Trump and Netanyahu shaking hands in May 2017, during Trump’s visit to Israel. Image by Getty

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli government has selected a location for the establishment of a new Jewish community in the Golan Heights to be named after President Trump.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday that he will submit the decision for official approval by the new government once it is formed.

Netanyahu announced in late April that he would form the new community in honor of Trump in the Golan, a month after the U.S. president signed a proclamation recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981. The United States is the first country to recognize the Golan as part of Israel.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Makor Rishon Hebrew-language daily newspaper reported on Wednesday that the mixed religious-secular community of 120 young families to start with will be located in the northern Golan Heights on the site of a community that was approved but never built in 1992.

There are currently 33 towns and villages in the Golan, but no new communities have been established since 1999, the Jerusalem Post reported. Twenty-nine of the communities were established by Labor governments from 1967 to 1977, when the Likud first came to power.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount