Breaking News: First family moves into Trump Heights, the newest town in the Golan Heights

The town was named in honor of former President Trump, who was the first to recognize Israel’s legitimate possession of the Golan Heights.

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

Last week the Bieber family moved into Trump Heights, becoming the first residents of Israel’s newest town in the Golan Heights, with more families expected to arrive in the coming days.  Altogether 110 homes have already been completed, or in the process of being built.

The Golan Heights famously overlooks Israel’s main water sources, as well as populated areas.  From 1948-1967, Syria controlled the Heights and would shoot into civilian communities without provocation.  During the 1967 Six Day war, Israel liberated the Golan Heights, ending the nightmare for the Israeli schoolchildren and farmers who were easy targets for Syrian Snipers.

In 1981 Israel legally annexed the Golan Heights, applying civilian law, although most countries did not recognize it.  Many countries pressured Israel to return the Golan Heights to Syria.  Had Israel complied with these demands, today Al Qaeda, ISIS and Iran would be meters away from Israel’s northern communities and water.

On March 25, 2019, the US officially recognized Israel’s rightful possession of the land, citing Israel’s survival as a nation being largely dependent on permanent control of the Golan.  Even so, the historical Jewish connection to the land goes deeper than security.  In the Bible, this land was given by G-d to the Jewish tribe of Menashe. In Byzantine-Roman times, roughly 200 years before the advent of Islam, 34 ancient synagogues from that time have been found, though many more are believed to exist.

Today there are approximately 50,000 people living there, with close to half being Jewish and the remainder Druze.  With the US’s recognition of Israel’s right to the land, many US investors, previously weary of investing in a “disputed” zone, are sinking money into the local economy.  Israel’s goal is to have 100,000 Jews living in the Golan Heights within the next 10 years, which most consider to be an attainable goal.

Former President Trump was not the first sitting president to have a town named after him during his administration. In 1949, Kfar Trumen was established in Israel, near Israel’s airport, in honor of President Harry Trumen being the first world leader to recognize the State of Israel, which he officially did 10 minutes after Prime Minister Ben Gurion declared independence.

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here.