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Coordinates: 33°16′N 35°46′E / 33.267°N 35.767°E / 33.267; 35.767
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{{Short description|Town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights}}
{{Short description|Druze town in the northern Golan Heights}}
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{{Pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement

Revision as of 06:48, 28 July 2024

Majdal Shams
مجدل شمس‎
מג'דל שמס‎
Town
Majdal Shams in May 2009
Majdal Shams in May 2009
Majdal Shams is located in the Golan Heights
Majdal Shams
Majdal Shams
Majdal Shams is located in Syria
Majdal Shams
Majdal Shams
Majdal Shams is located in the Golan Heights
Majdal Shams
Majdal Shams
Coordinates: 33°16′N 35°46′E / 33.267°N 35.767°E / 33.267; 35.767
CountryIsraeli-annexed Syrian territory
District (Israel)Northern District
Subdistrict (Israel)Golan Subdistrict
Governorate (Syria)Quneitra Governorate
District (Syria)Quneitra District
Elevation
1,130 m (3,710 ft)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total
11,458
Websitehttps://www.majdal.co.il/
Founded either at the end of the 16th, or during the 18th century[2]

Majdal Shams (Template:Lang-ar; Template:Lang-he) is a predominantly Druze town in the Golan Heights,[3][4] located in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. It is known as the informal "capital" of the region.

Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, Majdal Shams has been controlled by Israel, although the international community recognizes it (along with the rest of the Golan Heights) as part of Syria.[5] It was initially administered under the Israeli Military Governorate, but was incorporated into Israel's system of local councils after the Knesset ratified the Golan Heights Law in 1981, effectively annexing the territory in a move that has been officially recognized only by the United States, which did so through a March 2019 presidential proclamation.

Of the four remaining Syrian Druze communities in the Israeli-occupied territories (on Israel's side of Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights), Majdal Shams is the largest,[6] together with Ein Qiniyye, Mas'ade, and Buq'ata. Although they are administratively lumped together, a distinction is made between the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon geologically and geographically, with their boundary being marked by the Sa'ar Stream. Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye are on the boundary's Hermon side, and thus sitting on limestone, while Buq'ata and Mas'ade are on the boundary's Golan side, which is characterized by black volcanic rock (i.e., basalt).

Etymology

The name "Majdal Shams" originates from Aramaic, meaning: "tower of sun" in reference (possibly) to the town's elevation.[7] Another hypothesis suggests that the town was originally called Majdal al-Sham (Majdal of Damascus) to distinguish it from the towns of al-Majdal on the Mediterranean Coast and al-Majdal on the Sea of Galilee.[8]

History

Ottoman Empire

According to one version, Majdal Shams was established in 1595 by Druze warlord Fakhr-al-Din II, in order to strengthen Druze presence in the Hermon mount. Another version says that the Druze families began to settle on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon in the early 18th century.[2] By the late 19th century, Majdal Shams was an important regional center and home of the local Ottoman administrator (Mudir).[9] In times of strife, residents of the surrounding villages travelled to Majdal Shams for safety because of the village's elevation and proximity to a major water source at Birkat Ram. During the winter of 1895, for example, Druze residents of neighboring communities sheltered in Majdal Shams during a local conflict between irregular Druze and Circassian militias.[10]

The Swiss traveler Burckhardt visited Majdal Shams in 1810.[11] He described the village, which he called Medjel, as situated on a small plain high up in the mountains, with a population of Druzes and four or five Christian families.[11] W. M. Thomson reported that in 1846, the large village "Mejdel es Shems, [was] inhabited by Druses, a fierce, warlike race, sufficiently numerous to keep the Bedawîn Arabs at a respectful distance."[12] In 1870, missionaries associated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America opened a school and church in the town. The mission school operated until 1885, when it was closed by Turkish authorities.[13] Majdal Shams also attracted foreign geologists such as William Libbey because of the town's proximity to an exposed strata of Jurassic period fossils.[14] Fossils excavated at Majdal Shams were acquired by the American University of Beirut and Harvard University.[15]

Some travelers wrote vivid descriptions of Majdal Shams. Herbert Rix visited the town around 1907, and commented that "The whole place swarms with children, and many of them are so pretty that the traveller is at first greatly attracted to them."[16] James Kean, who wrote about the town in the 1890s, described Majdal Shams as a "remarkable village" and noted that it was "famous for the manufacture of steel blades."[17] Workshops in Majdal Shams continued to make souvenir daggers for European tourists until the 1950s.[18]

