In gratitude, the city’s mayor named a roundabout in Trump’s honour. He has cut US aid to Palestinians, cut diplomatic ties and declared the city of Jerusalem – part of which Palestinians claim – as Israel’s capital. And that, in a way, stops all the talking,” she said.Īlong with his Golan decision, Trump has acceded to a list of Israel’s longstanding demands regarding the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours that were long considered one-sided, politically detrimental and potentially explosive by previous administrations. Ish Shalom hopes Trump’s recognition will end the debate. In 1973, Syria fought to retake it but failed and remains in a frozen state of conflict with Israel. Israel’s hold on the Golan has had domestic opposition too, from those who feel it has created further antagonism in the region. In the middle of the community, a Syrian army bunker remains standing. The path that leads to Bruchim has minefield warnings on both sides – the land has been demined but the paperwork to have it approved for use is pending. The remnants of Syria and wars fill the hamlet. “They have nothing here to really come back to,” she said. But as the Golan was never fully developed, her three sons left. She has lived here since 1992 among the eucalyptus trees, and now with goats, chickens and a couple of dogs. “What we dream for, is for it to become a special place,” said Naomi Ish Shalom, talking in her small plot where she grows olives, apples, and peaches. In Bruchim, one of the few residents, an organic farmer, is excited about the potential influx of people. I’m not objective … I care about my country, about my future.” Menachem Ender, a tour guide from Kela, said Trump is “a personality in doubt” but he added, “I don’t give a shit. Residents of Bruchim and the village of Kela next door also appear optimistic. “If Theresa May will build me a village, I will call it Theresa May.” “Does anyone remember his past? If he was drinking? Nobody remembers,” said Rokach. People only remember one thing about Arthur Balfour, he said of the British foreign secretary who signed the famous 1917 Balfour Declaration that gave UK backing to establishing a Jewish homeland in mandate Palestine. The local mayor is thinking in terms of decades and centuries, not presidential terms. And I think we have a great friend,” he said. I judge president Trump on what he does for Israel. “For that, there is the American legal system. It does not bother Rokach that Trump is a controversial figure. Republican party megadonors Miriam and Sheldon Adelson – known for financial support for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank – have plans to build a 200-room hotel, he said.
The US decision has led to a wave of donations and investment from sympathetic Americans, he added. “All the Golan residents, all of them, they have a feeling of release.” Trump’s recognition takes away the fear of handing the Golan Heights back to Damascus, said Rokach, who has lived there for 35 years. That almost happened in 2000, when Syria’s then president, Hafez al-Assad, and Israel appeared close to a deal, although it collapsed at the last moment. Some believe Jewish people have biblical rights to the land but have always known they could be removed in a peace agreement. Many of the residents are similar to those who took Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. To entrench itself, Israel has built military bases and established a civilian foothold of about 20,000 settlers, who have wineries, cattle farms and a small tourism industry. Israel’s government offered citizenship to the few thousand remaining Syrians, mostly Druze Arabs, but most reject it, opting instead for resident status. Many of their farms and villages have since been demolished, and the ruins of stone houses can still be seen across the fields. Local rights groups estimate up to 130,000 Syrians fled or were forced from their homes in the 1967 war and have not been allowed to return. Other possibilities had included Neve Trump (Trump’s Oasis) and Ruakh Trump (Trump’s Soul). We were thirsty for that,” said the mayor.Ī range of name suggestions were submitted to a government committee for approval. “The prime minister’s decision to build a new place in the Golan Heights is a revolution.
Haim Rokach, head of the Israeli Golan regional council, hopes that it will eventually comprise 400 houses, with construction of a first phase of 100 homes set to begin later this year. Plans have begun to extend the hamlet of Bruchim, first established in 1991 but almost forgotten until now. Prime Minister, a great honor! - Donald J.
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