Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country will show its gratitude for President Trump’s recognition of Israel sovereignty in the Golan Heights by naming a city in his honor.
Netanyahu made the announcement to the media while visiting Mount Hermon in the Golan this week.
“I will call a settlement or a town on the Golan Heights for Donald Trump. I’ll bring this soon for approval by the cabinet.”
I’m here on the beautiful Golan Heights. All Israelis were deeply moved when President Trump made his historic decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. pic.twitter.com/ikgZhA01lt
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) April 23, 2019
Netanyahu added, “I am here with my family and many Israelis on the foothills of the Golan Heights delighting in the true joy of the holiday and the beauty of this country. And there is more to celebrate – several weeks ago I was able to bring official recognition by President Donald Trump who recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights for eternity. We must express our appreciation by calling the name of a settlement or town on the Golan Heights for Donald Trump. I’ll deal with that soon.”
Trump became the first world leader to recognize Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights in 1981. Coincidentally (or not), Trump’s announcement of his intention to recognize Israeli sovereignty came on the Jewish holiday of Purim. One day later, the Mueller report exonerating him came one day later.
The president’s last name is not a Hebrew word and the transliteration is problematic. Nonetheless, several names (Trumponyms?) have already been suggested, including in an article for The Jerusalem Post, which suggested the new town be called Kiryat (the place of) Trump.
Breaking Israel News asked residents of the region and received some creative responses, some more serious than others. Samantha Raich suggested honoring the First-Lady by renaming the entire region “Golania Heights.” Shimshon Cook, a local tour guide, suggested “Trumpistan.”
With all of his pro-Israel resolutions and the reciprocal acts of gratitude, the U.S. president will feel very much at home on his next visit to Israel. In appreciation of his 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel, the Israeli government announced they will a proposed train station near the Temple Mount after him.
The Israeli Golan Heights comprise approximately 440 square miles. In addition to its strategic military importance, the Golan Heights is an important water resource, supplying 15 percent of Israel’s water. There are approximately 20,000 Israelis living in the Golan. An additional 20,000 residents, mostly Druze, also live in the region.
Israel suffered from artillery attacks targeting civilian settlements in the Galilee region for years along with Syrian-aided attacks by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The decision to conquer the Golan came after Syria began instituting a plan to divert most of the water flowing into the Sea of Galilee, denying Israel a major water source in contravention of international agreements. Israel conquered the Golan in the 1967 Six-Day War.
During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan, before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all the Heights in Israeli hands. In 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, effectively annexing the Golan Heights. An article in JPost pointed out ironically that Israel has ruled over the Golan for more than twice as long as the Syrian government.
