Legendary Golan Heights leader Sami Bar-Lev, 71, is stepping down, retiring after serving the community for 40 years.

Bar-Lev, who was a resident of Haifa, moved to the newly-liberated Golan Heights in 1968, and has been serving that region since. He explains that when he arrived “there was nothing. We started from zero” but with Siyata Dishmaya, by 1973 he was already overseeing life in Katzrin.

In 1980, the Katzrin Local Council was established, headed by Bar-Lev, and he has maintained his position since that time. As a member of Likud, he was a leading voice calling upon Israeli leaders to annex the Golan Heights, which finally occurred in 1981. While Israel today views the Golan Heights as an integral part of the country, the international community views it as “Israeli occupied” along with large areas of Yerushalayim, the Jordan Valley, all of Yehuda, Shomron and more.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)