MAJDAL SHAMS, Israel, Feb. 2

They sip tea and talk about the Arab Spring at the Oud El Na’na’ cafe. But talk is all they can do.

“The revolution is on the street but we are not allowed to go,” says Dr. Ronan Said Ahmad, who studied medicine in Syria. “It’s a pity the revolution didn’t start while I was there.”

From the cafe, groups of professors, doctors and university students look at a tall fence that prevents them from joining the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. Damascus is just a 40-minute drive away. But they live on the wrong side of the fence, in Golan Heights, former Syrian territory now under Israeli control.

“From here,” Ahmad notes sadly, “we can support the revolution only by showing our solidarity with Syrian people, nothing else.”

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. Ever since, more than 20,000 Syrians in the territory have been unable to cross the border, except for short periods related to university studies, religious pilgrimages and medical treatment. Many Golan Heights residents say they would join street protests in Syria demanding the resignation of Assad but, unable to travel freely, they must show their support in other ways.

“We love Syria” Shefaa Abu Jabal has written on her Facebook page. She is a Golan Heights activist who has rallied resistance to the Israeli occupation. She is now calling for democratic change in Syria. A photo on her Facebook page reveals her depth of passion, typical among Golan youth. “We will write history with our blood,” the photo says.

Yasser Khanjar is a young social worker who lives under house arrest in Golan Heights. He said he threw rocks at Israeli police who were shooting anti-occupation demonstrators last June. From his home, he is crowd-sourcing an Internet protest that links freedom from Israel in Golan with freedom from repression in Syria.

“I am working on a video where 67 people from Golan say a sentence about Golan and the Syrian uprising,” he explained. “Sixty-seven is a symbolic number for us, the year of the Israeli occupation. As I cannot go to Syria, I’m trying to do something through the Web.”

Syrian activists in the Golan Heights say their resistance to Israeli occupation has been a source of inspiration for pro-democracy demonstrators in Syria. Many Golan Heights residents have refused Israeli citizenship and work to preserve their language, food and religion.

“We are an important example for them, an example of how people can resist against a government that doesn’t represent them,” said Ahmad. “For the people who are fighting in Syria, there is no difference between the regime they are forced to live under and the Israeli government that is occupying Golan.”

“Many Syrians are looking at us,” said Taiseer Maray, head of the non-profit group Golan for Development. “They look at Golan as the place where people are resisting over Israel and where people fight the good fight.”

Ironically, Syrians in Golan Heights concede they already enjoy some of the freedoms that protesters in Syria are demanding, especially freedom of speech. But activists insist that full freedom is their goal.

“Talking from a selfish point of view, here in Golan we feel more safe than people in Syria,” Maray said. “Our aim is to be part of Syria again but we all want to live in a democratic country,” he says.

While younger and well-educated Syrians in the Golan Heights generally support the uprising against Assad, many older working-class residents do not. They credit Assad with convincing Israeli authorities to allow limited travel across the Golan Heights border.

This division is seen inside the home of the Ibraheems. A large photo of Assad hangs on the wall above them as they eat Friday dinner. Nazih Ibraheem looks at the photo with pride.

“I think the U.S. and Israel are trying to create problems in Syria,” Nazih says. “We are willing for some changes in Syria but I am against the revolution. I think we should let Bashar Assad work at least for the next two years before the elections,” he said.

The family television is turned to the Syrian channel. Nazih and his wife Amina say they do not trust international news networks.

“When I was in Syria I saw people on the street supporting Bashar Assad and nobody was forcing them,” says Amina, who went to Syria in September for a short pilgrimage. “Every day many people in Syria gather to demonstrate their support for the government,” she adds.

Her son, Aamer, is a young activist, and he snaps at his parents. “Do people in Syria like Bashar Assad? What a surprise; that is what the Syrian TV tells you! It’s just because of their job that they go on the street supporting the government,” Aamer says.

Despite disagreements inside family homes, there is clear disappointment in public that Syrians in the Golan Heights must watch from the sidelines as change grips their homeland. The Oud El Na’na’ cafe created a graffiti wall where patrons can express themselves. One person summed up his frustration with the Israelis and the Assad regime in a simple cryptic phrase.

“I’m not mine,” he wrote.

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(Editor’s Note: Elena Roda is a graduate student studying journalism, media and globalization at the Danish School of Journalism, the University of Aarhus and the University of Hamburg. She was the winner of a UPIU contest to finance a special reporting project.)

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/02/02/Syrians-in-occupied-Golan-Heights-cant-join-Arab-Spring/UPI-17211328204011/#ixzz1ljBls2XL

Leadership project in the occupied Golan –

Over 25,000 person lives in an occupied Syrian region called Golan who moved since the year of 1967 to be

under the Israeli occupation (control). High percent of the population there are young people who aged

between 17 and 30.
As it known, people in the Golan have no nationality – in other words – their nationality set to undefined.

