The Untold Story of the Golan Heights: Occupation, Colonization and Jawlani Resistance

by Michael Mason (Editor), Munir Fakher Eldin (Editor), Muna Dajani (Editor)

In 1967 Israel occupied the western section of Syria's Golan Heights, expelling 130,000 residents and leaving only a few thousand Arab inhabitants clustered in several villages. Sometimes characterised as the 'forgotten occupation', the western Golan Heights have been transformed by Israeli colonisation, including the appropriation of land and water resources, economic development and extensive military use.

This landmark volume is the first academic study in English of Arab politics and culture in the occupied Golan Heights. It focuses on an indigenous community, known as the Jawlanis, and their experience of everyday colonisation and resistance to settler colonisation. Chapters cover how governance is carried out in the Golan, from Israel's use of the education system and collective memory, to its development of large-scale wind turbines which are now a symbol of Israeli encroachment. To illustrate the ways in which the current regime of Israeli rule has been contested, there are chapters on the six-month strike of 1982, youth mobilisation in the occupied Golan, Palestinian solidarity movements, and the creation of Jawlani art and writing as an act of resistance.

Rich in ethnographic detail and with chapters from diverse disciplines, the book is unique in bringing together Jawlani, Palestinian and UK researchers. The innovative format - with shorter 'reflections' from young Arab researchers, activists and lawyers that respond to more traditional academic chapters - establishes a bold new 'de-colonial' approach.

248 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2022

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Golan is a region I recently became more attached to as a member of the Syrian diaspora. I started to feel like it was time to learn more about understanding the reclaiming of the Golani identity and searched for sources that could help me with this. I stumbled on this book during this phase as one of the most comprehensive recent studies on the Golan. What I liked most about it is that it is a compilation of many works of resistance and rethinking of the dominant view that the Golan is ‘collateral’ in the Israeli occupation. Just as it was occupied in silence, it remains a silent issue. I like that this book is breaking that silence and clarifying the Golan’s complex identity. I learned a fair amount especially from the discussions on how the Jawlani people relate to the Palestinian resistance and the cross over. As much as I love the idea of translating articles from Arabic for this book, I wish that some translations would have been given more attention to as at times, the meaning was taken away by some basic mistakes and felt a bit rushed. All in all, amazing introduction to Jawlani resistance

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it gave me a better understanding of the Israeli occupation of Jawlan and how Palestinians work with the Jawlani cause