Neve Ativ

Neve Ativ
Hebrew	נְוֵה אַטִי"ב
Founded	1972
Council	Golan
Region	Golan Heights
Coordinates	33°15′42″N 35°44′28″E / 33.26167°N 35.74111°E / 33.26167; 35.74111Coordinates: 33°15′42″N 35°44′28″E / 33.26167°N 35.74111°E / 33.26167; 35.74111
Population	173 (2005)
Neve Ativ

Neve Ativ (Hebrew: נְוֵה אַטִי"ב‎‎), is a small Alpine-styled Israeli settlement (moshav) in the Golan Heights, founded in 1972, and located on the slopes of Mount Hermon, 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) west of Majdal Shams.^[1] The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[2]

Community

About 37 families live there. 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.

Ski resort

Ski resort machines

The moshav's main industry is tourism. Neve Ativ operates a thriving ski resort on 25 kilometers (16 mi) of ski runs on the slopes of the 9,232 feet (2,814 m)-above-sea-level Mount Hermon is the closest organized lodging area for visitors to the area.^[3][4]

The ski resort was destroyed in the Yom Kippur War. The following season, it was back in business as Israel's only ski resort.^[5] Frank Riley wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "This is a mountain and an experience that should happen at least once in every skier's lifetime."^[6] The ski season lasts three months, on average (December–March).^[7] In one weekend in January 2000, the ski site had 11,000 visitors.^[8] Later that month, the leaders of Neve Ativ expressed a hope to turn the ski resort into a joint Israeli-Syrian venture, opening it on both the Israeli and Syrian sides as an international tourist attraction.^[9]

Arab-Israeli conflict

Israel and Syria fought major battles in the area in 1967 and 1973, and it remains a strategic military position.^[10] Neve Ativ was built on the land of the destroyed Syrian village of Jubata ez-Zeit.^[11][12]

See also

• Economy of Israel
• Tourism in Israel

References

1. ^ Israel & the Palestinian territories, p. 271, Lonely Planet Israel, Michael Kohn, Lonely Planet, 2007, ISBN 1864502770, 9781864502770, accessed December 18, 2009
2. ^ "The Geneva Convention". BBC. December 10, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm. 
3. ^ Sandler, Neil, "AS ISRAELIS DEBATE THE FATE OF THE GOLAN...;...SKIERS AND INVESTORS FLOCK TO ITS SLOPES", August 8, 1994, accessed December 18, 2009
4. ^ Gee, Robert W., "They're not heavenly, but the Holy Land has slopes," Austin American-Statesman, February 10, 2002, accessed December 18, 2009
5. ^ "Ski resort back in business," Chicago Tribune, March 7, 1975, accessed December 18, 2009
6. ^ Riley, Frank, "Skiing Biblical Bashan Near Israel's Historic Treasures," Los Angeles Times, January 4, 1981, accessed December 18, 2009
7. ^ Kaplan, Janet, "Dive, rappel, cycle, plunge, snuba, soak, hike in Israel," Jweekly, September 10, 2009, accessed December 18, 2009
8. ^ Rudge, David, "Mt. Hermon swamped by 11,000 visitors," Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2000, accessed December 18, 2009
9. ^ "Hermon Ski Resort Hopes for Cooperative Management with Syrians," Israel Wire, January 20, 2000, accessed December 19, 2009
10. ^ Israel handbook: with the Palestinian Authority areas, Footprint handbooks, Dave Winter, Footprint Travel Guides, 1999, ISBN 1900949482, 9781900949484, accessed December 19, 2009
11. ^ 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 (Cambridge University Press) 11: 139–174 , p. 151
12. ^ 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. http://books.google.ca/books?id=czRmAAAAMAAJ&q=jubata+zeit&dq=jubata+zeit.