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|Golan Heights
هضبة الجولان
רמת הגולן
Lake Ram near Mount Hermon (background), in the northeastern Golan Heights
|Coordinates: 32°58′54″N 35°44′58″E / 32.98167°N 35.74944°ECoordinates: 32°58′54″N 35°44′58″E / 32.98167°N 35.74944°E
|Syrian territory occupied by Israel.[1][2]
|• Total
|1,800 km2 (700 sq mi)
|• Occupied by Israel
|1,200 km2 (500 sq mi)
|Highest elevation
|2,814 m (9,232 ft)
|Lowest elevation
|0 m (0 ft)
|It has been suggested that this article be split into a new article titled Golan plateau, accessible from a disambiguation page. (July 2014)
|Golan Heights
هضبة الجولان
רמת הגולן
Lake Ram near Mount Hermon (background), in the northeastern Golan Heights
|Coordinates: 32°58′54″N 35°44′58″E / 32.98167°N 35.74944°ECoordinates: 32°58′54″N 35°44′58″E / 32.98167°N 35.74944°E
|Syrian territory occupied by Israel.[1][2]
|• Total
|1,800 km2 (700 sq mi)
|• Occupied by Israel
|1,200 km2 (500 sq mi)
|Highest elevation
|2,814 m (9,232 ft)
|Lowest elevation
|0 m (0 ft)
The Golan Heights (Arabic: هضبة الجولان Haḍbatu 'l-Jawlān or مرتفعات الجولان Murtafaʻātu l-Jawlān, Hebrew: רמת הגולן, Ramat ha-Golan (audio) (help·info)), also called the Golan or the Syrian Golan,[3] is a region in the Levant. The exact region defined as the Golan Heights is different in different disciplines:
The earliest evidence of human habitation dates to the Upper Paleolithic period.[4] According to the Bible, an Amorite Kingdom in Bashan was conquered by Israelites during the reign of King Og.[5] Throughout the Old Testament period, the Golan was "the focus of a power struggle between the Kings of Israel and the Aramaeans who were based near modern-day Damascus."[6] The Itureans, an Arab or Aramaic people, settled there in the 2nd century BCE and remained until the end of the Byzantine period.[7][8][9] Organized Jewish settlement in the region came to an end in 636 CE when it was conquered by Arabs under Umar ibn al-Khattāb.[10] In the 16th century, the Golan was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and was part of the Vilayet of Damascus until it was transferred to French control in 1918. When the mandate terminated in 1946, it became part of the newly independent Syrian Arab Republic.
Internationally recognized as Syrian territory, the Golan Heights has been occupied and administered by Israel since 1967.[1] It was captured during the 1967 Six-Day War, establishing the Purple Line.[11]
On 19 June 1967, the Israeli cabinet voted to return the Golan to Syria in exchange for a peace agreement. Such overtures were dismissed by the Arab world with the Khartoum Resolution on September 1, 1967.[12][13] In the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel agreed to return about 5% of the territory to Syrian civilian control. This part was incorporated into a demilitarised zone that runs along the ceasefire line and extends eastward. This strip is under the military control of UN peace keeping forces.
Construction of Israeli settlements began in the remainder of the territory held by Israel, which was under military administration until Israel passed the Golan Heights Law extending Israeli law and administration throughout the territory in 1981.[14] This move was condemned by the United Nations Security Council in UN Resolution 497,[15][16] which said that "the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect." Israel asserts it has a right to retain the Golan, citing the text of UN Resolution 242, which calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force".[17] However, the international community rejects Israeli claims to title to the territory and regards it as sovereign Syrian territory.[1][18][19]
Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Barak, and Ehud Olmert each stated that they were willing to exchange the Golan for peace with Syria. However, in 2010, Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman told Syria to abandon its dreams of recovering the Golan Heights.[20] Approximately 10% of Syrian Golan Druze have accepted Israeli citizenship.[21] According to the CIA World Factbook, as of 2010, "there are 41 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights."[22]
Arabic names are Jawlān[23] and Djolan (Arabic: جولان).[24] In the bible Golan is mentioned as a city of refuge located in Bashan: Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 20:8, 1Chronicles 6:71.[25] Nineteenth-century authors interpreted the word "Golan" (Hebrew: גולן) as meaning "something surrounded, hence a district".[26][27] The Greek name for the region is Gaulanitis (Greek: Γαυλανῖτις).[23] In the Mishna the name is Gablān similar to Aramaic language names for the region: Gawlāna, Guwlana and Gublānā.[23]
Arab cartographers of the Byzantine period referred to the area as jabal (mountain), though the region is a plateau.[28] The Muslims took over in 7th century CE.[23] The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia refers to the region as Gaulonitis.[29] The name Golan Heights was not used before the 19th century.[25]
The Golan Heights borders Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. According to Israel, it has captured 1,150 square kilometres (440 sq mi). [30] According to Syria the Golan Heights measures 1,860 square kilometres (718 sq mi), of which 1,500 km2 (580 sq mi) are occupied by Israel.[31] According to the CIA, Israel holds 1,300 square kilometres (500 sq mi)[22]
The area is hilly and elevated, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Jordan River and 2,743.2 metres (9,000 ft) tall Mount Hermon.[32] The plateau has an average altitude of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) and an area totaling 1,800 square kilometres (690 sq mi), and straddles the boundary between Syria and Israeli-held territory. Elevations range from 2,814 metres (9,232 ft) in the north at Mount Hermon, to below sea level along the Sea of Galilee and the Yarmuk River in the south.[22] The plateau that Israel controls is part of a larger area of volcanic basalt fields stretching north and east that were created in the series of volcanic eruptions that began recently in geological terms, almost 4 million years ago, and continue to this day. It has distinct geographic boundaries. On the north, the Sa'ar valley (Banias) generally divides the lighter-colored limestone bedrock of the mountains from the dark-colored volcanic rocks of the Golan plateau. The western border of the plateau is truncated structurally by the Jordan Rift Valley, which falls down steeply into the lake. The southern border is lined by the Yarmuk River, which separates the plateau from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Finally, the east end of Golan Heights is carved out by the Raqqad river (Wadi Ruqqad) and areas still controlled by Syria.[33]
The plateau's north-south length is approximately 65 kilometres (40 mi) and its east-west width varies from 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to 25 kilometres (16 mi).[34][35] Topographically, the Golan Heights ranges in elevation from 2,814 metres (9,232 ft) on Mount Hermon in the north, to about 400 metres (1,300 ft) elevation along the Yarmuk River in the south. Lake Kinneret (also known as Sea of Galilee, Lake Tiberias) at the southwest corner of the plateau is 200 metres (660 ft) below sea level. The steeper, more rugged topography is generally limited to the northern half, including Mount Hermon foothills; on the south the plateau is more level.[34]
The broader Golan plateau exhibits a more subdued topography, generally ranging between 120 metres (390 ft) and 520 metres (1,710 ft) in elevation. In Israel, the Golan plateau is divided into three regions: northern (between the Sa'ar and Jilabun valleys), central (between the Jilabun and Daliyot valleys), and southern (between the Dlayot and Yarmouk valleys). The Golan Heights is bordered on the west by a rock escarpment that drops 500 metres (1,600 ft) to the Jordan River valley and the Sea of Galilee. In the south, the incised Yarmouk River valley marks the limits of the plateau and, east of the abandoned railroad bridge upstream of Hamat Gader and Al Hammah, it marks the recognised international border between Syria and Jordan.[36]
Geologically, the Golan plateau and the Hauran plain to the east constitute a Holocene volcanic field that also extends northeast almost to Damascus. Much of the area is scattered with dormant volcanos, as well as cinder cones, such as Majdal Shams. The plateau also contains a crater lake, called Birkat Ram ("Ram Pool"), which is fed by both surface runoff and underground springs. These volcanic areas are characterised by basalt bedrock and dark soils derived from its weathering. The basalt flows overlie older, distinctly lighter-colored limestones and marls, exposed along the Yarmouk River in the south.
The rock forming the mountainous area in the northern Golan Heights, descending from Mount Hermon, differs geologically from the volcanic rocks of the plateau and has a different physiography. The mountains are characterised by lighter-colored, Jurassic-age limestone of sedimentary origin. Locally, the limestone is broken by faults and solution channels to form a karst-like topography in which springs are common.
In addition to its strategic military importance, the Golan Heights is an important water resource, especially at the higher elevations, which are snow-covered in the winter and help sustain baseflow for rivers and springs during the dry season. The heights receive significantly more precipitation than the surrounding, lower-elevation areas. The occupied sector of the Golan Heights provides or controls a substantial portion of the water in the Jordan River watershed, which in turn provides a portion of Israel's water supply. The Golan Heights supply 15% of Israel's water.[37]
The Venus of Berekhat Ram, a stone figure from the Lower Paleolithic era, found in the Golan Heights, may have been created by Homo erectus between 700,000 and 230,000 BCE.[38]
In the 3rd millennium BC the Amorites inhabited the Golan until it was conquered in the 2nd millennium by the Arameans. The Aramaean city state Aram Damascus reached over most of Golan to the Sea of Galilee.[39]
According to the Bible, the Children of Israel conquered the Golan from the Amorites.[5] The Bible also says that the area, known as Bashan, was inhabited by two Israelite tribes during the time of Joshua, the tribe of Dan[40] and Manasseh. The city of Golan was a city of refuge. King Solomon appointed ministers in the region.[41] After the split of the United Monarchy, the area was contested between the northern Kingdom of Israel and the Aramean kingdom from the 9th century BC. King Ahab of Israel (reigned 874–852 BC) defeated Ben-Hadad I in Afek of the southern Golan.
In the 8th century BC the Assyrians gained control of the area, followed by the Babylonian and the Persian Empire. In the 5th century BC, the Persian Empire allowed the region to be resettled by returning Jewish exiles from Babylonian Captivity.
The Golan Heights, along with the rest of the region, came under the control of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, following the Battle of Issus. Following Alexander's death, the Golan came under the domination of the Macedonian noble Seleucus and remained part of the Seleucid Empire for most of the next two centuries. It is during this period that the name Golan, previously that of a city mentioned in the book of Deuteronomy, came to be applied to the entire region (Greek: Gaulanitis).
After the Assyrian period, about four centuries provide limited archaeological finds in the Golan.[42] In the middle of the 2nd century BCE, Itureans started living in the Golan.[9] They lived in over 100 locations in the Mount Hermon and Golan region.[43]
The Maccabean revolt saw much action in the regions around the Golan and it is possible that the Jewish communities of the Golan were among those rescued by Judas Maccabeus during his campaign in the Galilee and Gilead (Transjordan) mentioned in Chapter 5 of 1 Maccabees. The Golan, however, remained in Seleucid hands until the campaign of Alexander Jannaeus from 83–80 BC. Jannaeus established the city of Gamla in 81 BC as the Hasmonean capital for the region.
During the Roman and Byzantine periods the area was administered as part of Phoenicia Prima and Syria Palaestina, and finally Golan/Gaulanitis was included together with Peraea[28] in Palaestina Secunda, after 218 AD.[23] Ancient kingdom Bashan was incorporated into the province of Batanea.[44]
Following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, Augustus Caesar adjudicated that the Golan fell within the Tetrarchy of Herod's son, Herod Philip I. After Philip's death in 34 AD, the Romans absorbed the Golan into the province of Syria, but Caligula restored the territory to Herod's grandson Agrippa in 37. Following Agrippa's death in 44, the Romans again annexed the Golan to Syria, promptly to return it again when Claudius traded the Golan to Agrippa II, the son of Agrippa I, in 51 as part of a land swap. Although nominally under Agrippa's control and not part of the province of Judea, the Jewish communities of the Golan joined their coreligionists in the First Jewish-Roman War, only to fall to the Roman armies in its early stages. Gamla was captured in 67; according to Josephus, its inhabitants committed mass suicide, preferring it to crucifixion and slavery. Agrippa II contributed soldiers to the Roman war effort and attempted to negotiate an end to the revolt. In return for his loyalty, Rome allowed him to retain his kingdom, but finally absorbed the Golan for good after his death in 100.
In about 250, the Ghassanids, Arab Christians from Yemen, established a kingdom which encompassed southern Syria and the Transjordan, building their capital at Jabiyah on the Golan. Like the later Herodians, the Ghassanids ruled as clients of Byzantine Rome; unlike the Herodians, the Ghassanids were able to hold on to the Golan until the Sassanid invasion of 614. Following a brief restoration under the Emperor Heraclius, the Golan again fell, this time to the invading Arabs after the Battle of Yarmouk in 636.
After Yarmouk, Muawiyah I, a member of Muhammad's tribe, the Quraish, was appointed governor of Syria, including the Golan. Following the assassination of his cousin, the Caliph Uthman, Muawiya claimed the Caliphate for himself, initiating the Umayyad dynasty. Over the next few centuries, while remaining in Muslim hands, the Golan passed through many dynastic changes, falling first to the Abbasids, then to the Shi'ite Fatimids, then to the Seljuk Turks, then to the Kurdish Ayyubids. During the Crusades, the Heights represented a formidable obstacle the Crusader armies were not able to conquer, and the area was a part of the Emirate of Damascus during this time.[45][46] The Mongols swept through in 1259, but were driven off by the Mamluk sultan Qutuz at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. Ain Jalut ensured Mamluk dominance of the region for the next 250 years. For many centuries nomadic tribes lived together with the sedentary population in the region. At times, the central government attempted to settle the nomads which would result in the establishment of permanent communities. When the power of the governing regime declined, as happened during the early Muslim period, nomadic trends increased and many of the rural and agricultural villages were abandoned due to harassment from the Bedouins. They were not resettled until the second half of the 19th century.[47]
In the 16th century, the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria. During this time, the Golan formed part of the southern district of their empire. Some Druze communities were established in the Golan during the 17th and 18th centuries.[48] In 1868, the region was described as "almost entirely desolate." According to a travel handbook of the time, only 11 of 127 ancient towns and villages in the Golan were inhabited.[49] As a result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, there was a huge influx of refugees from the Caucasus into the empire. The Ottomans encouraged them to settle in southern Syria, particularly the Golan Heights, by granting them land with a 12-year tax exemption.[50][51][52][53]
In 1884 there were still open stretches of uncultivated land between villages in the lower Golan, but by the mid-1890s most was owned and cultivated.[54] Some land had been purchased in the Golan and Hawran by Zionist associations based in Romania, Bulgaria, the USA and England, in the late 19th century and early 20th century.[55] In 1880, Laurence Oliphant published Eretz ha-Gilad (The Land of Gilead), which described a plan for large-scale Jewish settlement in the Golan.[56] In the winter of 1885, members of the Old Yishuv in Safed formed the Beit Yehuda Society and purchased 15,000 dunams of land from the village of Ramthaniye in the central Golan.[57] Due to financial hardships and the long wait for a kushan (Ottoman land deed) the village, Golan be-Bashan, was abandoned after a year. Soon afterwards, the society regrouped and purchased 2,000 dunams of land from the village of Bir e-Shagum on the western slopes of the Golan.[58] The village they established, Bnei Yehuda, existed until 1920.[59][60] The last families left in the wake of the Passover riots of 1920.[57] In 1944 the JNF bought the Bnei Yehuda lands from their Jewish owners, but a later attempt to establish Jewish ownership of the property in Bir e-Shagum through the courts was not successful.[59]
Between 1891 and 1894, Baron Edmond James de Rothschild purchased around 150,000 dunams of land in the Golan and the Hawran for Jewish settlement.[57] Legal and political permits were secured and ownership of the land was registered in late 1894.[57]
The Agudat Ahim society, whose headquarters were in Yekatrinoslav, Russia, acquired 100,000 dunams of land in several locations in the districts of Fiq and Daraa. A plant nursery was established and work began on farm buildings in Djillin.[57] The Jews also built a road stretching from Lake Hula to Muzayrib.[59] A village called Tiferet Binyamin was established on lands purchased from Saham al-Jawlan by the Shavei Zion Association based in New York,[55] but the project was abandoned after a year when the Turks issued an edict in 1896 evicting the 17 non-Turkish families. A later attempt to resettle the site with Syrian Jews who were Ottoman citizens also failed.[61] Between 1904 and 1908, a group of Crimean Jews settled in the Bethsaida Valley, initially as tenants of a Kurdish proprietor with the prospects of purchasing the land, but the arrangement faltered.[62][63] Jewish settlement in the region dwindled over time, due to Arab hostility, Turkish bureaucracy, disease and economic difficulties.[64] In 1921–1930, during the French Mandate, the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA) obtained the deeds to the Rothschild estate and continued to manage it, collecting rents from the Arab peasants living there.[59]
Great Britain accepted a Mandate for Palestine at the meeting of the Allied Supreme Council at San Remo, but the borders of the territory were not defined at that stage.[65][66] The boundary between the forthcoming British and French mandates was defined in broad terms by the Franco-British Boundary Agreement of December 1920.[67] That agreement placed the bulk of the Golan Heights in the French sphere. The treaty also established a joint commission to settle the precise details of the border and mark it on the ground.[67] The commission submitted its final report on February 3, 1922, and it was approved with some caveats by the British and French governments on March 7, 1923, several months before Britain and France assumed their Mandatory responsibilities on 29 September 1923.[68][69] In accordance with the same process, a nearby parcel of land that included the ancient site of Tel Dan and the Dan spring were transferred from Syria to Palestine early in 1924. The Golan Heights, including the spring at Wazzani and the one at Banias, thus became part of the French Mandate of Syria, while the Sea of Galilee was placed entirely within the British Mandate of Palestine. When the French Mandate of Syria ended in 1944, the Golan Heights became part of the newly independent state of Syria and was later incorporated into Quneitra Governorate.