French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon

Further information: Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
Majdal Shams in winter

Majdal Shams played a significant role in the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925–1927. In October 1925, a few months after Syrian Druze had begun fighting French forces in the nearby province of Jabal al-Duruz, a group of the town's Druze residents looted local Christian property. Mandate authorities sent troops to restore order, and community leaders contacted the central command of the revolt for assistance defending the town against the French.[19] In response, rebel leader Zaid al-Atrash (brother of Sultan al-Atrash) led a force of 1,000 men to Majdal Shams. Zaid al-Atrash drove French troops from the area and established a rebel garrison in Majdal Shams to guard the road between Damascus and Marjayoun.[20] The garrison housed up to 10,000 rebels until April 1926, when French forces launched a renewed attack on the town. During the assault, French soldiers destroyed much of Majdal Shams and killed approximately 80 residents of the town.[21]

Beginning in the 1930s, Majdal Shams residents and community leaders became involved in political developments in nearby Mandatory Palestine. During the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine, traditional leader Assad Kanj Abu Salah proposed forming a local militia to assist the rebels. The plan did not come to fruition; according to conflicting accounts, the militia never formed, or engaged in only a single symbolic attack on the Syria-Palestine border.[22]

Syrian Arab Republic

During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Abu Salah's son Sultan formed a militia of 300 local men. The militia offered to serve as paid mercenaries for Zionist forces, but later volunteered with Palestinian and Arab forces.[23]

Majdal Shams was integrated into economic networks that extended into Lebanon and other parts of Syria. The town traded local grapes for olives grown in Fiq, 50 kilometers to the south.[24] Men from Majdal Shams harvested cedar wood in Lebanon, which they manufactured into plows and sold in as-Suwayda.[25] In the 1950s, some local residents travelled to Lebanon to work in construction.[26]

Residents of Majdal Shams received access to Syrian state services. By the 1960s, there was a public elementary school in Majdal Shams. Residents attended the regional high school and registered marriages at the court in Quneitra.[27] These institutions served to integrate the community into the broader region and state.

Arab–Israeli conflict

A UNDOF Toyota Land Cruiser parked off Highway 98 near Majdal Shams, displaying UNDOF plates and a UN flag, January 2012
The barrier between the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights and Syrian controlled territory

Since the June 1967 Six-Day War, Majdal Shams has been under Israeli control.[5]

During the 1967 Six Day War, residents of the nearby towns of 'Ayn Fit, Banias, Jubata ez-Zeit, and Za'ura took shelter in Majdal Shams. After Israeli forces had secured the area, soldiers forced refugees across the ceasefire line into Syrian controlled territory, but permitted residents of Majdal Shams and a few other communities to remain in their homes.[28] As Israel and Syria fortified the ceasefire line, which ran along the eastern edge of Majdal Shams, the community was isolated from the rest of Syria. Many residents were separated from their relatives living or working in Syrian-controlled territory—as many as 50% from at least one sibling, parent, or child.[29]

Majdal Shams retained close ties to Syria. Residents frequently gathered at the eastern edge of the village with bullhorns to shout messages to friends and relatives on the Syrian side of the ceasefire line.[30] Through the 1970s, and often later, many households refused to pay taxes to the state of Israel.[31] In 1981, when the Israeli Knesset formally extended Israeli law to the Golan Heights and offered Israeli citizenship to residents of Majdal Shams, the community staged a 19-week general strike in protest. Although Israeli troops blockaded the town and attempted to force residents to accept citizen identification cards, the protesters succeeded in convincing the state to classify members of the community as non-citizens. Residents retained the right to apply for Israeli citizenship individually.[32]

During the 1970s, a few residents of Majdal Shams received permission to cross the ceasefire line into Syrian-controlled territory, either to rejoin relatives or attend university in Damascus.[33] During the 1990s, large numbers of residents began to receive permission to cross the ceasefire line to conduct religious pilgrimages or attend university. A small number of women also applied to cross the ceasefire line and marry Syrian men.[34] This crossing program was the subject of the film The Syrian Bride. Israel appoints the teachers in Majdal Shams, prohibiting pro-Syrian views in schools.[35] Israel also appoints the local council and have imprisoned residents that protested.[35]

On 27 July 2024, an attack on Majdal Shams hitting a soccer field killed at least twelve civilians and injured at least 34 more.[36]

Geography

Climate

Majdal Shams has a Mediterranean climate (Csa/Csb), with an average annual precipitation of 817 millimetres (32.2 in). Summers are warm and dry and winters are chilly and wetter, with the possibility of snowfall.

