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1982 Golan Heights Druze general strike

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DateFebruary 15, 1982 - July 21, 1982
Location
Golan Heights
Parties

The 1982 Golan Heights Druze general strike, also known as the Great Strike,[1] was a 5-month general strike by members of the Druze community in the Golan Heights protesting the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights.[2]

Background

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The Golan Heights is a geographic area in southwestern Syria. The Druze are a ethnoreligious community with a strong presence in the Golan Heights, the north of Israel, and the south of Syria. The Heights have been continuously militarily occupied by Israel since Israel's victory over an Arab coalition that included Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Israeli occupation and annexation has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations and the international community.

A general strike is a form of strike action in which a wide, multi-sector coalition of workers and groups engage in mass refusal to work and take part in other economic activities.

History

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Prelude

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On 14 December 1981, after fourteen years of administering the occupation of the Heights through a military administration, the Israeli government enacted the Golan Heights Law, formally annexing the area. The annexation was internationally condemned, with United Nations Security Council Resolution 497 declared the annexation "null and void and without international legal effect."[3]

On 17 December, the Druze community launched a 3-day general strike in protest against the annexation.[4] Later in December, the Israeli Ministry of Interior stated that the Golan Heights Druze would not be immediately forced to carry Israeli ID cards, with director general Haim Kubersky stating that the annexation would be done "gradually and reasonably."[5]

Discontent over the annexation continued after the end of the strike, with Druze leaders writing to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin that the Druze were "first of all Syrian Arabs," and warning that they "do not intend to act against the state's security, but we will resist if you force us to be Israeli citizens."[6]

General strike outbreak

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In mid-February 1982, four leaders of the Druze community in the Golan Heights who had organised protests against the annexation were arrested by the Israeli military in a midnight raid ordered by Israeli Minister of Defence Ariel Sharon. All four were charged with incitement against the State of Israel. These four were Kamal Kanj Abu Salah, Sulieman Abu Salah and his son, and Mahmoud Safadi. Kamal Kanj Abu Salah was a former member of the Syrian Parliament and had previously been arrested in 1972 on charges of being a Syrian spy.[7]

In response to the arrests, the Druze community in the Heights declared an indefinite general strike, beginning on 14 February.[8] As part of the general strike, shops and schools within the Golan Heights shut, people refused to pay taxes, participate in Israeli land surveys, and Druze workers refused to report to work in the Israeli settlements inside the Golan Heights. In Mas'ade, all members of the city council save for one resigned.[9]

Israeli blockade

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On the night of 25 February, the Israeli military Northern Command under Amir Drori announced that it would be blockading the four main population centres of the Druze in the Golan Heights. These were the towns of Buq'ata, Ein Qiniyye, Majdal Shams, and Mas'ade.[10] After protests broke out in the towns, as well as in the Syrian town of Quneitra and in the Palestinian West Bank, against the blockade, the Israeli military further announced that it would be enforcing a curfew over the four towns.[11]

The blockade included a ban on media from entering and reporting on the towns. In mid-March, the Israeli military claimed that the International Committee of the Red Cross had congratulated it on its handling of the blockade, a claim that the Red Cross denied. The Red Cross further stated that the Israeli military had prevented its representatives from choosing which people in the towns it interviewed.[12] Villagers who attempted to break the blockade to harvest crops were arrested,[2] and the Israeli military restricted a number of goods from being imported into the territory, including milk and baby food.[13]

In late-March, the Israeli government announced that it would be ending the blockade at the beginning of April and that the Druze would not be forced to accept Israeli I.D. cards. However, the government also stated that Druze who refused to accept Israeli I.D. cards would be barred from receiving services such as drivers licences and post. In response, Druze leaders stated that they intended to continue the strike.[14]

On 2 April, instead of lifting the blockade as publicly announced, the Israeli military imposed further restrictions on the Druze villages.[15] The intensification included deployment of 15 000 soldiers to the villages as well as the destruction of several homes and infrastructure.[2] Later that day, Sharon claimed that a third of the Golan Heights Druze had been issued I.D. cards.[16] Many of the Druze who had received I.D. cards denied having voluntarily applied for them, alleging that the Israeli military had forced them to accept the cards and had forcibly confisacted documents proving Syrian citizenship.[17]

In early-May, Israeli Druze author Salman Natour was arrested by the Israeli military and ordered confined to the village of Daliyat al-Karmel for six months. Natour had served as secretary of the Committee for Solidarity with the Golan, and had helped smuggle information about the seige out of the besieged villages. Later in May, the Israeli Supreme Court refused to lift his confiment so that he could testify to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights about the Golan Heights.[18] Another prominent figure of the Committee for Solidarity with the Golan was Palestinian historian Emile Touma.[19]

Resolution

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In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon with the goal of expelling the Palestine Liberation Organization from southern Lebanon, beginning the 1982 Lebanon War. Following the invasion, the strike began losing its effectiveness. On 21 July 1982, Druze leaders in the Golan Heights met in the town of Majdal Shams and agreed to end the strike.[20] The Israeli government pledged not to enforce conscription on the Golan Heights Druze as well as to allow the Golan Heights Druze a certain level of autonomy.[2]

Reactions

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Israeli authorities claimed that the strike had been incited by Syria.[9] Mordechai Tzipori, Israeli Minister of Communications, stated at the beginning of the strike that the Israeli government should facilitate the voluntary depature of any Druze who didn't wish to become Israelis into Syria-controlled territory.[21]

The Settlers' Association promoting Israeli settlement in the Heights condemned the strike, calling for Jews in Israel to deny the Druze services and jobs.[7]

Haim Cohn, who had served on the Supreme Court of Israel until his retirement in 1981, condemned the Israeli repression of the strikes at an Association for Civil Rights in Israel press conference, saying that "this is barbaric law."[22] In respones to Cohn's accusations, the Israeli military released a statement saying that it had been acting "with patience, tolerance and considerable restraint" and that emergency regulations were "a legitimate and integral part of the Israeli law."[23] Minister of Internal Affairs Yosef Burg described Cohn's accusations as "vicious."[22] Cohn received support from Labour Alignment MKs Yossi Sarid, who called for Israeli soldiers to disobey illegal orders, and Uzi Baram, who called for a special session of the Knesset over the repression.[22]

Aftermath

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As of October 2024, the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights is still in place, and Israeli settlement in the Heights continues.[24] In 2019, the United States became the first country to formally recognise the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.[13] Israeli officials lobbied the United States into recognizing "Israeli sovereignty" over the territory.[25]

Demonstrations commemorating the strike have been held annually in Majdal Shams on 14 February.[24]

The outbreak of the 1982 Lebanon War would have a significant impact on the wider Druze community in Israel. In July 1982, Israeli Druze leaders wrote an open letter to Israeli President Yitzhak Navon asking him to restrain the Phalangists, a far-right Christian Lebanese paramilitary and Israeli ally in the war, from pillaging Druze villages in Lebanon.[26] Israeli Druze would hold a number of protests later in 1982 against the Israeli alliance with the Phalangists, with politician Zeidan Atashi stating that "if the Druze in Israel are expected to be brothers to the Jews in the IDF, the IDF cannot give arms to the Phalange forces to use it against us."[27]

References

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  1. ^ Dajani, Muna (6 March 2019). "Mapping Memories of Resistance: The Untold Story of the Occupation of the Golan Heights". LSE Blogs. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Schlotterbeck, Markus (17 June 2009). "Golan Druze resistance to Israeli forced citizenship, 1981-1982". Global Nonviolent Action Database. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Security Council Resolution 497 - UNSCR". unscr.com.
  4. ^ "Golan Druze Residents in a 3-day Strike to Protest Israel's Action". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 17 December 1981. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Ruling on Golan Druze". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 28 December 1981. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Druze on strike in Golan Heights". UPI. 14 February 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Druze on the Golan Stage Strike". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 16 February 1982. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  8. ^ Cornu, Francis (16 February 1982). "Les Druzes ont déclenché une grève illimitée". Le Monde. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  9. ^ a b Claiborne, William (21 February 1982). "General Strike by Druze Paralyzes Golan". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Israeli Troops Seal off Four Druze Villages on Golan Heights". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 26 February 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Druze Town Placed Under Curfew". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 18 March 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Golan Druze in 6th Week of Strike". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 March 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  13. ^ a b Jiménez, Erika (30 July 2024). "Rocket attack kills 12 children in Golan Heights – who are the Druze who live there?". The Conversation. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Druze Leaders Vow to Continue Strike". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 30 March 1982. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Restrictions Intensified on Movement of Druze on the Golan". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 2 April 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Sharon Says Some 4,000 Golan Druze Now Have Israeli Identity Cards". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 5 April 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Golan Druze Say They Return Israeli Id Cards". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 12 April 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Israeli Druze Prohibited from Testifying at UN Human Rights Panel". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 13 May 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Palestine is southern Syria: On Palestinian solidarity with Jawlani communities". Columbia University Centre for Palestinian Studies. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Golan Druze End 5-month Strike". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 21 July 1982. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  21. ^ Cornu, Francis (20 February 1982). "Les Druzes du plateau du Golan poursuivent leur mouvement de résistance passive". Le Monde. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  22. ^ a b c "Former High Court Justice Accuses Israel of Violating Human Rights of Golan Heights Druze Villagers". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 16 April 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  23. ^ "Allegations About Idfrole on Golan Sparks Storm of Criticism". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 19 April 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  24. ^ a b Guarnieri, Mya (25 February 2011). "Golan residents recall their Tahrir". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  25. ^ Wilner, Michael (2019-02-28). "GOP lawmakers introduce bill recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Golan". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
  26. ^ "Druze Ask for Protection". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 1 July 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Israeli Druze Demand Israel Stop Arming Phalangists Who Are Harassing Their Brethren in Lebanon". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 21 October 1982. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
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