Golan Heights Research Articles

Religious Unification, Regional Divergence: Exploring Multifaceted Linguistic Practices and Identities among the Israeli Druze and the Druze Community in the Golan Heights

This study delves into a comparative analysis of language and identity within two distinct Druze communities: those residing in the Golan Heights, who transitioned from Syrian to Israeli governance post the 1967 War, and their counterparts within Israel proper. Both communities find themselves situated as 'sandwiched' communities, with the Golan Druze caught between Israeli and Syrian nationalisms and the Israeli Druze positioned amid the dynamics of Israel and the Arabs. Given the fluid nature of collective identities, which are subject to continuous shaping by sociopolitical influences within and beyond state boundaries, this study focuses on two pivotal political debates in each community during the fieldwork period. The Israeli Druze community is primarily concerned with the Israeli-Nation State law controversy. Meanwhile, the Golan Heights Druze community is grappling with the intensifying and widely publicized speculation regarding secret negotiations between Assad's regime and Israel, which suggests that the Golan was sold to Israel rather than being a result of a 'lost war.' This study explores how these debates gradually shape the collective identities of the respective communities. The research illuminates how navigating between opposing forces leads to the emergence of novel national identities and linguistic variations within these 'sandwiched' contexts.

The U.S. Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over the Golan Heights: A Threat to International Peace

The U.S. Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over the Golan Heights: A Threat to International Peace

Present and paleo-hydrogeological reconstruction of a complex deep groundwater system in a tectonically active region (Golan Heights, Middle East)

The geochemical and isotopic composition of deep groundwater in sedimentary aquitards reveals a complex paleo-hydrological system affected by intensive tectonic activity. Water samples collected from deep research boreholes in the Golan Heights (Middle East) exhibit a unique combination of high salinity (>2,000 mg/L Cl) with low Na/Cl (<0.7) and Mg/Ca (<0.3) equivalent ratios, calcium chloride water type [Ca > (HCO3 + SO4)], relatively low δ18OVSMOW and δ2HVSMOW values (–7 and –42‰, respectively), and enriched 87Sr/86Sr ratios compared to the host rocks. The salinity source is related to ancient lagoonary hypersaline brines (10–5 Ma) that existed along the Dead Sea Rift (DSR). These brines intruded into the rocks surrounding the DSR and, based on the current study, also extended away from the rift. Following their subsurface intrusion, the brines have been gradually diluted by 18O- and 2H-depleted freshwater recharged at high elevations, nowadays leaving only traces of the brines that originally intruded. It is also shown that variable hydraulic conductivities in different formations control the dilution rates and subsequently the preservation of the entrapped brines. A paleo-hydrological reconstruction is provided to demonstrate intrusion and backflow dynamics and also the relationship to freshwater dilution, which was triggered by a tectonically active basin of the nearby continental DSR. Brines that initially migrated from the rift have since been gradually flushed back to the rift through the current natural outlets. As the system discharges, it mixes and converges with a separate hydrogeological system, while still preserving some of the geochemical signals of the ancient brines.

Unresolvation of the Palestine problem — the main threat to regional security

The article analyzes the situation in the Middle East in connection with a new largescale armed confl ict between Israel and radical Islamist groups. The author reminds readers of the origins and causes of the Palestinian-Israeli confl ict and gives a detailed picture of the dynamics of events in the former British mandate territory of Palestine after 1948. The main reason for the ongoing tension in Israel's relations with the Arab and Muslim world is the disregard by the Israeli authorities and the leaders of a number of Arab countries of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the creation of the State of Palestine. The ongoing occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights and Lebanese Shebaa farms by the Israeli armed forces does not help to strengthen confi dence in Tel Aviv on the part of neighboring Arab countries. The author believes that the main goals of the attack on Israel by Hamas militants and Islamic Jihad (banned in the Russian Federation) on October 7, 2023 were, fi rstly, to attract the attention of regional and global players to the Palestinian problem, and secondly, to demonstrate the increased military capabilities of Hamas and the vulnerability of Israel, and thirdly, a slowdown or complete disruption of the process of further normalization of Israel’s relations with Arab countries. In addition, Palestinian radicals believed that a successful military operation against Israel could lead to an increase in fi nancial, economic, political and military assistance to Hamas from its supporters and sponsors. The author notes the growing involvement of a number of regional and extra-regional players in the armed confl ict in the Gaza Strip (Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis, Iran, Qatar, Turkey, USA, EU countries). The article also notes the limited capabilities of UN institutions and other international organizations at this stage for a comprehensive and fair Middle East settlement.