Climate data for Majdal Shams
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 8.2
(46.8) 		9.5
(49.1) 		12.9
(55.2) 		17.3
(63.1) 		22.3
(72.1) 		25.7
(78.3) 		27.3
(81.1) 		27.8
(82.0) 		25.7
(78.3) 		22.3
(72.1) 		16.6
(61.9) 		10.7
(51.3) 		18.9
(65.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5
(41) 		5.9
(42.6) 		8.8
(47.8) 		12.6
(54.7) 		16.9
(62.4) 		20.1
(68.2) 		21.9
(71.4) 		22.3
(72.1) 		20.2
(68.4) 		17.1
(62.8) 		12.4
(54.3) 		7.5
(45.5) 		14.2
(57.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.9
(35.4) 		2.6
(36.7) 		4.7
(40.5) 		8.0
(46.4) 		11.5
(52.7) 		14.5
(58.1) 		16.6
(61.9) 		16.9
(62.4) 		14.8
(58.6) 		11.9
(53.4) 		8.2
(46.8) 		4.3
(39.7) 		9.7
(49.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 191
(7.5) 		163
(6.4) 		124
(4.9) 		46
(1.8) 		22
(0.9) 		1
(0.0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		2
(0.1) 		22
(0.9) 		81
(3.2) 		165
(6.5) 		817
(32.2)
Source: Climate-data.org[37]

Demography

Further information: Druze in Israel
Druze attend a Christian funeral in Majdal Shams

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, Majdal Shams's population was 11,458 in 2022. The population growth rate is 2.5%. The ratio between men and women is 951 women for every 1,000 men. Most of the town's residents are Druze, but a few Christians remain of a much larger community that left the town in the 1940s and 1950s.[38][39][40]

The inhabitants of Majdal Shams are considered Syrian citizens by the Syrian authorities. Since 1981 they have also been considered permanent residents of Israel. While they are entitled to full Israeli citizenship, as of 2011 only 10 percent of the Golan Druze had opted to become Israeli citizens.[41] However, the number of Druze who took Israeli citizenship jumped to over 20% by 2018 and is still rising.[42][43] Those who apply for Israeli citizenship are entitled to vote, run for Knesset and receive an Israeli passport. For foreign travel, non-citizens are issued a laissez passer by the Israeli authorities. As Israel does not recognize their Syrian citizenship, they are defined in Israeli records as "residents of the Golan Heights." Residents of Majdal Shams are not drafted by the Israel Defense Forces.[44]

As permanent residents, Majdal Shams inhabitants are free to work and study in Israel and are entitled to state services such as Kupat Holim health insurance. They are also free to move at will and live anywhere they choose in Israel.[41] Many residents have kept in contact with their relatives in Syria and travel there to visit family or study. Damascus University is open to them free of charge.[41]

Economy

Golan Heights cherries

The town is surrounded by apple and cherry orchards.[5] Villagers sold their apples to Syria despite the closed border. However, the Syrian civil war has halted this trade, forcing local growers to sell their apples in Israel, where they struggle to compete with market prices. As a result, some farmers have diversified their crops, planting vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, okra, and black-eyed peas.[45]

Local tourism is a another major source of income.[46] Tourists often visit the village to experience its unique cultural and gastronomic offerings. The scenic landscape, characterized by rows of apple and cherry trees interspersed with vegetable plots, provides a picturesque backdrop for agritourism. Visitors can explore the orchards, participate in fruit picking, and enjoy the local produce.[45]

Landmarks

One kilometer east of the town center is Shouting Hill, where residents used to line up with bullhorns to make small-talk with relatives on the Syrian controlled side before the advent of cellphones.[41]

Culture

Majdal Shams has a thriving arts scene. Local bands like Toot Ard[47][48] and Hawa Dafi have toured internationally. Local visual artists are supported by the Fateh Mudarris Center for Arts and Culture.[citation needed]

Majdal Shams was featured in the award-winning 2004 Israeli film The Syrian Bride.

