Trump Heights

Coordinates: 33°7′57″N 35°41′26″E / 33.13250°N 35.69056°E / 33.13250; 35.69056
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Trump Heights
רמת טראמפ‎
The sign at the entrance to the settlement
The sign at the entrance to the settlement
Trump Heights is located in the Golan Heights
Trump Heights
Trump Heights
Trump Heights is located in the Golan Heights
Trump Heights
Trump Heights
Coordinates: 33°7′57″N 35°41′26″E / 33.13250°N 35.69056°E / 33.13250; 35.69056
DistrictNorthern
CouncilGolan
RegionGolan Heights
Founded2019

Trump Heights (Hebrew: רמת טראמפ, romanized: Ramat Trump, [ʁaˈmat ˈtʁamp]) is a planned Israeli settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights named after and in honour of Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States.[1][2][3][4] Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights are widely regarded as illegal under international law; however, the Israeli government disputes this.[5][6]

It will be under the jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council.[7] It is the first community in Israel and Israeli-occupied territories named after a sitting American president since Kfar Truman.[8][9]

Location

The settlement is located near the community of Kela Alon,[10] where the Beruchim community, which was founded in 1991, was located.[11] The area of the settlement of Beruchim was planned for future expansion of the settlement of Kela Alon, and is inhabited by a few residents.[12]

The settlement is very close to the Petroleum Road. This route separates Beruchim / Ramat Trump from East, and Kela Alon to the west of it.[citation needed]

History

The Golan Eagle honoring President Trump - Trump Heights, Golan.[13]

A kibbutz was established in the area in the 1980s. However, it disassembled after a few years.[14] In 1991, an Israeli settlement called Brukhim was established on the land of the future Trump Heights. It failed to attract many residents.[15] Brukhim had ten residents as of 2019.[12][6]

The government of Israel convened on June 16, 2019, at the planned location in the depopulated settlement of Brukhim, very close to Kela Alon in the north-west of the Golan Heights, and declared the establishment of the new settlement as gratitude to Donald Trump for support for Israel and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.[16][17][18]

The settlement did not yet have any funding at the time of its announced establishment.[19][20] Due to this, it was met with criticism by then-opposition leaders in Israel. Zvi Hauser called it a "dummy-resolution".[20] In Axios, it was referred to as a "public relations stunt".[19] Gideon Remez later referred to the settlement as a Potemkin village.[21] However, the Ministry of Construction entered the preliminary planning stage at this time.[19]

In the first stage, 110 housing units were planned,[7][10] with the regional council planning as many as 400 homes in the area in the long term.[22] The population of the community was planned to consist of both religious and secular settlers.[23] On August 6, 2019, the National Planning and Building Council approved the establishment of the new settlement.[24] A pre-military mechina boarding school was inaugurated in the settlement on November 7, 2019,[9] and it was reportedly attended by a community of teenagers by October 2020.[25] As of June 2020, construction of housing had not begun.[14] At that time, all but two letters of the entrance sign had been removed by either vandals or rough weather.[14][26] However, the sign was restored by January 2021.[27][28]

In June 2020, Israel's government approved 8 million Israeli new shekels (about 2.3 million in US dollars) in funding for the Trump Heights settlement.[29][30] On July 4, 2020,[citation needed] a major sculptural memorial was placed adjacent to the entrance to Trump Heights, honoring President Donald J. Trump. It depicts an eagle in front of a menorah.[31][32] Settlers began arriving in April 2021,[33] with as many as twenty families having been expected to arrive that summer.[27]

Economy

The main economic sectors of the region are agriculture and tourism.[6][14] The immediate area reportedly experienced an increase in tourism after the Trump Heights settlement was announced.[34]

Geography

The planned settlement area for Trump Heights consists of about 276 dunams (about 68 acres).[35][36] It is about 670 meters (~2,200 feet) above sea level.[37] The surrounding area has been described as a "largely treeless" volcanic plateau,[37][22] with tall grass and stray land mines.[6][22]