Impact of Fusarium Species Composition and Incidence on Onion Basal Rot in Northeastern Israel

Fusarium basal rot (FBR) places a significant limitation on Allium production worldwide. The damage caused by the disease can be observed throughout the entire crop cycle. This research aimed to further our understanding of the impact of FBR on the cultivation of onions (Allium cepa) in northeast Israel. It focused on studying the composition and incidence of Fusarium species involved in disease outbursts in two representative fields, one in Galilee (Hula Valley) and the second in the Golan Heights, where the disease incidences reached 8%. Using colony morphology, microscopic taxonomic keys, and molecular methods, a new, unreported Neocosmospora (previously Fusarium solani) species complex (SC, mostly N. falciformis) was discovered as a wildly spread member of the Fusarium pathobiome community. This species complex appeared more generalist in its nature since it was found in all three onion cultivars’ samples. It was also less virulent in seed germination (42–52% higher sprout biomass, p &lt; 0.05) and bulb pathogenicity tests (41–45% less necrotic) than Fusarium acutatum. Whereas the Galilee yellow Orlando (Riverside) onion cultivar bulbs sampled were colonized by Neocosmospora SC (70%) and two other, less abundant species, F. oxysporum f. sp. cepae and F. acutatum (15% each), the Golan Heights field’s Fusarium community showed host specificity. In the Golan Heights field, F. oxysporum f. sp. cepae inhabited the red Ha2 onion cultivar bulbs, whereas F. acutatum colonized the yellow Ha1 cultivar (40% and 50% prevalence along with Neocosmospora SC). A better understanding of the complexity of this disease caused by different Fusarium species and with a divergence in host susceptibility and virulence is critical for developing disease management strategies. Since each Fusarium species reacts differently to pest control treatments, changes in the species composition may require specifically adapted management solutions.

‘You don't have to be educated to help your child’: Parental involvement among first generation of higher education Druze students in Israel

AbstractFirst‐generation students cope with challenges deriving from a lack of knowledge regarding higher education. This lack of knowledge is particularly relevant for minorities groups. In this context, parental involvement can be regarded as a meaningful pathway for enrolment and advancement in higher education. The study examined the perceptions of Druze students from the Golan Heights in Israel, who are considered to be a minority group and are first‐generation students, regarding their parents' involvement in their higher education studies. 15 Druze were interviewed. Using thematic analysis, it was found that parents' support is reflected in a high appreciation of education, due to the absence of opportunities during their own childhood, alongside moral and indirect academic support. The study contributes to understanding the intersection of being part of the Druze minority with being first‐generation students, highlighting these students' ways of overcoming barriers in the context of national and ethnic challenges.

Breeding performance and nest-site selection of Woodchat Shrikes Lanius senator near the southern edge of their breeding distribution

Numerous Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) populations, and Laniidae in general, are globally declining. A deeper understanding of their breeding ecology, including their nest-site selection and breeding performance, from hatching success to post-fledging survival, could contribute to their conservation. We studied breeding Woodchat Shrikes near the southern edge of their breeding range in Northern Israel, monitoring breeding pairs throughout the breeding season from March to July 2023 in three study areas at the slopes of the Golan Heights in a semi-open shrubland. We collected data on birds’ nesting success, including hatching and fledging success, as well as on breeding pairs’ productivity and post-fledging survival of Woodchat Shrikes. Furthermore, we gathered information on nest-site characteristics. In this part of their range, Woodchat Shrikes breed in relatively high densities, opportunistically selecting nest-sites within the area. Most pairs had at least two brood attempts and up to four were recorded. On average breeding pairs laid 4.63 eggs per brood, with a decreasing brood size later in the season. Breeding performance was not related to the nest-site characteristics with the exception of nest height above the ground, which had a positive influence on nesting success. The breeding performance of Woodchat Shrikes was relatively low compared to other studies, particularly when considering fledging success. Nest predation was likely a predominant cause for nest failures here; however, breeding pairs were able to substantially increase their breeding success with replacement broods. Compared to the low nesting success, the post-fledging survival was relatively high, indicating much higher predation pressure on nests compared to fledglings.