The town is home to several non-governmental organizations, including Golan for the Development of the Arab Villages,[citation needed] and Al-Marsad: Arab Human Rights Center in Golan Heights.[49]

Cuisine

Druze cuisine in Majdal Shams

Majdal Shams is known for Druze cuisine that blends regional ingredients with traditional recipes. Key elements include bulgur and freekeh, produced at Said Ibrahim’s mill, and kishk, a fermented milk product made from bulgur and goat's milk yogurt used in winter soups. Abu Jabel’s factory specializes in knafeh, a dessert featuring kadaif noodles, cheese, sugar syrup, and pistachios.[50]

See also

Media related to Majdal Shams at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b Fadwa N. Kirrish, “Druze Ethnicity in the Golan Heights: the Interface of Religion and Politics,” Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs 13.1 (1992): 126
  3. ^ Algemeiner, The (2024-07-27). "10 Dead, Many in Critical Condition After Hezbollah Rocket Hits Soccer Field in Druze Town - Algemeiner.com". www.algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  4. ^ Keller-Lyne, Carrie (2024-07-27). "Deadly Rocket Strike on Soccer Field Raises Risk of Escalation with Hezbollah". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ a b c "Golan Druze celebrate across barbed wire". BBC News. April 18, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  6. ^ Neuman, T. (2018). Settling Hebron: Jewish Fundamentalism in a Palestinian City. The Ethnography of Political Violence. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8122-4995-8. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  7. ^ هوية الجولان من خلال أسماء قراه وبلداته (in Arabic). The Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  8. ^ Herbert Rix, Tent and Testament: A Camping Tour in Palestine with Some Notes on Scripture Sites (London: Williams and Norgate, 1907), 98
  9. ^ G. Schumacher, The Jaulan: Surveyed for the German Society for the Exploration of the Holy Land (London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1888): 10
  10. ^ Drummond Hay, “Despatch No. 76 from Mr. Drummond Hay, Consul-General, Beyrout, to SirPhilip Currie, British Ambassador, Constantinople, 6 December 1895, regarding the fears of the Druzes of Mount Hermon of an attack by the Circassians and Kurds,” in Bejtullah Destani ed., Minorities in the Middle East, Druze Communities 1840-1974, Volume 3: 1866-1926 (London: Archive Editions, 2006): 192-194
  11. ^ a b John Lewis Burckhardt (1822). Travels in Syria and the Holy Land. London: John Murray. p. 45.
  12. ^ W. M. Thomson (1861). The Land and the Book. London: T Nelson and Sons. p. 241.
  13. ^ Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 8, 1885 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1886): 836-839
  14. ^ William Libbey and Franklin E. Hoskins, The Jordan Valley and Petra II (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1905): 353
  15. ^ Charles E. Hamlin, "Results of an Examination of Syrian Molluscan Fossils, Chiefly from the Range of Mount Lebanon," Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Geology at Harvard College 10.3 (April 1884).
  16. ^ Herbert Rix, Tent and Testament: A Camping Tour in Palestine with Some Notes on Scripture Sites (London: Williams and Norgate, 1907): 98
  17. ^ James Kean, Among the Holy Places: A Pilgrimage Through Palestine (London: T.F. Unwin, 1895): 290-294
  18. ^ Munir Fakher Eldin, “Art and Colonial Modernityin the Occupied Golan Heights” (Lecture, Fatah Mudarris Center, Majdal Shams,28 June 2012)
  19. ^ Lenka Bokova, Laconfrontation franco-syrienne à l’époque du mandat, 1925–1927 (Paris: Editions L'Harmattan, 1990), 220–221
  20. ^ Bokova, La confrontation, 223
  21. ^ Tayseer Mara'i and Usama R. Halabi, "Life Under Occupation in the Golan Heights," Journal of Palestine Studies 22.1 (Autumn 1992), 78–93; Hassan Khater, Monument to the Maryrs of the Great Syrian Revolt, 1925, Buq’ātha, Golan Heights