After the 1948–49 Arab-Israeli War, the Golan Heights were partly demilitarised by the Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement. During the following years, the area along the border witnessed thousands of violent incidents; the armistice agreement was being violated by both sides. The underlying causes of the conflict were a disagreement over the legal status of the demilitarised zone (DMZ), cultivation of land within it and competition over water resources. Syria claimed that neither party had sovereignty over the DMZ. Israel contended that the Armistice Agreement dealt solely with military concerns and that she had political and legal rights over the DMZ. Israel wanted to assert control up till the 1923 boundary in order to reclaim the Hula swamp, gain exclusive rights to Lake Galilee and divert water from the Jordan for its National Water Carrier. During the 1950s, Syria registered two principal territorial accomplishments: it took over Al-Hammah enclosure south of Lake Tiberias and established a de facto presence on and control of eastern shore of the lake.[70][71]
Attempts by Israel and Syria to divert water from the Jordan River and its tributaries in the 1950s and 1960s sparked "The War over Water" in July 1966.[72] Fatah began raids into Israeli territory in early 1965, with active support from Syria. At first the militants entered via Lebanon or Jordan, but those countries made concerted attempts to stop them and raids directly from Syria increased.[73] Israel's response was a series of retaliatory raids, of which the largest were an attack on the Jordanian village of Samu in November 1966.[74] In April 1967, after Syria heavily shelled Israeli villages from the Golan Heights, Israel shot down six Syrian MiG fighter planes and warned Syria against future attacks.[73][75]
In the period between the first Arab-Israeli War and the Six-Day War, the Syrians constantly harassed Israeli border communities by firing artillery shells from their dominant positions on the Golan Heights.[76][77] In October 1966 Israel brought the matter up before the United Nations. Five nations sponsored a resolution criticizing Syria for its actions but it failed to pass due to a Soviet veto.[78][79][80]
Former Israeli General Mattityahu Peled said that more than half of the border clashes before the 1967 war "were a result of our security policy of maximum settlement in the demilitarised area."[81] Israeli incursions into the zone were responded to with Syrians shooting. Israel in turn would retaliate with military force.[70] Sir Alec Douglas-Home, former Prime Minister of the UK, stated that when he was visiting the Galilee a few months before the 1967 war "at regular intervals the Russian-built forts on the Golan Heights used to lob shells into the villages, often claiming civilian casualties." He said after the 1973 war that any agreement between the two sides "must clearly put a stop the that kind of offensive action."[82]
In 1976, Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan said that Israel provoked more than 80% of the clashes with Syria, although historians say the remark was part of an informal conversation.[83] The provocation was sending a tractor to plow in the demilitarized areas. The Syrians responded by firing at the tractors and shelling Israeli settlements.[84][85] Jan Mühren, a former UN observer in the area at the time, told a Dutch current affairs programme that Israel provoked most border incidents as part of its strategy to annex more land.[86] UN officials blamed both Israel and Syria for destabilizing the borders.[87]
After the Six-Day War broke out in June 1967, Syria's shelling greatly intensified and the Israeli army captured the Golan Heights on 9–10 June. The area which came under Israeli control as a result of the war consists of two geologically distinct areas: the Golan Heights proper, with a surface of 1,070 square kilometres (410 sq mi) and the slopes of the Mt. Hermon range, with a surface of 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi). The new ceasefire line was named the Purple Line. In the battle, Israel lost 115 men, with another 306 wounded. An estimated 2,500 Syrians were killed, with another 5,000 wounded.[88]
During the war, between 80,000[89] and 131,000[90] Arab Druze and Circassians fled or were driven from the heights and around 7,000 remained in the Israeli-occupied territory.[90] Israeli sources and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported that much of the local population of 100,000 fled as a result of the war, whereas the Syrian government stated that a large proportion of it was expelled.[91] Israel has not allowed former residents to return, citing security reasons.[92] The remaining villages were Majdal Shams, Shayta (later destroyed), Ein Qiniyye, Mas'ade, Buq'ata and, outside the Golan proper, Ghajar.
Israeli settlement in the Golan began soon after the war. Merom Golan was founded in July 1967 and by 1970 there were 12 settlements.[93]
In the 1970s, Israeli politician Yigal Allon proposed as part of the Allon Plan that a Druze state be established in Syria's Quneitra Governorate, including the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Allon died in 1980 and his plan never materialised.[94]
During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan, before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all the Heights in Israeli hands. East of the 1974 ceasefire line lies the Syrian controlled part of the Heights, an area that was not captured by Israel (500 square kilometres or 190 sq mi) or withdrawn from (100 square kilometres or 39 sq mi). This area forms 30% of the Golan Heights.[95] Today it contains more than 40 Syrian towns and villages. In 1975, following the 1974 ceasefire agreement, Israel returned a narrow demilitarised zone to Syrian control. Some of the displaced residents began returning to their homes located in this strip and the Syrian government began helping people rebuild their villages, except for Quneitra. In the mid-1980s the Syrian government launched a plan called "The Project for the Reconstruction of the Liberated Villages".[citation needed] By the end of 2007, the population of the Quneitra Governorate was estimated at 79,000.[96] Mines deployed by the Syrian army remain active. As of 2003, there had been at least 216 landmine casualties in the Syrian-controlled Golan since 1973, of which 108 were fatalities.[97]
The Golan Heights was under Israeli military administration from 1967 to 1981. In 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law,[14] which applied Israeli "laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the Golan Heights. Although the law in effect annexed the territory to Israel, it did not explicitly spell out the formal annexation.[98] The area is administered as part of Israel's North District. Israel's action was not recognised internationally[99] and United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 which declared the Golan Heights Israeli-occupied territory continues to apply. Israel maintains that it may retain the area as the text of Resolution 242 calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force".[17]
During the negotiations regarding the text of United Nations Security Council resolution 242, U.S. Secretary of State Rusk explained that U.S. support for secure permanent frontiers did not mean the US supported territorial changes.[100] The U.N. representative for Great Britain was responsible for negotiating and drafting the Security Council resolution said that the actions of the Israeli Government in establishing settlements and colonizing the Golan are in clear defiance of Resolution 242.[101]
Syria continued to demand a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, including a strip of land on the east shore of the Sea of Galilee that Syria captured during the 1948–49 Arab-Israeli War and occupied from 1949–67. Successive Israeli governments have considered an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan in return for normalization of relations with Syria, provided certain security concerns are met. Prior to 2000, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad rejected normalization with Israel.
During United States–brokered negotiations in 1999–2000, Israel and Syria discussed a peace deal that would include Israeli withdrawal in return for a comprehensive peace structure, recognition and full normalization of relations. The disagreement in the final stages of the talks was on access to the Sea of Galilee. Israel offered to withdraw to the pre-1948 border (the 1923 Paulet-Newcombe line), while Syria insisted on the 1967 frontier. The former line has never been recognised by Syria, claiming it was imposed by the colonial powers, while the latter was rejected by Israel as the result of Syrian aggression. The difference between the lines is less than 100 m for the most part, but the 1967 line would give Syria access to the Sea of Galilee, and Israel wished to retain control of the Sea of Galilee, its only freshwater lake and a major water resource.[102] Dennis Ross, Clinton's chief Middle East negotiator, blamed "cold feet" on the part of Barak for the breakdown.[103] Clinton also laid blame on Israel.[104]
In June 2007, it was reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had sent a secret message to Syrian President, Bashar Assad saying that Israel would concede the land in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement and the severing of Syria's ties with Iran and militant groups in the region.[105] On the same day, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the former Syrian President, Hafez Assad, had promised to let Israel retain Mount Hermon in any future agreement.[106]
In April 2008, Syrian media reported Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told President Bashar al-Assad that Israel would withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace.[107][108] Israeli leaders of communities in the Golan Heights held a special meeting and stated: "all construction and development projects in the Golan are going ahead as planned, propelled by the certainty that any attempt to harm Israeli sovereignty in the Golan will cause severe damage to state security and thus is doomed to fail". [109] That year, a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution 161–1 in favour of a motion on the Golan Heights that reaffirmed Security Council resolution 497 and called on Israel to desist from "changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and, in particular, to desist from the establishment of settlements [and] from imposing Israeli citizenship and Israeli identity cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan and from its repressive measures against the population of the occupied Syrian Golan." Israel was the only nation to vote against the resolution.[110] Indirect talks broke down after the Gaza War began. Syria broke off the talks to protest Israeli military operations. Israel subsequently appealed to Turkey to resume mediation.[111]
In May 2009, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that returning the Golan Heights would turn it into "Iran's front lines which will threaten the whole state of Israel."[112][113] He said: "I remember the Golan Heights without Katzrin, and suddenly we see a thriving city in the Land of Israel, which having been a gem of the Second Temple era has been revived anew."[114] American diplomat Martin Indyk said that the 1999–2000 round of negotiations began during Netanyahu's first term (1996–1999), and he was not as hardline as he made out.[115]
In March 2009, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claimed that indirect talks had failed after Israel did not commit to full withdrawal from the Golan Heights. In August 2009, he said that the return of the entire Golan Heights was "non-negotiable," it would remain "fully Arab," and would be returned to Syria.[116]
In June 2009, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that Syrian President Assad would have to negotiate without preconditions, and that Syria would not win territorial concessions from Israel on a "silver platter" while it maintained ties with Iran and Hezbollah.[117] In response, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem demanded that Israel unconditionally cede the Golan Heights "on a silver platter" without any preconditions, adding that "it is our land," and blamed Israel for failing to commit to peace. Syrian President Assad claimed that there was "no real partner in Israel."[118]
In 2010, Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said: "We must make Syria recognise that just as it relinquished its dream of a greater Syria that controls Lebanon ... it will have to relinquish its ultimate demand regarding the Golan Heights"[20]
Claims on the territory include the fact that an area in northwestern of the Golan region, delineated by a rough triangle formed by the towns of Banias, Quneitra and the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, was part of the British Palestine Mandate in which the establishment of a Jewish national home had been promised.[119] In 1923, this triangle in northwestern Golan was ceded to the French Mandate in Syria, but in exchange for this, land areas in Syria and Lebanon was ceded to Palestine, and the whole of the Sea of Galilee which previously had its eastern boundary connected to Syria was placed inside Palestine.[120] Syrians counter that the region was placed in the Vilayet of Damascus as part of Syria under the Ottoman boundaries and that the 1920 British-Franco agreement which had placed part of the Golan under the control of Britain was only temporary and that the final border line drawn up in 1923, which excluded the Golan triangle, had superseded it,[119] although Syria has never recognised the 1923 border as legally binding.
