Forgotten Territory: The Political, Economic & Social Impact of the Israeli Occupation on the Golan Heights, Part 6: Golanese Attitudes Toward Israel

This six-part series looks into the past and present of the Syrian Golan Heights, which have been under Israeli military occupation since the 1967 war.

by A. Dillon

This article marks the sixth and final part in this on-going look at the Golan Heights. Throughout this series, various elements and effects of the Israeli government’s occupation of the Golan have been examined. Part 1 provided a brief history of the territory, with a particular focus on the northern Druze village of Majdal Shams where much of the research for this series was conducted. Parts 2-3 discussed the parallels between Israel’s occupations of the Golan Heights and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), shedding light on Israeli strategies toward occupied territories in general. Part 4 examined the unique aspects of Golanese life, taking a particular look at its relative political and material advantages as compared to life in the OPT. Part 5 discussed how the various aspects of the occupation have affected collective and individual identity within Golanese society.

Part 6 concludes this series by examining how the Golan’s unique history and contemporary dynamics have shaped Golanese attitudes towards Israel. From anger to thoughtful criticism to simple complacency, the Golanese exhibit a particularly wide range of perspectives, demonstrating that individual reactions to occupation may be far from uniform.