Old basalts, young soils ‐ Age constraints for the Golan Heights plateau volcanic soils

AbstractThe Golan Heights plateau in northern Israel is underlaid by volcanic rocks ranging in age from ~5.5 to 0.1 Ma. Throughout the Golan Heights, these rocks are covered by shallow soils that rarely exceed 0.5 m in depth. The soils are generally assumed to form a chronosequence, in which their ages correspond to those of the basalts they cover. Such age correspondence would imply that the soils have been slowly accumulating over hundreds of thousands to a few million years, suggesting a generally stable system. The ages of these soils and their temporal correlation to the basalts, however, have never been determined or tested.Here, we present age constraints for the soils of the Golan Heights. Soils were surveyed and sampled with their corresponding basalt bedrock. Mass balance calculations based on conservative immobile elements, coupled with 36Cl‐based basalt denudation rates, suggest that the soil ages are decoupled from the ages of the underlying basalts, and represent up to a few thousand years of soil production, at most. This time frame is orders of magnitude shorter than the basalt age, challenging the prevalent assumption that the soils form a chronosequence.Our findings strongly suggest that erosion is a significant factor controlling soil formation and accumulation on the plateau, despite the generally flat morphology of the Golan Heights. The erosion is associated with tectonic activity along the Dead Sea transform, with the development of the Kinarot and Hula valleys, and with the consequential development of drainage systems of various sizes on the plateau. Throughout the Golan Heights, the timing of volcanic activity in relation to the development of the valleys and drainage systems also appears to strongly affect soil development and accumulation.

Between Gaulanitis and Hippos: The Roman Road in the Southern Golan Heights in Context

The Roman road that transverses the southern Golan is one of the best-preserved ancient roads in the region. The present study provides new evidence regarding its route, its date of construction and abandonment, and its military-administrative and geospatial relationship with the surrounding landscape and settlements. The research combines diverse methodologies, including historical cartographic data, survey, excavation, a mobility model of the region and visibility predictive analysis for watchtower positions. The results suggest that the road was constructed in the second half of the 2nd century CE. A system of watchtowers existed along it, and it apparently did not serve as a vital artery between the nearby villages and the road itself.

Effects of Vineyard Agro-management Practices on Soil Bacterial Community Composition, and Diversity.

Changes in land use strongly affect soil biological and physico-chemical structure and characteristics, which are strongly related to agricultural conversion of natural habitats to man-made usage. These are among the most important and not always beneficial changes, affecting loss of habitats. In Golan Heights basaltic soils, vineyards are currently a driving force in land-use change. Such changes could have an important effect on soil microbial community that play an important role in maintaining stable functioning of soil ecosystems. This study investigated the microbial communities in five different agro-managements using molecular tools that can clarify the differences in microbial community structure and function. Significant differences in soil microbial community composition were found. However, no differences in alpha diversity or functionality were found between the treatments. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report indicating that the bacterial community in different agro-managements provide an insight into the potential function of a vineyard system.