One of the aspects of the dispute involves the existence prior to 1967 of three different lines separating Syria from Israel (or, prior to 1948, from the British Mandate for Palestine).
The 1923 boundary between Mandate Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria was drawn with water in mind.[121] Accordingly, it was demarcated so that all of the Sea of Galilee, including a 10-meter wide strip of beach along its northeastern shore, would stay inside Palestine. From the Sea of Galilee north to Lake Hula the boundary was drawn between 50 and 400 meters east of the upper Jordan River, keeping that stream entirely within the British Mandate. The British also received a sliver of land along the Yarmouk River, out to the present-day Hamat Gader.[122]
During the Arab-Israeli War, Syria captured various areas of the former Palestine mandate, including the 10-meter strip of beach, the east bank of the upper Jordan, as well as areas along the Yarmouk.
While negotiating the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Israel called for the removal of all Syrian forces from the former Palestine territory. Syria refused, insisting on an armistice line based not on the 1923 international border but on the military status quo. The result was a compromise. Under the terms of an armistice signed on July 20, 1949, Syrian forces were to withdraw east of the old Palestine-Syria boundary. Israeli forces were to refrain from entering the evacuated areas, which would become a demilitarised zone, "from which the armed forces of both Parties shall be totally excluded, and in which no activities by military or paramilitary forces shall be permitted."[123] Accordingly, major parts of the armistice lines departed from the 1923 boundary and protruded into Israel. There were three distinct, non-contiguous enclaves—in the extreme northeast to the west of Banias, on the west bank of the Jordan River near Lake Hula, and the eastern-southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee extending out to Hamat Gader, consisting of 66.5 square kilometres (25.7 sq mi) of land lying between the 1949 armistice line and the 1923 boundary, forming the demilitarised zone.[121]
Following the armistice, both Israel and Syria sought to take advantage of the territorial ambiguities left in place by the 1949 agreement. This resulted in an evolving tactical situation, one "snapshot" of which was the disposition of forces immediately prior to the Six-Day War, the "line of June 4, 1967".[121]
On June 7, 2000, the demarcation Blue Line was established by the UN in order to ensure full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, according to UN Security Council Resolution 425. After Israeli troops left Lebanese soil, the UN announced the resolution had been respected. However, Lebanon continues to claim a small portion of the area occupied by Israel and administered as part of the Golan Heights. The territory, known as the Shebaa Farms, measures 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi) and lies on the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Maps used by the UN in demarcating the Blue Line were not able to conclusively show the border between Lebanon and Syria in the area. Syria agrees that the Shebaa Farms are within Lebanese territory; however, Israel considers the area to be inside of Syria's borders and continues to occupy the territory.[124][125][126]
Al Ghajar village is another complex border issue west of Shebaa farms. Before the 1967 war this Alawite village was in Syria. It is divided by an international boundary, with the northern part of the village on the Lebanese side since 2000. Residents of both parts hold Israeli citizenship, and in the northern part often a Lebanese passport as well. Today the entire village is surrounded by a fence, with no division between the Israeli-occupied and Lebanese sides. There is an Israeli army checkpoint at the entrance to the village from the rest of the Golan Heights.[126]
In 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford wrote a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin stating that the U.S. had not developed a final position on the borders but once it had, it would give great weight to Israel's position that a peace agreement with Syria must be predicated on Israel remaining on the Golan Heights.[127]
In 1991, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker told Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir that the United States would honor the position expressed in Ford's letter. William B. Quandt speculates that Baker told Syrian President Hafez al-Assad that the United States did not recognize Israel's annexation of the Golan and thought that UN Resolution 242 should apply there.[128]
The United States considers the Golan Heights to be Syrian territory held under Israeli occupation subject to negotiation and Israeli withdrawal. The United States considers the application of Israeli law to the Golan Heights to be a violation of international law, both the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force and United Nations Security Council Resolution 242.[129]
UNDOF (the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) was established in 1974 to supervise the implementation of the Agreement on Disengagement and maintain the ceasefire with an area of separation known as the UNDOF Zone. Currently there are more than 1,000 UN peacekeepers there trying to sustain a lasting peace. Details of the UNDOF mission, mandate, map and military positions can be accessed via the following United Nations link.[130] Syria and Israel still contest the ownership of the Heights but have not used overt military force since 1974. The great strategic value of the Heights both militarily and as a source of water means that a deal is uncertain. Members of the UN Disengagement force are usually the only individuals who cross the Israeli-Syrian de facto border (cease fire "Alpha Line"), but since 1988 Israel has allowed Druze pilgrims to cross into Syria to visit the shrine of Abel on Mount Qasioun. Since 1967, Druze brides have been allowed to cross into Syria, although they do so in the knowledge that they may not be able to return.
Though the cease fire in the UNDOF zone has been largely uninterrupted since the seventies, in 2012 there have been repeated violations from the Syrian side, including tanks[131] and live fire,[132] though these incidents are attributed to the ongoing Syrian civil war rather than intentionally directed towards Israel.[133]
The population of the Golan Heights prior to the 1967 Six-Day War has been estimated between 130,000 and 145,000, including 17,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA.[134] Between 80,000[89] and 130,000[90] Syrians fled or were driven from the heights during the Six-Day War and around 7,000 remained in the Israeli-held territory in six villages: Majdal Shams, Mas'ade, Buq'ata, Ein Qiniyye, Ghajar and Shayta.[90]
Israel demolished over one hundred Syrian villages and farms in the Golan Heights.[135][136] After the demolitions, the lands were given to Israeli settlers.[137]
Quneitra was the largest town in the Golan Heights until 1967, with a population of 27,000. It was occupied by Israel on the last day of the Six-Day War and handed back to Syrian civil control per the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. But the Israelis had destroyed Quneitra with dynamite and bulldozers before they withdrew from the city.[138][139] East of the 1973 ceasefire line, in the Syrian controlled part of the Golan Heights, an area of 600 square kilometres (232 sq mi), are more than 40 Syrian towns and villages, including Quneitra, Khan Arnabah, Alhameedia, Alrafeed, Alsamdaneea, Almudareea, Beer Ajam, Barika, Gadeer Albustan, Hadar, Juba, Kodana, Ofanya, Rwaiheena, Nabe' Alsakher, Trinja, Umm Ale'zam, and Umm batna. The population of the Quneitra Governorate numbers 79,000.[96]
In the late 1970s, the Israeli government offered all non-Israelis living in the Golan citizenship, but until the early 21st century fewer than 10% of the Druze were Israeli citizens; the remainder held Syrian citizenship.[140] The Golan Alawites in the village of Ghajar accepted Israeli citizenship in 1981.[141] In 2012, due to the situation in Syria, young Druze have applied to Israeli citizenship in much larger numbers than in previous years.[142]
In 2012, there were 20,000 Druze with Syrian citizenship living in the Israeli-occupied portion Golan Heights.[143]
The Druze living in the Golan Heights are permanent residents of Israel. They hold laissez-passers issued by the Israeli government, and enjoy the country's social welfare benefits.[144] The pro-Israeli Druze were historically ostracized by the pro-Syrian Druze.[145] Reluctance to accept citizenship also reflects fear of ill treatment or displacement by Syrian authorities should the Golan Heights eventually be returned to Syria.[146] According to The Independent, most Druze in the Golan Heights live relatively comfortable lives in a freer society than they would have in Syria under Assad's regime.[147] According to Egypt's Daily Star, their standard of living vastly surpasses that of their counterparts on the Syrian side of the border. Hence their fear of a return to Syria, though most of them identify themselves as Syrian,[148] but feel alienated from the autocratic regime in Damascus. According to the Associated Press, "many young Druse have been quietly relieved at the failure of previous Syrian-Israeli peace talks to go forward." Ties to Syria are on the wane, and many have come to appreciate aspects of Israel's liberal democratic society, although few risk saying so publicly for fear of Syrian retribution.[149] On the other hand, expressing pro-Syrian rhetoric, The Economist found, represents the Golan Druzes' view that by doing so they may be potentially rewarded by Syria, while simultaneously risking nothing in Israel's freewheeling society. The Economist likewise reported that "Some optimists see the future Golan as a sort of Hong Kong, continuing to enjoy the perks of Israel's dynamic economy and open society, while coming back under the sovereignty of a stricter, less developed Syria." The Druze are also reportedly well-educated and relatively prosperous, and have made use of Israel's universities.[150]
Since 1988, Druze clerics have been permitted to make annual religious pilgrimages to Syria. Since 2005, Israel has allowed Druze farmers to export some 11,000 tons of apples to the rest of Syria each year, constituting the first commercial relations between Syria and Israel.[149]
Since 2012, the number of applications for Israeli citizenship is growing, although Syrian loyalty remains strong and those who apply for citizenship are often ostracized by members of the older generation.[151]
Israeli settlement activity began in the 1970s. The area was governed by military administration until 1981 when Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, which extended Israeli law and administration throughout the territory.[14] This move was condemned by the United Nations Security Council in UN Resolution 497,[15][16] although Israel asserts it has a right to retain the area, citing the text of UN Resolution 242, adopted after the Six-Day War, which calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force".[17] The continued Israeli control of the Golan Heights remains highly contested and is still regarded as belligerent occupation by most countries. However, the international community rejects the validity of the Golan Heights Law as an attempted annexation by force, illegal under the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions.[152] Israeli settlements and human rights policy in the occupied territory have also drawn criticism from the UN.[153][154]
The Israeli-occupied territory is administered by the Golan Regional Council, based in Katzrin, which has a population of 6,400. There another 19 moshavim and 10 kibbutzim. In 1989, the settler population was 10,000.[155] In 2010 the settlers had expanded to 20,000[156] living in 32 settlements.[157][158]
The Golan Heights features numerous archeological sites, mountains, streams and waterfalls. Throughout the region 62 ancient synagogues have been found dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods.[159]
Kursi is the ruins of a Byzantine Christian monastery.
