SPOTLIGHT Daniela Shaul, who was born in ON DECEMBER 14, 1981, the Kibbutz Ma'ayan Zvi and has been Knesset voted to extend Israeli law in Katzrin for the past two years with to the Golan Heights, an area of over her husband and two children, says rent a car one million dunams that was taken that the quality of life there "is from the Syrians in the last two days fantastic, except for the sore point of of the 1967 war. The Knesset public transportation." $680 decision was the result of a few days per month, of frenetic activity launched by then- The Egged bus service for most unlimited prime minister Menachem Begin of the people who have to travel mileage who had just emerged from a bout of some distance to work is far from depression that had lasted a few satisfactory. months. This point was made by Rabbi In an article in the December issue Daniel Shilo. who moved with his ol Eretz Hagolan, the official pub wife and seven children to Katzrin lication of the Israeli settlers ol the two years ago; "If you don't have a Golan. Yoav Ephron marked the car here you're helpless. My wife third anniversary of the decision - works as a teacher in Tiberias, which which amounted to virtual annexa is less than half an hour away by car. tion - by expressing the view that But she has to come back home by Begin was largely moved by his three buses, which takes more than TEL AVIV: mam ollice - '. '2 "feelings of guilt" over having ceded two hours." HayarkonSt Tel 03-203366 Gr-iru: all ol Sinai and the Israeli settle The settlers in Katzrin - and Beactt Hotel Tel 03-241262 ments there as part of the peace throughout the Golan - suffer from Mandann Hotel. Tel 03-428161-4 treaty with Egypt. It is an opinion the same bureaucratic inefficiencies JERUSALEM: 36 Keren Hayesod SI . Tel. 02-636183 699093 shared by many. that beset all Israelis. But when "It is to be regretted that we in the NETANYA: Tel 053-34689 these are coupled with the additional ASHKELON: Tel Obi 22724 Golan won our independence at the distance to the Golan, albeit short, 22284 ASHDOD: Tel 055-3417? cost of the destruction of another life becomes problematic indeed. BEERSHEBA: Tel 067-71568 region. But that's life," he writes. HAIFA: Tel 04 60639 Telex The Golan Law was a cause of KATZRIN IS impressive for the IL341730ATT ELDAN acrimonious debate between the public buildings that have been con Likud and Labour at the time. The structed for so small a population. A rent a car 8,000 Israeli settlers in the Golan, spanking new sports centre has just like Yoav Ephron, most of whom are been completed, there is a bustling The Blue & White Inc. supporters of the Labour Party, sports and cultural centre and an with the greatest deals could be expected to support such an active field school. on wheels act. But at a conference on the A youngish retired army brigade development of the Golan, held at commander, Eli Melamed, is head Katzrin recently under the auspices Katzrin, the central town ofthe Golan.. .fine planning, but not enough jobs. ing the drive for the opening of a RECOGNIZE AND HEAL of the Foundation for the Study of regional highschool for Katzrin and the Golan, speakers expressed deep the region's moshavim next Septem YOURSELF BY THE disappointment at the failure of the ber. POWER OF THE SPIRIT governments to followup that sym Cloud overthe But the fly in the ointment is the # For free literature: bolic act with any concrete action. lack of industry, and of jobs, for P. O. Box 5643 Health Minister Mordechai Gur, additional settlers. And if Katzrin D-87 Wurzburg, W.-Germany who had been invited as a former does not grow to 10,000 and 20,000 commander of the Northern Com Golan Heights in the not too distant future, there is mand and, as such, deeply involved a real danger that it will be beset by in the early moves to settle the area, the problems typical of older de STAY 5 DAYS said: "I can't shake off the feeling By Yosef Goell, Jerusalem Post Reporter velopment towns. that the compulsivefixation around Some planners and many settlers PfllV POR 4 the law and the illusion that it in itself placetheirhopesinthedevelopment solved something, has taken the reached 1,000 in 1970, it was hoped the exploitation of additional water of the tourist industry. There is wind out of the sails of the very to grow rapidly to a population of resources. clearly much potential but the record people who should have been com 60,000,the equivalent of the number Some settlements have been so far has been mixed. mitted to doing thingsin the Golan." of Syrian