The Middle East Channel
Unsettled
Just days before a scheduled fence-mending visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I received an email from the Jerusalem Post that invited me to move to territory that most of the world considers occupied Arab land. The email, titled “Enhanced financial assistance for Aliyah to Israel’s North in 2010,” promised up to ...
Just days before a scheduled fence-mending visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I received an email from the Jerusalem Post that invited me to move to territory that most of the world considers occupied Arab land.
The email, titled “Enhanced financial assistance for Aliyah to Israel’s North in 2010,” promised up to $14,000 in cash and numerous other benefits (“aliyah” is the term for when Diaspora Jews move to Israel). The email showed a smiling young mother and daughter looking out over a vista of red tile-roofed houses, rolling green hills, and a large lake.
A few clicks revealed that the Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war — is among the “northern” communities seeking prospective immigrants.
Just days before a scheduled fence-mending visit to Washington by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I received an email from the Jerusalem Post that invited me to move to territory that most of the world considers occupied Arab land.
The email, titled “Enhanced financial assistance for Aliyah to Israel’s North in 2010,” promised up to $14,000 in cash and numerous other benefits (“aliyah” is the term for when Diaspora Jews move to Israel). The email showed a smiling young mother and daughter looking out over a vista of red tile-roofed houses, rolling green hills, and a large lake.
A few clicks revealed that the Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war — is among the “northern” communities seeking prospective immigrants.
Barbara Slavin directs the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Twitter: @BarbaraSlavin1
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