Building in the Golan
Photo: Efi Sharir
New resident: No gov't will return Golan to Syria
Rivka and Eyal Harel are one of many recent families moving to Golan Heights. Rivka explains 'higher quality of living' drew them north
Construction continues in the Golan, despite media reports, which were denied Tuesday by the Prime Minister, of contact between Israel and Syria as a prelude to peace. An agreement would be based on an Israeli withdrawal to June 4 1967 borders, with Syrian areas in the Golan demilitarized and a park created to protect water sources.
According to the Golan Regional Council,12,000 residents live in 32 small towns in the area, and more than 6,500 live in Katzrin. Since 2001, 1,150 new families have moved to the Golan Heights.
Among the families choosing to relocate to the region is the Harel family, who moved from Rishon Letzion to Kfar Haruv in the southern Golan heights. Rivka and Eyal, along with their three children: Hila (8), Ziv (5), and Nitzan (1 month), are renting a home as they wait for their house to be built.
Rivka Harel with baby Nitzan (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
Rivka isn't concerned about reports of a possible retreat from the Golan Heights. "The older residents also have the feeling that this is a wave of unfounded rumors. They went through the same thing in the 90s with Yitzhak Rabin."
"This is a strategic piece of land, which helps control the water sources and the towns of the northern Galilee, and I don't see any government choosing to endanger the lives of its citizens and returning the whole of the Golan Heights to Syria," she said.
Live in the Golan, work in Herzliya
The Harel family decided to leave everything behind and move to the Golan after ten years of marriage. Rivka worked at an insurance agency in central Israel and her husband works in a large photography company in Herzliya.
Rivka spoke of their decision, saying "it was completely our choice. Our family and close friends didn't understand us. When they asked us 'what will you do there?' we answered, 'If need be, we'll pick apples'."
"It's not that things were bad in central Israel, and we got along very well in Rishon Letzion, but we wanted something better and the Golan was that place."
A month ago, a son was born to the couple and in a few months, Rivka will look for employment in the north. In the meantime, Eyal continues to commute to Herzliya and comes home up north only a few nights of the week.
"I'm sure that, with time, we'll be able to relocate our jobs to the Golan, and that, in addition to the better education system, sense of community and quality of living, there'll be good employment opportunities in the region," Rivka said.
In the first days following the move, Rivka couldn't believe that she and another family from central Israel would acclimate to the different northern atmosphere, after the fast pace of living in central Israel.
"There aren't malls and there aren't a lot of friends yet for the children, but there's a lot of warmth and love and things for them to do after school. You can go for walks… and everyone you meet smiles at you and says hello, even if he doesn't know you" she said.
"In central Israel, you don't find that kind of atmosphere. For many, it sounds like an adventure, but I can say with confidence…that this was one of the best things that Eyal and I did," Rivka declared.
"We didn't just do it for us. We did it mainly for our children," she added,
