1896, 1897) also did not produce results. Only the settlement of Bnei Yehuda, founded in 1888 near the Arab village of Bir ash-Shakum (5 km northeast of modern Ein Gev), existed until 1920 - until the head of the Jewish family still remaining there died at the hands of Arabs.

Drawing on the rich Jewish past of the Golan and the attempts to develop them during the times of the first and second aliyah, the Zionist unification demanded to include the Golan Heights within the boundaries of the “national home”, the creation of which was proclaimed by Lord Balfour in 1917 - see Balfour Declaration. But in March 1923, England transferred the Golan Heights to France, and they became part of the French mandate for Syria and Lebanon.

From that time on, attempts by Jews to establish settlements here met with constant opposition from the French authorities of Mandatory 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 impossible. Syrian independence was recognized on April 17, 1946.

In the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Golan Heights represent a critical strategic point for both Syria and Israel. Until 1967, while the Golan Heights were under Syrian control, Syria took advantage of the Golan's mountainous terrain to bombard large areas of Israel's northern border with artillery, as well as to infiltrate terrorists into its territory. It was vital for Israel to push back the borders.

On June 9-10, 1967, during the Six Day War, Israeli troops launched an offensive and, after 24 hours of heavy fighting, occupied the Golan Heights.

In 1973, Syria, together with Egypt, attempted to return territories captured by Israel, including the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula, starting the Yom Kippur War. But during fierce battles, the Israeli army repelled the attack and even strengthened its position in the Golan. As a result of the troop disengagement agreement, signed in 1974 under the influence of global pressure, Israel was forced to yield to the demands of the Syrians, giving Syria the eastern strip along the Golan Heights, with a total area of ​​​​approximately 60 km 2.

In 1981, the Israeli Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law, which declared Israeli sovereignty over this territory. This decision was challenged by UN Security Council Resolution 497 of December 17, 1981.

Since then, the issue of returning the Golan Heights to Syria periodically appears on the agenda, usually in connection with internal political events in Syria or with another international initiative. However, due to the strategic importance of this territory, the likelihood of their transfer to Syria is extremely low. The internal political factor is also taken into account: the majority of Israelis are against any territorial concessions to the Arabs, since, as experience has shown, the principle of “Peace in exchange for territory” has not been effective in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Golan today

The Golan Heights have long been a blind spot for scholars of Jewish history. Not only the ancient settlements, but even their names have not been preserved. After 1,500 years of "Jewish absence", these places were retaken in the Six Day War of 1967, and we began to reacquaint ourselves with this land, explore and develop it.

The nature of the Golan Heights is amazing. The combination of basalt rocks and limestone created a special landscape here. The relatively flat mountain plateau is cut by deep gorges. There are many natural springs, pools and high waterfalls. Cooled volcanoes rise, offering amazing views of the Golan, Kinneret and Galilee and nearby Syria.

To the north is visible Israel's highest Mount Hermon, which is covered with snow in winter. In the east, dormant volcanoes stand out in several rows. Boundless spaces, breathtaking, alternate with quiet, “intimate” corners of nature. There are many wild animals, few tourists and local residents, nature is untouched by destructive human intervention.

In the Golan, archaeologists have found ancient mysterious objects - evidence of the life of the peoples who lived in these places. From the time of the Second Temple, the ruins of the Jewish city of Gamla, which heroically defended the road to Jerusalem from the Roman legions, have been preserved here; excavations of the city of Susita (Hipos) date back to the Byzantine period, where they found a huge number of marble and granite artifacts dating back two thousand years; Dozens of Jewish settlements and synagogues from the Mishnah and Talmud periods were also discovered (mainly in the southern Golan Heights).

It was here that the most difficult, tragic tank battles in the history of the State of Israel took place. Some of them were of world significance. Traveling through the Golan Heights, it is difficult not to come across memorials with captured weapons, old and new military bases, rusted tanks, pieces of tracks, spent cartridges, barbed wire with signs: “Beware of mines.”

In the Golan, you will be surprised by the fortitude and hard work of the inhabitants of the modern Jewish settlements that have brought the area to life. From bare rocky expanses and former minefields, these people raised a thriving agriculture. It is important to note that most of the settlements in the Golan are religious.

Anyone who has been here once wants to come back here again and again...