New Town In Israel’s Golan Will Be Called ‘Trump Heights’
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu during the president’s visit to Israel in May 2017. Image by Getty
By Aiden Pink June 13, 2019
A new town in the Golan Heights will be called “Ramat Trump” — literally, “Trump Heights” — in honor of the American president’s recognition of Israeli control over the area, the Times of Israel reported Thursday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in April that a town would be named after Trump to honor his decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the area — a move that some locals opposed.
The name is expected to be officially approved by the Israeli cabinet on Sunday at a meeting held in the Golan rather than in Jerusalem, TOI reported. United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is reportedly expected to attend.
This is not the first time Israeli leaders have proposed honoring Trump in such a way. Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz pledged in 2017 to name a Jerusalem train station next to the Western Wall after Trump after the president recognized the city as its capital and pledged to move the American embassy there. And the mayor of Petach Tikvah announced last month that a town square would be named after Trump on July 4th.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and essentially annexed the area 14 years later, a move that the rest of the world considered illegitimate.
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at pink@forward.com or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
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