inhabitants who had fled pumping water up from Lake Kin Several kibbutzim in the south A much sharper comment came the regionduringthe 1967 fighting. neret to a height of 800 metres, have developed the Hammat Gader from Yehiel Admoni, the former which is extremely expensive. As an hot springs into a tourist attraction, V director of the Jewish Agency's set MOST OF THE settlements are alternative source of water, catch and Moshav Ramot is doing fine tlement department who went on to concentrated in the open areas of the ment reservoirs are being built on with the development of beach, wa head its Project Renewal depart southern Golan. One of the planners several water courses in the centre ter sport and camping facilities at ment. at the conference noted that origi and to the east to provide water that Hof Galon, in the north-eastern cor "The adoption of the Golan Law nally it had been believed that the will not require pumping! ner of Lake Kinneret. The nearby was an unmitigated catastrophe. It land there was almost useless be Typically, this new development Jordan Park where the Jordan flows undermined the motivation of those cause it had been worked out by the has led to arguments between those into the sea has also been developed. who should have been doing things previous Syrian share-croppers. But interested in the use of this water for On the other hand, the Hermon Enjoy 5 nights at the for the development of the Golan. scientific amelioration had turned agriculture, the Nature Protection which was to have been Israel's only super 3-star Windmill those areas into major producers, Society, which is interested in pre ski resort area, has been closed down The profound commitment to coop Hotel and pay for only eration between the settlements was with kibbutz Mevo Hamma bringing serving the unspoiled areas of the for this season. replaced by an atmosphere of every in a record wheat crop of 750kg. per upper Golan, and those interested in four (including breakfast). one for himself," he declared. dunam. using the reservoirs as a basis for THE FUTURE lies in industry, the The other major area of settle This theme was repeated by Yehu tourism that would centre around planners say. And so far, very little Valid: 1.11.84-28.2.85 da Dekel, the head of the settlement ment is in the plain west of the town water sports. has been achieved in that direction. department in Galilee. But the clin of Kuneitra, which had been re This development highlights the Dr. Baruch Kipnis, of the Techn- "'Kosher restaurants - cher was provided by Yehuda Harel, turned to the Syrians in the wake of geueial agreement that the future of ion, told the Katzrin conference that a founding member of Kibbutz the Yom Kippur War and the Kissin the Golaif lies primarily in industry much of the blame lay with govern 'Sabbath elevator "133 air conditioned rooms Merom Golan who has been in the ger shuttle. and in tourism. Minister of Science ments and institutions that were forefront of settlement activities in A few settlements have also been Gideon Patt, who had been industry continually changing their policies 'Walking distance to the centre, the Golan for the past 17 years. set up in the slot separating these two and trade minister in the last Likud and priorities: "This has led to a of Jerusalem and the Old City "There is no intention," he noted, concentrations near Hushniya, government, was invited to give the stop-and-gosyndrome." "to set up even one new settlement where the main Syrian armour broke keynote address at the conference. Motta Gur wound up by declaring Don't wait. Book your through in the first days of the Yom He delivered himself of- a few in the Golan in the coming year; the that "the settlement of the Golan is winter vacation now at industrialization of Katzrin (the cen Kippur War. But these are the settle perfunctory remarks - which were the focus of a sufficiently broad tral town of the region) has been ments which are having the most an apt testimonial to his responsibility national consensus to merit it a high Jerusalem's one of a kind frozen; the growth of the population problems. for doing next to nothing for the place in the national order of priori hotel. has been arrested." Moshav Shitufi Keshet is typical of- •development oi industry in the ties." this group, and it suffers from a At present, there are about 8,300 Golan during the years pf his tenure . Settler Yehuda Harel, writing in 3 Mendele St., Talbieh dearth of arable land in the immedi at the Industryand Trade Ministry- settlers in the Golan.