  22. ^ Laila Parsons, The Druze Between Palestine and Israel, 1947–49 (New York: St.Martin's Press, 2000): 31; Yoav Gelber, "Druze and Jews in the War of 1948," Middle Eastern Studies 31.2 (April 1995): 234
  23. ^ Gelber, "Druze and Jews": 233; Kais M. Firro, The Druzes in the Jewish State: A Brief History (Brill: Leiden, 1999): 43–44
  24. ^ Sakr Abu Fakhr, "Voices from the Golan," Journal ofPalestine Studies 29.4 (August 2000): 9
  25. ^ Abu Fakhr, "Voices": 14
  26. ^ Munir Fakher Eldin, "Art and Colonial Modernity in the Occupied Golan Heights" (Lecture, Fatah Mudarris Center, Majdal Shams, 28 June 2012)
  27. ^ Aharon Layish, Marriage, Divorce and Succession in the Druze Family: A Study Based on Decisions of Druze Arbitrators and Religious Courts in Israel and the Golan Heights (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1982): 36; Sakr Abu Fakhr, "Voices from the Golan," Journal of Palestine Studies 29.4 (August 2000): 15
  28. ^ Tayseer Mara’i and Usama R. Halabi, “Life Under Occupation in the Golan Heights,” Journal of Palestine Studies 22.1 (Autumn 1992): 79
  29. ^ Peter Ford, “Families Long for an End to Shouting,” Christian Science Monitor (27 October 1992): 7
  30. ^ Hannah Russell ed., Breaking Down the Fence: Addressing the Illegality of Family Separation in the Occupied Syrian Golan (Majdal Shams: Al-Marsad, The Arab Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan, 2010).
  31. ^ Felicia Langer, With My Own Eyes: Israel and the Occupied Territories 1967-1973 (London: Ithaca Press, 1975): 118-119
  32. ^ The Bitter Year: Arabs Under Israeli Occupation in 1982 (Washington, D.C.:Arab-American Anti Discrimmination Committee, 1983): 16
  33. ^ Hannah Russell ed., Breaking Down the Fence: Addressing the Illegality of Family Separation in the Occupied Syrian Golan (Majdal Shams: Al-Marsad, The Arab Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan, 2010):49; Bashar Tarabieh, “Education, Control, and Resistance in the Golan Heights,” Middle East Report 195/195 (May–August 1995): 44
  34. ^ Bashar Tarabieh, “The Syrian Community on the Golan Heights,” The Link 33.2 (April–May 2000): 8
  35. ^ a b Gurtler, Amy; Haiman, Simmons; Haiman, Caroline (April 2010). "SYRIAN-ISRAELI PEACE IN THE GOLAN: NO WALK IN THE PARK" (PDF). The Institute for Middle East Studies: 17. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  36. ^ "10 children and teenagers killed from rocket hit on football field". www.israelhayom.com. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  37. ^ "Climate: Majdal al-Shams". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  38. ^ Fadwa N. Kirrish, "Druze Ethnicity in the Golan Heights: The Interface of Religion and Politics," Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs 13.1 (1992), 122-135
  39. ^ "Last Christians of Israeli-controlled Golan Heights endure". Arab News. 30 June 2017.
  40. ^ "Last Christians of Israeli-controlled Golan Heights endure". France24. 30 June 2017.
  41. ^ a b c d Kershner, Isabel (21 May 2011). "In the Golan Heights, Anxious Eyes Look East". The New York Times.
  42. ^ "For the Druze in the Golan Heights, the Syrian Civil War Opened a New Door to Israel". Haaretz.
  43. ^ Amun, Fadi (2022-09-03). "As ties to Syria fade, Golan Druze increasingly turning to Israel for citizenship". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
  44. ^ "Religious Freedoms: Druze". The Israel Project. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012.
  45. ^ a b "24 Hours in Majdal Shams". Haaretz. September 16, 2016.
  46. ^ Majdal Shams residents unhappy with Syria infiltration attempts, Haaretz
  47. ^ Uri Zer Aviv (September 27, 2011). "Music That Straddles the Jamaica-Algeria 'Border', Live From the Golan Heights". Haaretz.
  48. ^ Joe Gill (August 31, 2017). "Straight out of Golan: The roots rockers bringing Arab groove to the UK". Middle East Eye.
  49. ^ "Al-Marsad: Arab Human Rights Center in Golan Heights".
  50. ^ Kessler, Dana (November 15, 2019). "A Taste of Druze Cuisine". Tablet Magazine.

Notes

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