Neither Israelisation nor Zionisation

Abstract For decades, the Druze community on the Golan Heights has waged a political struggle against Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, demonstrating its loyalty to Syria by refusing to accept Israeli citizenship, ostracizing (religiously and socially) anyone who does so, vetoing service in the idf, not teaching Hebrew in schools, celebrating Syrian national holidays, attending Syrian universities, etc. In the wake of the outbreak of the popular uprising in Syria in 2011, however, it has begun showing clear signs of cracks, most prominently amongst the younger generation. Due first and foremost to utilitarian factors. Characterised by a utilitarian wish to integrate into Israeli economy and society, this trend finds various expressions. Firstly, the number of Druze seeking Israeli citizenship has risen, albeit not dramatically, a clear correlation existing between this fact and the decline of the Ba’ath regime. Secondly, and at the same time, more young adults have begun applying to Israeli universities, the decade between 2011 and 2021 witnessing a significant rise in the number of Golan Druze students studying therein. Thirdly, in continuation of the same trend, the members of the Golan Druze community also began adopting an economic-focused orientation—which Israel met by launching an ambitious plan in 2014 for developing the 1052 Druze settlements in the Golan.

US Recognition of Israeli Territorial Claims in the Golan Heights and Jerusalem: Implications for the Norm against Acquisition of Territory by Force

This article investigates the effects of the United States’ recognition both of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and of the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights on the international norm against territorial expansion by force. We conclude that these moves – in 2017 and 2019, respectively – did not weaken the norm. Our findings are important for the Arab-Israeli conflict itself as well as for the broader question of the strength of international norms in the face of great power's partial withdrawal from them.

Politics, geography and recognition in the emerging multipolar world order

ABSTRACT This article examines international politics of recognition in the increasingly multipolar global environment, with a specific focus on recognition events in Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Crimea, the Occupied Golan Heights, Jerusalem, Western Sahara, Luhansk and Donetsk. It reveals that the recent surge in recognition is propelled by geopolitical and geographical motivations, which undermine the normative significance of territorial integrity, non-recognition and self-determination in recognition politics. The article proposes a thesis that situates recognition within the context of geopolitics, spatial management and power dynamics that expand our understanding of the broader impacts of recognition beyond the traditional emphasis on statehood emergence and prevention. Recognition has become entangled in geopolitical contestations between influential global players seeking to normatively legitimise and normalise conquest, occupation and colonisation. In this context, geopolitical considerations have overridden the normative and legal weight of the well-institutionalised norms of territorial recognition. This underscores the gap between recognition norms and practices and demonstrates the explanatory power of geopolitics.

Still There

Abstract What gets displaced in war, even when people don't move? How does conflict transform and reverberate among those still there? And, what can sectarianism tell us about state power in war and in occupation? To answer, we theorize and problematize the relationship of sectarianism to the state, and explore the effects of war and occupation in everyday practice and in socio-economic and political institutions. The cases come from two Syrian Druze regions, from the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Height and from Jaramana, Damascus. In the first case, the Israeli occupation shifted the national border, and, in the second case, the war in Syria created new internal borders and checkpoints. Tracing the displacement of conflict through sectarianism allows us to think through state borders, and explore everyday life in relation to economic pressures and geopolitics. It is within these absences and presences of the state that the transformations of conflict and belonging appear.

Mythologies without End: The US, Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1917–2020 by Jerome Slater

Jerome Slater’s book impressively counters Abba Eban’s profoundly false meme that the Arabs “never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” In Israeli parlance, Slater contends that hahefech hu hanachon (“the opposite is the case”). Though exploiting only English-language secondary sources, he uses the rich scholarly literature on the Arab-Israeli conflict to analyze hundreds of discrete episodes, disputes, and polemical claims, showing how regularly and often breathtakingly facts contradict the narrative of official Israel and its advocates. Slater lavishes attention on the blameworthiness of Israeli governments, Henry Kissinger, and a series of weak-willed or politically paralyzed American presidents for the failure of dozens of attempts to make peace based on some version of territorial partition. The dramatic gaps between fact and widespread belief that Slater exposes are particularly well-illustrated by Israeli-Syrian relations. Quoting David Ben-Gurion and Moshe Dayan, Slater compellingly demonstrates that aggressive and systematic Israeli attacks on Syria in the 1950s, not Syrian extremism and shelling of peaceful Israeli farmers, made a peace treaty impossible and set the stage for Israel’s conquest of the Golan Heights in 1967. With brutal repetitiveness, he shows that the failure of American-brokered efforts to secure an Israel-Syria peace was due to the intransigence of Israeli leaders (from Peres to Netanyahu), their concern with marginal domestic issues, and their confidence that Washington would never pressure them on the issue. These factors rendered irrelevant the pragmatism and flexibility of both Hafez and Bashir el-Assad.