They refused to get into the Israeli life and to get Israeli passports because they are not Israelis, but

other way they are not allowed to go back to Syria their homeland. This situation has negative effects on

the people in the Golan especially the young ones and it can lead to a feeling of belonging to nowhere.
Since it's hard for people from the Golan to travel out of Israel – because of not having Israeli passports

or nationality – they found the internet and the social media one of the easiest ways to connect with people

 from other societies, civilizations and different countries.
This kind of solidarity by the internet with the world can lead us to a better place, but what we lack

 for is young leaders, and what we need is programs for leaderships. These programs can bring as much as

possible young people and give them tools that can make change in the society in addition to the awareness

of using these tools. This program can create a space for young leaders from the Golan to discuss issues

relating to their situation, to talk about society, gender, politics and religion.

Building a program may take time. So what I'm working on nowadays is engaging and learning as possible

 about how to build a leadership group, also by participating in global programs such as One Young World,

who gave me the opportunity to be updated about young all over the world, to meet with them, to see their

projects in their own countries and also to create a network.

---------

I'll update you guys with my steps,

I'm glad to hear from you, what you think I should do more, what kind of thing i must bear in mind and so..

be in touch with my by

aamer.ibraheem@gmail.com

Twitter @aamerib

Hey dear #OYW ambassadors

the Last week, my friend from Italy visited me in the Occupied Golan and start to work on blog by updating stories from the Golan.

Here’s the link http://blog.upiu.com/2011/11/dispatch-from-golan-heights-upiu-grant-winner-reports-1591

know more about the Golan also be following me on Twitter by @aamerib or using the hashtag #GolanHeights

Miss you all.

Majdal shams – Occupied Golan at night.

Syria and Israel clash over the region but the status quo seems to work for both. Meanwhile, a new generation of activists are struggling to reaffirm their rights.

By Elena Roda

Qunaytra checkpoint. About 500 meters divide Israel and Syria. Or better, about 500 meters divide Golan Heights, a Syrian territory occupied by Israel in 1967, and Syria. A narrow demilitarized strip crossed by trucks carries apples. Apples that grow in Golan Heights and that are sold in Syria. In 2011, 12.000 metric tons of apples reached Syria from the Golan. Unlike Syrian and Israeli citizens, apples are allowed to cross this border, under the control of the International Red Cross.

Aamer is a young man who has worked on picking apples to sell to Syria. He is from Golan Heights but he is studying in Haifa, Israel. “I moved to Israel only because I wanted to study law. We live under the Israeli law and we cannot go to work in Syria, I did not have other possibilities rather than studying in Israel. But, if I had studied medicine or something else, I would surely have chosen to move to Damascus, because I belong to Syria, I am Syrian”.

When Aamer talks about the Golan, his voice changes its tone. He talks feelingly, proving his involvement in the Golan situation. Aamer is an activist for Golan Heights and he keeps saying that he wants to reach as many people as possible talking about the Golan issue. “It is important to spread the word, to let people all over the world be aware of our condition, as occupied territory”.

Arab people from the Golan are allowed to cross the border and go to Syria only for studies, religious pilgrimages, marriages, and health issues. On the contrary apples are carried across the border several times between February and May, every year, since 2005. “For Syrian authorities the apple operation is more than just an ordinary marketing intervention. Syria supports farmers in the occupied part of the Golan Heights as a patriotic and humanitarian duty, without thinking at all about profit or commercial gains”, claims Saleh Dabbakeh, the communication delegate of the International Red Cross in Damascus, the only organization in charge of apple trade and mediation between Israel and Syria concerning apples border crossing.

 Negotiations are not working

Syria is buying the Golan’s apples to sustain Arab settlers in the region as Israel is supporting Israeli settlers living in the Golan, buying their products. The issue is small in comparison to the larger unresolved problems between Israel and Syria. Israel is taking care of its settlers (Israeli people are little under 50% of the population in the Golan Heights), while Syria is mindful about its Arab people living there (the other half of the population).

The two countries, Syria and Israel, have different cultures, origins, and traditions. And the Golan (with a population estimated around 40.000) is located in between, influenced by both. Arab people in the Golan Heights feel they belong to Syria but they live in an Israeli territory, under Israeli law, and they cannot travel to Syria except on a rare occasion.

Aamer lives his life sharing feelings of these three different populations. He is the living proof of the messy situation among Israel, the Golan, and Syria. He lives and studies in Israel, his parents live in Golan Heights, and he is looking at Syria as his home. Every time he can he goes back to the Golan.

“I am OK in Haifa,” he says, “I have a lot of friends from Israel, I share with them my life, my studies, and my work. But I live in Haifa and I think about Syria, my country where I cannot go”. Studying and living in Israel is a good opportunity for Aamer to analyze both sides of the same phenomenon: “Being in Haifa I can feel the Israeli-Syrian clash also from the Israeli point of view and I am making comparisons. But I am not changing my perspective about my land”.

