The road to Majdal Shams from the lower Golan passes through flat plains, dotted with shrubs and the occasional ruin of an old building. Some of the fields are burned from recent rocket fire from Lebanon.The Golan Heights is a stark landscape. It overlooks the Sea of Galilee to the southwest and the Hula Valley to its west. To the northwest is Lebanon. It is from Lebanon that a rocket was fired on July 27 that struck a soccer field in the center of the large Druze town of Majdal Shams, killing a dozen children and wounding dozens more. This is a shocking disaster to befall this town.The Druze towns and villages of the Golan such as Majdal Shams, Bukata, and Masada have usually been outside the conflicts that circulate in the region. This does not mean they are not very in tune with the conflicts. They know their complex position. These Druze towns remained in the Golan after 1967, while most of the other Syrian residents fled. This included minorities in the Golan, such as Circassians, who fled or had to leave areas like Quneitra which became an abandoned town near the border.The Druze in the Golan, unlike the Druze in the rest of Israel, were not called up for military service. It took time to get them to accept Israeli citizenship after the Golan was annexed by Israel. Most of the international community views the Golan as “occupied” by Israel, and as part of Syria. This sense that the Golan might be returned to Syria one day, led many Druze to hedge on what might come next.For the Druze, this hedging of identities and national belonging has been one of the complexities foisted on the community by history, living as a religious minority in a divided Middle East. In Syria, Druze fought alongside the regime in the civil war, mostly. In Lebanon, they also play their own part in the Lebanese political landscape.
The landscape leading to Majdal Shams is a reminder of this complexity. On the roads that lead to the town, which clings to the side of Mount Hermon and overlooks Syria, Israel, and Lebanon, there are reminders of the Syrian era. There are still old buildings from that time. In other areas, there are Israeli military bases and bunkers from the 1970s.As I drove up to Majdal Shams, I saw an old bunker from the 1970s, and next to it, a pristine white migunit or concrete shelter had been dropped off. The lack of shelters is a problem in the Golan. For various reasons, the area—like much of northern Israel—lacks the shelters needed to protect people in case of sirens warning them to flee due to rockets.
The towns in the area have been thriving recently
THE TOWNS of Majdal Shams, Bukata, and Masada have been thriving recently. This is despite a decade of difficulties. During the Syrian civil war, the war in Syria could be easily heard from here. The Druze here were often concerned for their coreligionists on the other side of the line.In June 2015 this concern spilled over. At the time, Israel had been providing medical assistance to some Syrians. The Druze in the Golan believed these Syrians were Syrian rebels responsible for attacks on Khadr, a Druze town in Syria that is just across the border from Majdal Shams. In June 2015, two Syrians being transported in an ambulance were pulled out and attacked by an angry mob at night. Several people were indicted in Majdal Shams for the incident.After the Syrian civil war mostly ended near the Golan in 2018, other issues affected these towns. COVID-19 harmed tourism. Then, in June 2023, the people burst into protest over wind turbines that were being installed along the Golan. Several locals were hurt in clashes with Israeli police. The 2015 and 2023 incidents illustrate that the Golan Druze will assert themselves when they feel their rights are being eroded.
When the October 7 attacks took place along the South Gaza Envelop border towns, it led Hezbollah to join the war on Israel. This has harmed the tourism economy in the Golan. Tourists no longer come. The hotels were empty over the winter. There was no ski season on the Hermon.Despite a lot of investment in the tourism industry in these towns, people have lost out. The cherry-picking season, for instance, is largely over this year because tourists don’t come and pay to pick cherries. Nevertheless, a new development is clear. There is a new mall in Majdal Shams. There is a new hotel in Bukata. New signs declare “I love Bukata” and “I love Majdal Shams” at the entrances to the towns. There is a lot of sense of pride here.
All eyes on Majdal Shams
After the rocket fell on the soccer field here, Majdal Shams became a center of attention and sadness across Israel. The Chief of Staff of the IDF came to visit Druze leaders in the field. At night, when I arrived, hundreds of young men, dressed in black shirts, were coming to help set up chairs for a ceremony on July 28.They continued working throughout the night. By morning, the men were gone, but some women, also dressed in black, stood on the streets, holding back tears. The town’s bakeries, usually open early, were closed. The whole of the Golan felt in mourning. It had been draped in black, just like after October 7 across Israel.