A new, rare, small-ranged, and endangered mountain snake of the genus Elaphe from the Southern Levant

The genus Elaphe Fitzinger, 1833 includes 17 species of charismatic, large-sized, non-venomous, Eurasian snakes. In the Western Palearctic, the genus is represented by three species from the Elaphe quatuorlineata group ranging from the Apennine peninsula to Central Asia. The southernmost population of this group is distributed in the mountains of the Southern Levant, with more than 400 km gap to other Elaphe populations. This population has been known to science for only 50 years and is virtually unstudied due to its extreme rarity. We studied these snakes’ morphological and genetic variation from the three countries where they are known to occur, i.e., Israel (Hermon, the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights), Lebanon, and Syria. We used nine mitochondrial and nuclear genes, complete mitogenome sequences, and a comprehensive morphological examination including published data, our own field observations, and museum specimens, to study its relationship to other species in the group. The three currently recognized species of the group (E. quatuorlineata, E. sauromates, E. urartica), and the Levant population, form four deeply divergent, strongly supported clades. Three of these clades correspond to the abovementioned species while the Southern Levant clade, which is genetically and morphologically distinct from all named congeners, is described here as a new species, Elaphe druzei sp. nov. The basal divergence of this group is estimated to be the Late Miocene with subsequent radiation from 5.1 to 3.9 Mya. The revealed biogeography of the E. quatuorlineata group supports the importance of the Levant as a major center of endemism and diversity of biota in Eurasia. The new species is large-sized and is one of the rarest snakes in the Western Palearctic. Because of its small mountain distribution range, in an area affected by land use and climate change, the new Elaphe urgently needs strict protection. Despite political issues, we hope this will be based on the cooperation of all countries where the new species occurs.

The enduring coloniality of ecological modernization: Wind energy development in occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights

The dominant narratives on how to confront climate change are often presented as neutral proposals concerned with the well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. The main objective of this article is to exemplify how concepts like Ecological Modernization and Sustainable Development are used in the name of energy transitions to prolong illegal military occupations in two territories, namely occupied Western Sahara and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. By combining first-hand and secondary data from our cases, we also expose the enduring coloniality of such concepts that have been critiqued not only for their lack of neutrality but also for their contribution to the denial of basic human rights such as self-determination, sovereignty, and the right to resourcehood. We argue that renewable energy projects, in the two settings studied, are a manifestation of an ecological modernization that ignores aspects of justice and self-determination. Although touted as a solution to mitigating climate change, wind energy development in these two cases violates international law and the principle of self-determination.

Denudation of the Golan Heights basaltic terrain using in-situ 36Cl and OSL dating

While erosion rates of carbonates along the Dead Sea fault (DSF) and its margins have been determined in several studies, information about denudation of basalts along the DSF are absent. Here we report concentrations of in situ cosmogenic 36Cl in bedrock and sediment samples combined with OSL ages of terraces from the Meshushim basin, a typical basaltic basin in the Golan Heights, northern Dead Sea Rift (DSR).Denudation rates of exposed and soil-covered bedrock basalts, range from 12.3 ± 1.4 mm/ka to 176.1 ± 47.4 mm/ka, well within the range of DSR values, regardless of lithology and climate. In all locations where exposed and soil-covered bedrock were samples next to each other, the soil-covered basalt erodes faster. This is regardless of notable variations in average annual temperature and precipitation. This means that bedrock outcrops were not covered and exposed very frequently, and that chemical weathering at the bedrock-soil interface is a significant erosional factor.Sediments in the Meshushim basin are stored in soil pockets and blankets on the upper plateau, colluvial material on slopes, and alluvial terraces. The difference in 36Cl concentrations between soil-covered and exposed bedrock indicates coverage duration of ca. 3–6 ka. The residence time estimate of only several thousands of years for sediments stored in alluvial terraces is 170 ± 20 y to 4000 ± 290 y. Nowhere in the Meshushim drainage system did we find evidence for storage of sediment longer than a few thousands of years.36Cl concentrations in colluvial and alluvial sediments are similar to those measured in soil-covered basalts. This similarity suggests that sub-surface weathering of basalts is the major source for sediments in upper and central segments of the basin, concurrent with the higher denudation rates of buried bedrock. However, very low 36Cl concentrations measured in samples collected in the lower parts of the basin indicate involvement of landslides which instantaneously expose previously shielded sediments that were incorporated into the drainage system. The effect of landslides is also manifested by the high basin scale denudation rates calculated from alluvial samples in various locations, as well as the geomorphological profile of the Meshushim basin. Sediment yield calculated from 36Cl concentrations measured in this study suggest temporal changes in denudation rates over the Holocene and up to the last ∼60 ka, with higher past denudation rates and sediment yield even in most of the Holocene related to present rates and yields.Overall, the results of this study show that the fact that the Golan lithology is basaltic does not result in different denudation process and rate from other locations investigated along the Dead Sea Rift, which are mostly of carbonate lithology and that relief and climate are stronger parameters than lithology in controlling denudation.