Since 1967, when, after the Six-Days War, Israel captured the Golan area from Syria, countries and organizations have been trying to deal with this controversial situation internationally. “We have to say that Israel is occupying the territory”, claims Marcelo Kohen, professor of international law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. “The UN Security Council declared it illegal, that is the central point to think about”, adds Mr. Kohen.

Thus, Israeli action in the Golan is condemned internationally. After the first occupation in 1967, Israel continued its maneuvers in the Golan. It definitely annexed the territory in 1981, and extended Israeli law in the area. The whole Israeli action is not internationally recognized.

During these years the Golan issue was discussed among leaders and countries without achieving any result. “The Golan issue was discussed in informal negotiations”, adds professor Kohen, “During the Ehud Barak administration Israel put many efforts in resolving the conflict with Syria before resolving the Palestinian issue, but then no outcomes were achieved”.

Regarding the slowness and inefficiency of negotiations, professor Kohen says: “In that area the first priority is resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, afterwards it will be time to resolve the controversy between Israel and Syria about Golan Heights. Anyway, in these days, because of the domestic situation in Syria, any kind of negotiations would be impossible as we face an international concern about Assad government”. “Probably – concludes professor Kohen – the international community has to wait till conditions improve”.

Keeping the status quo

In the Israeli-Syrian clash regarding Golan Heights we have to consider a lot of different factors. It is not just a matter of one country occupying a territory of another one. On the contrary, many different elements are playing an important role in this situation that it is more complex than it seems at first sight.

Dore Gold, who served as foreign policy advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu and Ariel Sharon, wrote about the Golan Heights raising interesting points. In his article for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs in May 2008, he points out problems hardly solvable in the Israeli-Syrian clash. These are obstacles correlated to boundaries, security matters and the Syrian-Iranian alliance. Mr. Gold claims that the Golan is a strategic territory for Israel’s defense. That means that Israel has no advantages in resolving this controversy.

Israeli indifference over the Golan issue is easily understandable and, we can say, not new. The unexpected factor is the role of Syria and its position in this complicated situation. “I believe both sides are interested in keeping Golan under occupation”, claims Shefaa Abu Jabal, activist from the Golan Heights, graduate in law, journalist, and blogger. “For Israel it is a strategic place and provides the country 25% of water annual supply. For Syria it is important to keep Israel as a declared enemy to keep telling the Arab world that Syria is the last castle standing in the face of Israel and distract public opinion from what is going on inside Syria”.

This new perspective on Syrian role on the Golan issue shows us the complexity of the question. Both countries, for different reasons, are trying to keep the situation as it is nowadays, to keep the status quo. On the other hand, the international community has no voice in the matter, as no outcomes in negotiations showed us.

Aamer thinks about Syrian deficiencies. He would live in Golan Heights as a Syrian territory but he is aware that living under the Syrian regime would not be a good solution for Arab people in the Golan. He keeps saying that he dreams of the end of Israeli occupation. However, he would be afraid of living in Syria under Assad regime. He would rather prefer waiting for a democratic turning point in the country.

“Syria has no freedom of speech. Many people there say that they are free but this depends on which country you compare Syria with”. Freedom of expression is fundamental for Aamer. He is using his voice, his words to talk about the Golan Heights, he writes on social networks, he takes pictures, and he makes videos to explain to people his country’s condition.

Asking him about current happenings in Syria, without any doubt he says: “Syria must change. If I was there I would surely be with the population against the Assad regime. I would surely be part of the group of people who struggle for their rights. But without any kind of violence, this is my most important concern. I am against any extremist movement”.

 Dreaming of freedom

Aamer feels he has an important role in Golan issue, and this is not just his own feeling: “The most conservative people in the Golan are afraid of freedom, changes, and modernity. But not looking for a change would not allow people from the Golan to change their condition. That is why young people are fundamental for a positive change in my land. New generations want to make a difference. They want to spread their voice all over the world”.

He looks at his land. “This is wonderful. Look at the nature, the green places, feel the atmosphere. There, mountains are full of snow. Israeli people are coming here to ski. The only ski resort in Israeli territory is in the Golan Heights. It is weird, isn’t it?” The nature flourishes, apples grow before travelling to Syria. Aamer helps farmers to pick apples. Probably he would like to go to Syria with them. But not now, before he still has to work a little bit more. Freedom is his aim, free Syria his dream.

Original Report link

Majdal Shams City, Occupied Golan Heights.

First morning at home, Just arrived back after Four days full of action and inspiration.

So many issues walking into my head, but I think I alreday have the Tools to let those Ideas and issues come true.

————

MTN, thnx for everything.

Give me few days, And the Good world will strat here in the Golan.

Will update min by min.

PEace.