The settlement is about 45 minutes from a hospital in Safed,[14] and 30 minutes from a market in Kiryat Shmona.[14][38] It is about 64.4 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Damascus, Syria,[39] and 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the armistice line with Syria.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ Keinon, Herb (17 June 2019). "Trump thanks Netanyahu as sign for 'Trump Heights' goes up on Golan". The Jerusalem Post.
  2. ^ "Israel unveils 'Trump Heights' in Golan". BBC News. 16 June 2019.
  3. ^ Aleem, Zeeshan (16 June 2019). "Benjamin Netanyahu just unveiled Israel's newest town: "Trump Heights"". Vox.
  4. ^ EDT, Jason Lemon (16 June 2019). "Israel officially renames Golan Heights settlement after President Donald Trump". Newsweek.
  5. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC. 10 December 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d Zion, Ilan Ben (16 June 2019). "Israel moves to name Golan settlement after Trump". The Associated Press. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b Oster, Marcy (16 June 2019). "Sign unveiled for Trump Heights community in the Golan Heights". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  8. ^ Hjelmgaard, Kim (16 September 2019). "Israel settlements: Donald Trump proves he's the 'King of Israel'". USA Today. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b Liphshiz, Cnaan (8 November 2019). "Israel's Trump Heights gets its first inhabitants". The Times of Israel. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  10. ^ a b Bybelezer, Charles (16 June 2019). "Welcome to Trump Heights, Population: Israelis". The Media Line. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  11. ^ Hashmonai, Adi (24 May 2019). "Israel prepares to break ground on new 'Trump city'". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b Smith, Saphora; Factor, Yael; Jabari, Lawahez (16 September 2019). "Meet the future residents of Trump Heights, Israel's tribute to U.S. support". NBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  13. ^ https://www.facebook.com/boaz.kokia/videos/838833634184409/?d=w [user-generated source]
  14. ^ a b c d e f Ilan Ben Zion (16 June 2020). "One year later, is the Golan's desolate 'Trump Heights' a 'hoax'?". The Forward.
  15. ^ "Trump Heights, Binyamin Netanyahu's tribute to America's president". The Economist. 22 June 2019.
  16. ^ Eglash, Ruth (16 June 2019). "Netanyahu inaugurates Trump Heights, Israel's newest town on the Golan Heights". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  17. ^ Renshon, Stanley A.; Suedfeld, Peter (2020-08-27). The Trump Doctrine and the Emerging International System. Springer Nature. p. 301. ISBN 978-3-030-45050-2.
  18. ^ Eric Bander, "רמת טראמפ": היישוב החדש על שם נשיא ארה"ב ברמת הגולן, on Maariv website (In Hebrew), 13 June 2019
  19. ^ a b c Ravid, Barak; Perano, Ursula (16 June 2019). "Israel's Netanyahu inaugurates non-existent 'Trump Heights' town in the Golan". Axios. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  20. ^ a b c Amichay, Rami (16 June 2019). "Israel launches 'Trump Heights' on Golan, but construction may lag". Reuters. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  21. ^ Remez, Gideon (2021-01-02). ""But He Was Good for Israel, Wasn't He?" A Reassessment of the Jewish State's Embrace of Donald Trump". Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. 15 (1). World Jewish Congress; Israel Council on Foreign Relations: 21–39. doi:10.1080/23739770.2021.1904624. ISSN 2373-9770. S2CID 235748101.
  22. ^ a b c Holmes, Oliver; Kierszenbaum, Quique (17 June 2019). "'Trump Heights': Israeli settlement in Golan named after US president". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  23. ^ "New Golan neighborhood to be named 'Trump Heights'". Jewish News Syndicate. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  24. ^ שניידר, טל (6 August 2019). "המועצה הארצית אישרה את הקמת "רמת טראמפ"". Globes.
  25. ^ "'Trump Heights' a Symbol of US Shift on Mideast Policy". Courthouse News Service. Agence France-Presse. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Sign for Golan community named after Trump stripped of letters". The Times of Israel. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  27. ^ a b Lubell, Maayan; Ayyub, Rami (20 January 2021). "Analysis: What will survive of U.S.-Middle East policy under Biden?". Reuters. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  28. ^ Frantzman, Seth J. (4 February 2021). "The Golan during lockdown: From Trump Heights to snowy Hermon". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Israel approves 'Trump Heights' settlement". Deutsche Welle. 14 June 2020.
  30. ^ Goldman, Paul; van Hagen, Isobel (14 June 2020). "Israel approves funding for new 'Trump Heights' settlement". NBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  31. ^ Klinger, Jerry (17 July 2020). "Thank you, President Trump Ani Modeh Lecha". The Times of Israel (The Blogs). Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  32. ^ Sokol, Sam (13 January 2021). "Despite his US scandals, construction continues on Israeli town named after Donald Trump". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  33. ^ "Meet Trump Heights' first family: The Biebers". The Jerusalem Post. April 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  34. ^ Krämer, Tania (16 June 2019). "A visit to Trump town in Golan Heights". Deutsche Welle. YouTube. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  35. ^ Yalon, Yori (15 December 2021). "Trump Heights passes one more hurdle on way to Golan Heights construction". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  36. ^ Lis, Jonathan (14 December 2021). "Israeli Minister Shaked: Progress on 'Trump Heights' Settlement in Golan". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  37. ^ a b Kadinsky, Sergey (19 June 2019). "Ramat Trump On The Edge Of Israel". Queens Jewish Link. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  38. ^ Garcia, Catherine (16 June 2019). "Israel hopes more people will move to the tiny, newly-renamed settlement Trump Heights". The Week. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  39. ^ Margalit, Ruth (12 January 2021). "Trump's Legacy in Israel". The New Yorker. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
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