Israel's national security, the Arab position, and its complicated relations with the United States

Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has prioritized its national security in the face of several threats, including terrorism, sizeable weapons arsenals and existential nuclear risks. Ehud Eilam's new book provides a meticulous analysis of Israel's national security challenges in the last decade. The author tackles issues ranging from Iran's nuclear programme, Hezbollah's rockets and missiles and Egypt's internal affairs. The book is divided into nine chapters, beginning with a study of Israel's troubled relationship with Iran. Then, the author turns to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), analysing their military strategies towards Hamas and Hezbollah. The remainder of the chapters explore, in turn: the civil war in Syria; the issue of the Golan Heights; Egypt's economic problems; Egyptian relations with the United States; and the question of a Palestinian state. Tracing the history of the Iranian–Israeli conflict from its start in 1979, Eilam argues that ‘Iran's nuclear project is the most important challenge Israel has been facing in recent decades’ (p. 11). As the author explains, Iran has three main goals that would be detrimental to Israeli interests and that would foster regional instability: to expel the US from the Middle East; to overthrow the governments of Arab states and replace them with pro-Iranian leaders; and to destroy Israel. Eilam emphasizes how Israel tries to handle the Iran question with US support. However, both the Obama and the Trump administrations, as well as that of the current US President Joe Biden, have been reluctant to attack Iran's nuclear sites or let Israel carry out those operations on its own. Additionally, stressing the IDF's success in high-intensity wars against Arab militaries in the past, Eilam illustrates ‘how the IDF plans to gain a fast victory over its elusive and well-armed foes’—pro-Iranian groups like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah (p. 39). According to Eilam, such a victory for the IDF will ‘reduce both the casualties and the damages Israel will absorb’ and ‘creates deterrence, which could postpone the next war’ (p. 40).

Ari Folman’s Made in Israel (2001): Traces of Trauma in the Israeli Cinema Landscape

In the Israeli collective memory, the Yom Kippur’s battles in the Golan Heights have become synonymous with a long lasting national scar that fails to disappear. Interestingly, until the release of Yaron Zilberman’s recent television series Valley of Tears (She’at Ne’Ila, 2020), this war, which was traditionally associated with the pictured northern landscape, had appeared in few documentaries, but was almost absent from Israeli feature films. This article analyzes one of the very few attempts to deal with this memory, Ari Folman’s feature film Made in Israel (2001). Using a science fiction narrative structure, Folman adopts historian Anita Shapira’s contention about the link between this war and the Holocaust, because both confronted the Jewish people with its fear of extermination. His narrative invites the viewer to participate imaginatively in a road movie set against the snow-covered landscapes of the Golan Heights, where a number of hitmen attempt to catch the last surviving Nazi and bring him to trial in Jerusalem. Interestingly, what begins as a Zionist mission in the hegemonic spaces of the State of Israel gradually transforms into various European landscapes as the snow piles up and the Nazi feels increasingly at home.