Neve Ativ

Neve Ativ נווה אטי"ב
Moshav
View of Neve Ativ
Neve Ativ Show map of the Golan Heights Neve Ativ Show map of the Golan Heights
Coordinates: 33°15′42″N 35°44′28″E / 33.26167°N 35.74111°E / 33.26167; 35.74111
District	Northern
Council	Golan
Affiliation	Agricultural Union
Founded	1972; 53 years ago (1972)
Population  (2023)[1]	227
Website	neve-ativ.org.il

Neve Ativ (Hebrew: נווה אטי"ב), is an Israeli settlement organized as a small Alpine-styled moshav in the Golan Heights. Located on the slopes of Mount Hermon, 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of Majdal Shams.^[2] it falls under the jurisdiction of Golan Regional Council. In 2023 it had a population of 227.^[1]

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, though the Israeli and United States governments dispute this.^[3][4]

Etymology

The name Ativ is an acronym for four fallen soldiers from the Egoz Reconnaissance Unit killed in action in the Golan: Avraham Hameiri, Tuvia Ellinger, Yair Elegarnty, and Binyamin Hadad. Neve means Oasis.

History

Israel and Syria fought major battles in the area in 1967 and 1973, and it remains a strategic military position.^[5] Neve Ativ was built on the land of the destroyed Syrian village of Jubata ez-Zeit.^[6][7] It was founded in 1972, when the Golan region was a part of the Israeli Military Governorate, governed by military occupation system. In 1981, the area of Golan was unilaterally annexed by Israel.

In November 1996, a dining room in the settlement was set on fire and the walls on the building had "Down With the Occupation" and "The Golan Belongs to Syria" painted on them. Pro-Syrian Druze were believed to be behind it.^[8]

Economy

The moshav's main industry is tourism. Neve Ativ operates the nearby Mount Hermon ski resort,^[9] which has 25 kilometers (16 mi) of ski runs on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon.^[10][11] The resort was destroyed in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but re-opened the following year.^[9]

References

1. "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
2. Israel & the Palestinian territories, p. 271, Lonely Planet Israel, Michael Kohn, Lonely Planet, 2007, ISBN 1-86450-277-0, ISBN 978-1-86450-277-0, accessed December 18, 2009
3. "The Geneva Convention". BBC News. 10 December 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
4. ‘Golan Heights is part of northern Israel,’ White House says after Hezbollah attack The Jerusalem Post. 29 July 2024
5. Israel handbook: with the Palestinian Authority areas, Footprint handbooks, Dave Winter, Footprint Travel Guides, 1999, ISBN 1-900949-48-2, ISBN 978-1-900949-48-4, accessed December 19, 2009
6. Murphy, R.; Gannon, D. (2008), "Changing The Landscape: Israel's Gross Violation of International Law in the occupied Syrian Golan", Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, 11, Cambridge University Press: 139–174, doi:10.1017/S1389135908001396, p. 151
7. Dar, Shimon (1993). Settlements and cult sites on Mount Hermon, Israel: Ituraean culture in the Hellenistic and Roman periods (Illustrated ed.). Tempus Reparatum. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-86054-756-3.
8. David Rudge (1996-11-29). "Police probe series of arson attacks, Golan Druse suspected". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
9. "Ski resort back in business," Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1975, accessed December 18, 2009
10. Sandler, Neil, "As Israelis debate the fate of the Golan, skiers and investors flock to its slopes", August 8, 1994, accessed April 18, 2015
11. "Gee, Robert W., "They're not heavenly, but the Holy Land has slopes," Austin American-Statesman, February 10, 2002, accessed December 18, 2009". Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2009.

External links

• Official website (in Hebrew)