Buq'ata ( ar, بقعاثا ; he, בוקעאתא) is a

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

town, administered as a local council, in the northern section of the Israeli-occupied portion of the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. Buq'ata covers an area of 7,000

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; tr, dönüm; he, דונם), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area equivalent to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amou ...

s (7 km²) between two mountains in the Golan Heights, Mount Hermonit and Mount Varda. Located 1,070 metres above sea level, it had a population of in . Granted the right to obtain Israeli citizenship following the passage of the

Golan Heights Law The Golan Heights Law () is the Israeli law which applies Israel's government and laws to the Golan Heights. It was ratified by the Knesset by a vote of 63―21, on December 14, 1981.Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Golan Heights Law Althoug ...

, as of 2012 most of the residents, like the majority of

in the Golan Heights, adopted

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

but refused Israeli citizenship and instead retain

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n citizenship.Kerchner, Isabel
Echoes of Syria’s War in the Golan Heights
New York Times. August 7, 2012 Buq'ata is one of the four remaining Syrian-Druze communities on the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights, the others being Majdal Shams, Ein Qiniyye and Mas'ade. Geologically and geographically a distinction is made between the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, the boundary being marked by the Sa'ar Stream; however, administratively they are usually grouped together. Buq'ata and Mas'ade are on the Golan side of the boundary, characterised by black volcanic rock (basalt), while Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye are on the Hermon side, thus sitting on limestone.

History

Buq'ata was founded in the 1880s by families from the neighboring town of Majdal Shams. It was destroyed in 1888 during a series of feuds between rival villages in the area, and again in 1925, during the

Great Syrian Revolt The Great Syrian Revolt ( ar, الثورة السورية الكبرى) or Revolt of 1925 was a general uprising across the State of Syria and Greater Lebanon during the period of 1925 to 1927. The leading rebel forces comprised fighters of th ...

against the French mandatory rule. It became part of independent Syria in 1946. In the course of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...

in 1967, the town was captured by Israel. Buq'ata achieved Israeli local council status in 1982. Since the uprising in Syria, some of the violence has spilled over into Buq'ata, where residents loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus have clashed with anti-Assad activists.

Demography

According to data compiled by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics in 2001, Buq'ata ranked 2 out of 10 on the national socioeconomic index. In 2000, 72.5% of Grade 12 students graduated with a

Bagrut Te'udat Bagrut (, ''lit.'' "maturity certificate", Arabic: شهادة بجروت) is a certificate that attests that a student has successfully passed Israel's high school matriculation examination. Bagrut is a prerequisite for higher education i ...

matriculation certificate. In 2021, 98.9% of students matriculated, 2nd best in the country, though only 1.1% did so at the maximum level of Mathematics and English studies, 9th worst in the country. The inhabitants of Buq'ata have permanent residency in Israel and receive social welfare benefits from Israel.

Economy

The local economy is predominantly

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

, with

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

s and

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus '' Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years a ...

s being the main crops. In 2013, Buq'ata harvested 55,000 tons of apples, which it sold to markets in Israel or Syria. This arrangement still worked in 2013, but is under threat due to the civil war in Syria.Assad harvests support from Druze in Israel - with apples
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References

{{Northern District (Israel) Towns in Quneitra Governorate Populated places established in the 1880s Local councils in Northern District (Israel) Druze communities in Syria 1880s establishments in Ottoman Syria

History

Demography

Economy

See also

References