Katzrin is the administrative and commercial center of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Katzrin Ancient Village is an archaeological site on the outskirts of Katzrin where the remains of a Talmud-era village and synagogue have been reconstructed.[160] Golan Archaeological Museum hosts archaeological finds uncovered in the Golan Heights from prehistoric times. A special focus concerns Gamla and excavations of synagogues and Byzantine churches.[161]
Golan Heights Winery, a major Israeli winery, and the mineral water plant of Mey Eden, which derives its water from the spring of Salukiya in the Golan. One can tour these factories as well as factories of oil products and fruit products.
Two open air strip malls, one which holds the Kesem ha-Golan (Golan Magic), a three-dimensional movie and model of the geography and history of the Golan Heights.
Gamla Nature Reserve is an open park with the archaeological remains of the ancient Jewish city of Gamla — including a tower, wall and synagogue. It is also the site of a large waterfall, an ancient Byzantine church, and a panoramic spot to observe the nearly 100 vultures who dwell in the cliffs. Israeli scientists study the vultures and tourists can watch them fly and nest.[162]
Rujm el-Hiri is a large circular stone monument similar to Stonehenge. Excavations since 1968 have not uncovered material remains common to archaeological sites in the region. Archaeologists believe the site may have been a ritual center linked to a cult of the dead.[163] A 3D model of the site exists in the Museum of Golan Antiquities in Katzrin.
Um el Kanatir is another impressive set of standing ruins of a Jewish village of the Byzantine era. The site includes a very large synagogue and two arches next to a natural spring.[164]
Now a nature reserve, the Nimrod Fortress was once used by the Ayyubids, Crusaders, Mongols and Mamluks.
A ski resort on the slopes of Mount Hermon features a wide range of ski trails and activities. Several restaurants are located in the area. The Lake Ram crater lake is nearby.
Hamat Gader is site of natural hot mineral springs with temperatures reaching 50 °C (122 °F). Hamat Gader was already used for recreation and healing purposes during Roman times. The site includes a Roman theatre, which was built in the 3rd century CE and contained 2,000 seats. A large synagogue was built in the 5th century CE.
Hippos is an ancient Greco-Roman city, known in Jewish Aramaic as Susita. The archaeological site includes excavations of the city's forum, the small imperial cult temple, a large Hellenistic temple compound, the Roman city gates, and two Byzantine churches.
On a visit to Israel and the Golan Heights in 1972, Cornelius Ough, a professor of viticulture and oenology at the University of California, Davis, pronounced conditions in the Golan very suitable for the cultivation of wine grapes.[165] A consortium of four kibbutzim and four moshavim took up the challenge, clearing 250 burnt-out tanks in the Golan's Valley of Tears to plant vineyards for what would eventually become the Golan Heights Winery.[166] The first vines were planted in 1976, and the first wine was released by the winery in 1983.[165] The heights are now home to about a dozen wineries.[167]
In the early 1990s, the Israel National Oil Company (INOC) was granted shaft-sinking permits in the Golan Heights. It estimated a recovery potential of two million barrels of oil, equivalent at the time to $24 million. During the Yitzhak Rabin administration (1992–1995), the permits were suspended as efforts were undertaken to restart peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. In 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu granted preliminary approval to INOC to proceed with oil exploration drilling in the Golan.[168][169][170] INOC began undergoing a process of privatization in 1997, overseen by then-Director of the Government Companies Authority (GCA), Tzipi Livni. During that time, it was decided that INOC's drilling permits would be returned to the state.[171][172] In 2012, National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau approved exploratory drilling for oil and natural gas in the Golan.[173] The following year, the Petroleum Council of Israel's Ministry of Energy and Water Resources awarded a drilling license covering half the area of the Golan Heights to a local subsidiary of New Jersey-based Genie Energy Ltd. headed by Effie Eitam.[174][175]
'We must make Syria recognise that just as it relinquished its dream of a greater Syria that controls Lebanon ... it will have to relinquish its ultimate demand regarding the Golan Heights,' Lieberman said.
The Israel National Oil Company (INOC), intends shortly to approach the Commissioner for Oil Prospecting at the Ministry of National Infrastructures with a demand for a two-year extension of the licence awarded the company in the past for shaft-sinking on the Golan Heights.
The National Oil Company expects the Golan site to yield some 2 million barrels of oil and revenue of about $24 million, Haaretz said.
על פי הדיווח, בראשית שנות ה-90, בימי ממשלתו של יצחק רבין ז"ל, הוחלט להקפיא את את מתן הרישיונות על רקע הנסיונות לנהל משא ומתן לשלום בין ישראל לסוריה.
תהליך הפרטתה של חנ"ל (חברת הנפט הלאומית) החל ברגל ימין: מנהלת רשות החברות הממשלתיות, ציפי ליבני, היתה מאושרת לפני מספר חודשים לשמוע, כי שבע קבוצות ניגשו למיכרז הראשוני לרכישת החברה.
נודע, כי מנהלת רשות החברות, ציפי לבני, הודיעה על החלטה לשלול את הזיכיון לקידוחים ברמת הגולן לשלוש הקבוצות המתמודדות על רכישת חנ"ל.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Golan Heights.


text:
Anybody Have Roof/Gutter De-icing Cables Installed?
The horse is out of the barn for this winter, but-- now that roof raking is almost a daily routine here, I've been looking at heating cables for ice dams and gutter thawing. I've read that some people place the cables on the roof as well as the in the gutters and downspouts. Other folks have said that if the cables are on the roof full time and your have squirrels, that you're better off just putting the cables in the gutters and downspouts. Anyone here have any experience or advice on this subject? Thanks.
No, I don't have them; but I'm going to get some cables installed this summer. We have a flat roof and the snow buildup this past month has been ominous. Roof not creaking (because so much weight on it) but even if I could get up there (17 ft. above the ground), I have no place below to shovel the snow on to, and it's an expensive rubber roof which I don't want to mess up with a shovel blade.
So I'll be getting elec. cables for the gutters & downspouts. the 2000 sq. ft. of roof will hopefully melt a bit. Some day.
The heating cables worked fine on my asphalt shingle roof to prevent ice dams. However they did not work melting ice in the gutters so that the melted ice and snow from the roof could flow freely in the gutter to the down spout, thereby necessitating removing the gutters in the fall and putting them back up in the spring - a real pain!
The heat cables were ugly so I also removed them in the spring.
I replaced the asphalt shingles with a metal roof which allowed the snow to slide off the roof. However this would tear down the gutters. I finally had Worth Gutters (not cheap - $1000 for a straight run of 34 feet.) installed which solved the problem by allowing the snow to slide over them and still captured rain water.
After much 'Googling", I am agreeing with you squirejohn - probably more hassle than they perhaps are effective. I have Gutter Helmet and since having it installed about 5 years ago, this is the only winter that has presented me with such problems. The edge on the gutter helmet actually extends out over the lip of the gutter enough to hold ice dams at bay long enough for me to roof rake before the gutter overflows backwards down the fascia board. Thank you for your input and I'm glad Worth is working for you.
carolRI - sincerely hope you have made out okay with your flat roof - not easy. I did find a website (below) that may offer some advice for you. I have no knowledge of this company other than finding it online and am not recommending anything. (is that enough of a disclaimer?)
sharbear: the answer to your question is-- in a hardware store, Home Depot, online, etc. However, long before wiring these things up, it is best to research and discover what, if anything in this line of wiring, is applicable to your specific roof/gutter. And, at the rate we're going, the snow we have now in central CT, will still be here to greet you in March...and April...maybe May, lol. So don't worry about your lapse in memory about snow, we'll get you back up to speed in no time!
Here is a link that might be useful: Cool Roofing Blog
I have been researching what to do about ice dams and I followed this link through a Fine Home Building newsletter link and found it helpful.
Here is a link that might be useful: preventing Ice dams
In 1984 I was the smartest man alive. I graduated from a business school with a 4.0 average. I was working in northern maine planning to be the next lumber barron. armed with a few copies of Mother Earth news I was going to show the hicks how to build a house that almost paid you to live there. A few examples(but not all) double air gaps and vapor barriers, boxed electric boxes inside vs flush to stop air leaks and last to the point of this post roof a 30/60 90 right triagle to capture the skylight sun so no heat was needed on the second floor.It was in maine. In the last 25 years mother, mother and mother Have hounded me. (mother nature, roof design lets no sun on the north side) ( mother of my children, we have to buy new shoes theirs are mouldy from damp north side closits) My mother , why don't you just put up heat tape so the water runs off. What I have learned in the last 6 years. 1 it is a waste of time to plug in heat tape under 20 F. 2 unplug at night unless it is going to rain. 3 don't let your mother know you listened to her or you will hear about it at christmas and thanksgiving. 4 it is better to spring for the longer tape up front then to chop ice and splice in January. A new question "how does a 75 year old know by dipping her finger in a sugar mix when it is time to glue the waco mints to a gingerbread house. I have to know I might have great grand children someday?

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
A valved closure for a disposable drinking receptacle containing a consumable beverage is disclosed. The valved receptacle closure comprises a thin plastic cover having a peripheral groove adapted to sealingly engage with the rim of a drinking receptacle and a drinking opening therein through which the beverage is consumed. A slide valve is received in a recess formed in the cover and is movable into a closed position over the drinking opening. A releasable latch mechanism cooperates with the valve to secure the valve in its closed position against the force of a resilient member, such as a spring. When the latch is released, the resilient member urges the valve into its open position exposing the drinking opening to permit drinking therefrom.
1. A closure adapted to be mounted in a cover of a fluent material receptacle, said cover having an opening which communicates with the fluent material in the receptacle, said closure comprising valve means movable from a first position closing said opening to a second position exposing said opening, mounting means on said cover for slidably engaging said valve means with respect to said cover, resilient means for urging said valve means into said second position, and latch means operatively connected to said valve means for releasably securing said valve means in said first position against the force of said resilient means.
2. The closure according to claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a recess arranged diametrically of said cover for receiving said valve means therein and including grooves in said recess slidably coacting with said valve means for guiding said valve means between said first and second positions.
3. The closure according to claim 2, wherein said valve means comprises a substantially flat slide valve having longitudinal edges, said longitudinal edges slidably engaging said grooves.
4. The closure according to claim 2, wherein said cover is formed of a polymeric material of substantially uniform thickness, said recess and grooves being integrally formed in
5. The closure according to claim 1, including a handle connected to said valve means for moving said valve means into said first position, said valve means including a slide valve having an embossment on one side thereof and against which said resilient means applies a force to urge said slide valve into said second position.
6. The closure according to claim 5, wherein said handle and latch means are mounted to said valve means on the side thereof opposite said embossment, said cover having a cavity guidingly receiving said embossment for longitudinal movement therein, a retaining plate mounted to said cover over at least a portion of said valve means, said plate having a elongate slot through which said handle extends and an opening in which said cantilever member is releasably engageable.
7. The closure according to claim 5, including at least one arcuate arm connected to said embossment and cooperating with said resilient means for axially guiding said resilient means when said valve means is moved between said first and second positions.
8. The closure according to claim 5, wherein said handle and latch means are mounted to said embossment and including a housing mounted to said cover and having a cavity therein guidingly receiving said embossment for longitudinal movement therein, said housing having an elongate slot through which said handle extends and an opening in which said cantilever member is releasably engageable.
9. The closure according to claim 8, wherein said resilient means comprises a coil spring having two ends, one of said spring ends bearing against said embossment, the other of said spring ends bearing against a transverse wall of said housing.
10. The closure according to claim 1, wherein said cover is formed of a thin, polymeric material of substantially uniform thickness.
11. The closure according to claim 1, wherein said cover is generally circular, said mounting means and valve means being curved and arranged arcuately of said cover adjacent the edge thereof.
12. A valved closure for a disposable drinking receptacle comprising a cover having a peripheral edge for sealingly engaging a receptacle rim, said cover being formed of a thin synthetic plastic of substantially uniform thickness, said cover having a recess integrally formed therein, a drinking opening in said cover disposed in said recess adjacent the edge of said cover, said recess having grooves therearound, a slide valve disposed in said recess and having edges coacting with said grooves for slidable movement of said slide valve between a first position closing said drinking opening and a second position exposing said drinking opening, and resilient means operatively associated with said slide valve for urging said slide valve into said second position and latch means for releasably securing said slide valve in said first position, said latch means comprising a resilient cantilever member having a free end and connected to said slide valve, said latch means being actuable to release said slide valve by application of a linear force to the free end of said cantilever member.
13. A valved closure for a drinking receptacle having a rim comprising a cover adapted to engage the rim of the drinking receptacle, a drinking opening disposed in said cover, valve means cooperating with said cover and movable in a plane between a first position closing said opening and a second position exposing said opening, resilient means cooperating with said valve means for urging said valve means into said second position, finger-actuable means for moving said valve means into said first position against the force of said resilient means and latch means operatively connected to said valve means for releasably securing said valve means in said first position against the force of said resilient means, said latch means being releasable by a linear force applied to said latch means in a direction substantially normal to the plane of movement of said valve means.
14. A closure adapted to be mounted in a cover of a fluent material receptacle, said cover having an opening which communicates with the fluent material in the receptacle, said closure comprising valve means movable from a first position closing said opening to a second position exposing said opening, mounting means on said cover for slidably engaging said valve means with respect to said cover, resilient means for urging said valve means into one of said positions, and latch means operatively connected to said valve means for releasably securing said valve means in the other of said positions against the force of said resilient means, said latch means comprising a resilient cantilever member having a free end releasable by application of a linear force to said free end.
15. The closure according to claim 14, wherein said resilient means is arranged to urge said valve means into said second position.
The present invention relates generally to a closure for drinking receptacles and more particularly to a resiliently biased valve closure for use with a drinking receptacle during intermittent drinking of hot or cold beverages therefrom.
Beverages, such as hot coffee or tea, cold carbonated drinks, beer and the like, are often provided in throw-away or disposable drinking receptacles having substantially impermeable rim-engaging closures which prevent spillage of the beverage and aid in maintaining the temperature of the beverage, whether hot or cold. Such disposable drinking receptacles and closures therefor are typically found in or used in connection with vending machines, business establishements offering carry-out beverage services, to so-called "fast food" restaurants, offices, factories and in many other places where beverages are sold or otherwise provided. Frequently, the consumer will drink intermittently from the receptacle while engaged in other tasks, for example, when he is driving or riding in a vehicle or working at his place of employment. In such situations, the prior art closures for disposable drinking receptacles are generally discarded, in the case of hot beverages and, in the case of cold beverages, a drinking straw is often inserted into a knock-out opening provided in the closure. In either case, however, the likelihood of spillage of the beverage is substantially increased and maintenance of the beverage temperature, particularly hot beverages if the closure is discarded, is adversely affected.
Generally speaking, valve closures for receptacles containing consumable liquids are known in the art, as are the problems associated with maintaining the temperature of the beverages contained in the receptacles. Typical examples of known valved closures are discloed in the following U.S. Patents which were uncovered by a search of the prior art:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,066,813; 1,327,389; 1,412,330; 1,592,362; 2,274,844; 2,701,078; 2,780,395; 2,826,345; 2,961,133; 3,059,817; 3,341,088; 3,343,709; 3,871,522; 3,967,748.
The prior art devices described in the patents listed above, as well as other prior art receptable closures have not been completely responsive to the above-discussed problems. In particular, many of the known devices are of rather complex design and, therefore, comparatively expensive construction. Moreover, partly because of their costly construction, these prior art closure devices are notably unsuited for use with disposable drinking receptacles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,748, for example, discloses one type of valved closure used in connection with a thermally insulated double-walled container for hot or cold beverages. The valve closure comprises a cover having a drinking opening therein and a spring-biased valve with an O-ring seat operable by depressing and holding a spring-biased, finger-operated plunger to open the valve and permit drinking from the opening. One difficulty with this device is that the valve must be maintained open by constant finger pressure applied to the plunger which is disadvantageously located well above the center of gravity of the liquid-filled receptacle thus making drinking from the receptacle with only one hand more difficult and awkward. Another disadvantage of this device is that the valving mechanism is positioned on the inner surface of the closure such that it will be at least partly immersed in the beverage when the container is tilted for drinking. Thus, a thorough cleaning of the valve mechanism must be performed for sanitary reasons before the closure can be reused. In addition, this device includes a large number of complex parts, some of which are assembled together by press fitting or cementing so that the valve mechamism cannot be readily disassembled for cleaning.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art devices, it should be apparent that there still exists a need for a valved closure usable particularly with a disposable drinking receptacle and which is of simple, inexpensive construction and readily assembled and disassembled. It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to fulfill this need by providing a novel valved cover for disposable drinking receptacles having a minimum number of components, preferably molded of polymer materials.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a drinking receptacle cover adapted to sealingly engage the open end or rim of a receptacle and having a resiliently biased closure valve which is mounted in and guided by a recess formed in the upper surface of the cover.
Still more particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a slide valve for a drinking receptacle cover which has a latch mechanism for securing the slide valve in its closed position against the force of a resilient member.
It is another object of this invention to provide an economical valved cover for a drinking receptacle which may be either disposed of or reused by the consumer as desired.
Another object of this invention is to provide a valved cover for a drinking receptacle having interlocking components which can be readily assembled and disassembled by the user without the need for fastening devices, adhesives, special assembly tools, procedures or equipment.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a valved drinking receptacle cover having a valve operator mechanism which, during use, is not immersed in or contacted by the liquid contained in the receptacle.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a drinking receptacle cover having a closure valve and closure latch mechanism both of which are selectively and conveniently actuable by the index finger of the operator's hand in which the drinking receptacle is held.
Another important object of the invention is to provide an economical valved cover for disposable drinking receptacles including, but not limited to, drinking cups formed of paper or synthetic plastic materials and metal cans, such as those used to contain carbonated beverages, beer and the like.
Briefly described, these and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a valved closure for a drinking receptacle comprising a cover formed by conventional molding techniques and equipment, preferably of a thin plastic sheet material of substantially uniform thickness, and having a peripheral groove or recess for sealingly engaging the rim of the drinking receptacle. In one embodiment, the cover is formed with an elongate, diametrically arranged recess of uniform shallow depth on the side of the cover opposite the rim-engaging groove. The recess includes a narrow portion and a wide portion and is formed with slightly overhanging edges or kerf-like grooves therearound. An opening is provided through the cover material at one end of the narrow portion of the recess adjacent the rim-engaging groove and through which the liquid contained in the receptacle is adapted to be consumed. A flat closure valve, which also has narrow and wide portions, is adapted to be received in the recess with its narrow portion slidably engaging in the grooves of the narrow portion of the recess. The closure valve is diametrically movable to selectively cover or expose the drinking opening.
The wide portion of the closure valve slides in the corresponding wide portion of the recess with its longitudinal edges in spaced relation to the kerf-like grooves of the wide recess portion. Mounted to the upper surface of the wide portion of the closure valve and integrally formed therewith is an embossment which supports at its upper end an upstanding handle and a resilient latch member, both of which are finger-actuable. A pair of arcuate arms are mounted to one side of the embossment and extend horizontally therefrom for retaining a resilient member, such as a coil spring or the like. The handle, latch and arcuate arms are also integrally formed with the embossment and closure valve, preferably of a polymer material, by conventional injection or other molding techniques.
A generally semi-cylindrical retaining housing, also formed of a polymer material and having closed ends is fitted over the embossment and wide portion of the closure valve. The housing is provided with flange-like lips which interlockingly engage with the undercut edges or grooves of the wide portion of the recess to retain the closure valve in position. An elongate longitudinal slot is provided through the upper wall surface of the housing from one end thereof to approximately the mid-point thereof and in which the handle is longitudinally movable. Aligned with the slot and located at the opposite end of the housing is a latch opening in which the latch member engages. In the described embodiment, the resilient spring is disposed between one side of the embossment and one end of the housing in such manner that the closure valve is urged into a position whereby the drinking opening is exposed. This arrangement facilitates operation of the valve using a finger of the hand in which the drinking receptacle is held. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that the valve mechanism could be arranged so that the spring urges the closure valve into a normally closed condition. When engaged in the housing opening, the latch member retains the closure valve, against the force of the spring, in its closed position covering the drinking opening.
In one alternate embodiment, the recess, closure valve and its associated, integrally formed components, and the housing are arcuately shaped and are adapted to be actuated by an arcuately-applied force, but are otherwise constructed and operate in substantially the same manner as described above. In still another embodiment of the invention, the embossment and a spring retaining arm are arranged on the underside of the closure valve and are received in a semi-cylindrical recess formed longitudinally of the wide portion of the shallow recess in the receptacle cover. The semi-cylindrical recess is shaped substantially the same as the interior surface of the above-described retaining housing. The handle and latch members are arranged on the upper side of the closure valve and are held in position by a substantially flat retaining plate. The retaining plate is provided with flange-like lips which interlock with the undercut edges of the wide recess portion and has a handle-receiving slot and latch opening similar to that of the retaining housing. This latter embodiment is particularly advantageous in that the valve operator mechanism can be recessed below the receptacle cover surface to thereby present a substantially flat upper surface of the cover.
An important feature of the present invention is the construction and design of the various elements of the valved receptacle closure whereby the molded interlocking plastic parts may be readily assembled together without the need for fasteners or adhesives. This feature also makes it possible to supply the closure device either fully assembled or in kit form suitable for ready assembly by the user. In addition, the low cost of the individual parts, when manufactured in large quantities according to conventional high-production molding techniques, renders the closure device according to the invention sufficiently inexpensive that, if desired, it may be supplied as a disposable item, in connection with, for example, beverage vending machines, carry-out services or the like.
With these and other objects, advantages and features of the invention that may become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims and to the several views illustrated in the attached drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the valved receptacle closure of the invention as applied to a disposable drinking receptacle;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the valved receptacle cover of the invention taken along line II--II of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a exploded perspective view, partly broken, showing the arrangement of the components of the valved closure of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line IV--IV of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a partly broken cross-sectional view taken along line V--V of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the valved receptacle closure of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view, partly broken, showing the arrangement of the components of a further embodiment of the valved receptacle closure of the invention;
FIG. 8 is a cross-section view of FIG. 7 showing the embodiment of the invention taken along line VIII--VIII; and
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional detail of a modification of the invention showing the mating surfaces of the cover and closure valve.
Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 one embodiment of a valved receptacle closure according to the present invention as employed with a conventional disposable drinking receptacle. Like elements are given like reference numerals throughout the several views. In FIG. 1, there is shown the closure, designated generally by reference numeral 10, in engagement with a disposable cup 12, such as a conventional plastic cup, paper cup or the like, having a generally rounded upper edge or rim (not shown).
Closure 10 comprises a cover 14 having, for example, a U-shaped peripheral groove 16 which engages in substantial sealing relation with the rim of cup 12. The illustrated configuration of the peripheral groove 16 is not, however, an essential part of the present invention, it being understood that other rim engaging and sealing structures could be similarly utilized. The cover 14 is formed preferably by well-known hot- or vacuum-forming techniques from a thin, polymeric material of substantially uniform thickness, although it will be appreciated that the thickness of the cover material may vary to some extent after being formed.
Adjacent the groove 16, there is provided a circular drinking opening 18 over which a slidable closure valve or plate 20 is disposed in its closed position as seen in FIG. 1. A housing 22 encloses the valve operator for closure valve 20, which operator is described in greater detail hereinbelow. The upper portion of housing 22 is provided with an elongate slot 24 through which the valve operator handle 26 extends and an opening 28 in which a resiliently mounted latch member 30 engages. Both the handle 26 and latch member 30 are arranged so as to be easily and conveniently actuable by the index finger of the user's hand in which the cup 12 is held. A small vent opening 31 may be provided in cover 14 to relieve any vacuum created in the closed cup 12 as the beverage is being consumed.
Referring now to FIGS. 2-4, the circular cover 14 is provided with a shallow, planar recess 32 arranged diametrically thereof and which includes a narrow recess portion 32a and a wide recess portion 32b. The perimetrical edges of the recess 32 are formed in slight overhanging relation to the planar surface of the recess and define a kerf-like groove 32 therearound. Closure valve 20 comprises a generally flat plate having a narrow portion 20a and a wide portion 20b and is received in recess 32 so as to be movable longitudinally of the same to close and open the drinking opening 18. Valve portion 20a is dimensioned such that its side edges 36 and forward edge 38 engage with the corresponding grooves 34 of the narrow recess portion 32a. The edges of valve portion 20b, however, are in slightly spaced, non-engaging relation with the grooves 34 of recess portion 32b for reasons which will become apparent as the description proceeds.
Integrally formed with valve 20 at the end of valve portion 20b is a generally semi-cylindrical embossment 40 from the top of which handle 26 extends. A resilient, cantilevered latch lever 42 extends from the top edge of embossment 40 and latch member 30 extends upwardly from the free end of lever 42. Beneath latch lever 42, embossment 40 is provided with a pair of spaced, arcuately-shaped arms 44 which extend horizontally from a face 46 of the embossment and which are adapted to retain a resilient member 48 such as a coil spring, elastomeric spring or the like.
Housing 22 is adapted to enclose embossment 40, as well as the right hand part of valve 20 as viewed in FIG. 3 and is provided about the base thereof with a perimetrical lip 50. Lip 50 interlocking engages with the grooves 34 of recess portion 32b in the manner as best seen in FIG. 4.
FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the internal configuration of housing 22 and the manner in which the housing guides and retains the various elements of the slide valve 20. Housing 22 is provided with a semi-cylindrical cavity 52 in which embossment 40 is longitudinally guided. Forwardly of cavity 52, that is, to the left as viewed in FIG. 5, another semi-cylindrical cavity 54 of smaller radial dimension than cavity 52 is formed which confronts and guides the outer surfaces of arcuate arms 44. The top of cavity 54 is relieved to receive latch member 30 and latch lever 42 as best seen in FIG. 4. A planar guiding surface 56 is arranged about the bottom edges of cavities 52, 54 of housing 22 in guiding relation with the marginal edges of the top surface of valve portion 20b.
Still referring to FIG. 5, it will be seen that the opposite ends of coil spring 48 bear against face 46 of embossment 40 and the interior side of housing end wall 58, respectively, so as to normally urge the embossment 40 rearwardly in cavity 52. Arms 44 and the upper central surface of valve portion 20b transversely retain coil spring 48 to assure substantially axial compression thereof when embossment 40 is moved toward end wall 58 by means of the operating handle 26. Arms 44 are advantageously located below latch lever 42 to prevent the spring from interfering with the operation of the lever. The free ends of arms 44 are wedge-shaped as shown at 60 to provide optimum axial guiding of the spring 48 during compression thereof.
Operation of the valved closure of FIGS. 1-5 is as follows: After placement of the closure 10 on a beverage-filled drinking receptacle, such as cup 12, and with the closure in its closed position as illustrated in the drawings, the coil spring 48 is compressed and latch 30 is engaged in the opening 28 to maintain valve 20 in its closed position over drinking opening 18. When it is desired to consume the beverage, the cup is grasped in one hand and the latch 30 depressed by the index finger of such hand to disengage the latch from opening 28 and permit the spring 48 to urge valve 20 rearwardly and thus expose drinking opening 18. When released as described above, the top of latch 30 resiliently bears against the housing 22 at the inside top surface thereof. After drinking from the cup through opening 18, the user engages handle 26 with his index finger of the hand in which the cup is held and urges the handle toward drinking opening 18 against the force of spring 48 until latch 38 again engages in opening 28 to secure valve 20 in its closed position.
While it is possible to modify the above-described arrangement so that the spring urges the valve 20 into its normally closed condition, the illustrated arrangement is particularly advantageous since movement of the handle 26 toward the drinking opening 18 against the force of spring 48 is readily accomplished by the index finger of the hand which holds the cup. If the valve 20 were urged by the spring into its closed position, necessitating movement of the handle away from the drinking opening and against the force of the spring, it would be considerably more difficult to operate the valve with the index finger of the hand holding the cup and could even require the use of the user's other hand. This, of course, is undesirable, particularly if the user is engaged in other tasks, such as driving an automobile.
FIG. 6 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present invention wherein the various components of the valved receptacle cover of the invention are curved, as viewed from above. In this embodiment, the closure 10' comprises a circular cover 14' having a rim-engaging edge 16'. The housing 22' and slide valve 20', together with all the corresponding components of the closure of FIGS. 1-5 are molded in curved form and arranged in an arcuate recess 32' adjacent edge 16'. Curvilinear movement of handle 26' in the arcuate slot 24' functions to close drinking opening 18'.
In FIG. 7, there is illustrated another alternate embodiment of the invention comprising a cover 62 having a diametrically arranged recess 64 including a narrow recess portion 66 and a wide recess portion 68 both having kerf-like grooves 70 substantially identical to those of the recess 32 of FIGS. 1-5. A drinking opening 72 is disposed through cover 62 in one end of recess 66 adjacent the edge of the cover.
Recess 68 also includes a longitudinal cavity comprising semi-cylindrical cavities 74, 76 which generally correspond to cavities 52, 54 respectively of housing 22 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. A closure valve 78 is adapted to be slidably received in recess 64 in much the same manner as in the first disclosed embodiment. The valve 78 is provided on its underside with an embossment 80 having a single arcuate arm 82 extending from the upper part of the embossment face 84. Embossment 80 is received in and longitudinally guided by cavity 74. A coil spring 86 is disposed in cavity 76 and retained therein by arm 82, as best seen in FIG. 8, and is arranged to bear with its opposite ends against embossment face 84 and the forward wall 88 of cavity 76 respectively to urge the valve 78 rearwardly, or to the right as viewed in FIG. 7.
On the top surface of valve 78, a handle 90 is provided for moving the valve to its closed position against the force of spring 86. A resilient latch lever 92 having an upstanding latch 94 at the free end thereof extends forwardly from face 84 in a central cut-out 96 of valve 78 and is substantially coplanar with valve 78.
A flat retaining cover 98 is fitted over valve 78 and has flange-like lips 100 which interlockingly engage in grooves 70 of the recess portion 68. Cover 98 is provided with an elongate slot 102 and latch opening 104 through which extend the handle 90 and latch 94, respectively. Apart from the just-described details of construction, the embodiment of FIG. 7 operates in substantially the same manner as that of FIGS. 1∝5. An advantage of this embodiment is that the upper surface of cover 62 is substantially flat and none of the valve operator components, including the handle and latch, extend above the top surface of the U-shaped rim of the cover.
In FIG. 9, there is shown a cross-sectional detail of a modification of the invention which could be advantageously incorporated in any of the above-described embodiments. To guard against leakage of liquid from the receptacle through the drinking opening 110 in cover 112 and to improve the seal around such opening, valve 114 is provided on its underside with a slightly raised annular ridge 116 of a diameter somewhat larger than opening 110. Cover 112 is provided on its upper surface with a corresponding annular depression 118 which mates with ridge 116. It will be appreciated that the height of ridge 116 and depth of depression 118 must not be of such magnitude that they will engage with sufficient force to prevent opening of the valve when the latch mechanism is released.
While the above-described embodiments relate to the use of the novel receptacle closure of the invention in connection with disposable drinking cups, the invention could clearly be advantageously utilized in connection with conventional aluminum or steel cans which are opened by means of a top-penetrating utensil or by means of a so-called "flip top" opening device.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the present drinking receptacle closure fulfills, in a novel way, all the aforementioned objects of the invention, as well as other objectives not specifically mentioned. Although only a preferred embodiment is specifically illustrated and described herein, it will be understood that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
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Fuse Creativity System Project Guide: Fun Party Themes, Idea for Handmade Cards, And More Paper Crafts from Fiskars
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"Celebrate Life" Card
By: Michele Kovack from Thoughts of a Cardmaking Scrapbooker
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Make someone's day with this sweet "Celebrate Life" Card. This handmade card features a cute silhouette of a girl playing and an airbrushed sunset. Bring back fond childhood memories with this card. It's a great card for the spring season.
- Crafty Secrets SS23 Vintage Silhouettes stamp
- VersaMark black ink
- Black embossing powder
- Heat embossing tool
- Copic Airbrush and markers
- Ribbon
- Rhinstones
- Prima flower
I used Versamark to ink up my image.
When using black embossing powder it is common to get a bit of splatter around the image. I use a soft paint brush to brush away the excess powder.
Next, heat emboss image.
Punch a 2" circle from scrap paper.
Place it directly over your embossed image. I used magnets to hold the circle in place.
These are the 3 Copic colors I used to create my sunset. But feel free to experiment with different colors. I usually Google "sunset images" to see the wide spectrum of colors and their placement.
When working with the Copic Airbrush system be sure the chisel end is facing this way.
I worked my way from top to bottom starting with purple. Then blue, overlapping the colors a bit. Lastly, comes yellow, remembering to overlap the colors a bit.
Take your circle off and you have a sunset!
I used Spellbinder's square die to cut out my image. Notice I lined it up, so the grassy hill wasn't crooked.
After cutting out the image, take distressed ink and a sponge and apply it to the edges of the square.
From there I just assembled my card, added some pretty ribbon, rhinestones, and a Prima flower.
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Benny Boyd Lampasas Chrysler Dodge Jeep is your Texas Five Star Dealer. With hundreds of new and pre owned cars and trucks from which to choose, we definitely have the vehicle for you.
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Updated 01/05/2015
The city's premier theater venue and troupe, the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center presents an award-winning lineup of its own original pieces, plus those of other cutting-edge groups around China. It also stages Chinese-language adaptations, sometimes very inventive, of Western works, such as a festival of Samuel Beckett works reinterpreted through Chinese opera.
288 Anfu Lu, Shanghai, 200031, China
Website: www.china-drama.com
Updated 01/05/2015


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I treated my daughter for a nice meal of cheap Chinese food. After dinner we browsed in the attached market and I found my new favorite thing: A Chinese grandma bobble head! Henceforth she shall be my new best friend.
OMG!! That is just to cute for words . . all she needs is knitting needles, er, chopsticks!!


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