On June 1, 1967, about 90,000 people lived in the Syrian Golan Heights. About two months later, a census conducted by Israel after taking over the Golan Heights counted only 6,396 residents – the vast majority of them Druze. Where did the tens of thousands of Syrians of the area go? The blurring of the fate of the Golan residents is related, among other things, to the fact that most of the Israeli documents dealing with this issue remain classified. However, documents we located in the Red Cross archives in Geneva provide details written by two Red Cross representatives who were sent to the Golan Heights immediately after the war.

This episode of the podcast provides a glimpse into what took place in the Golan Heights in the days and weeks after the occupation and describes how the filming of an Israeli propaganda film led hundreds of residents who remained in the Golan Heights after the war to flee.

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Figures of the IDF research department regarding the Golan Heights population,
June 13, 1967

The Golan Heights General Census Final Figures,
September 11, 1967

Sub-delegation to Quneitra report on village visits,
12-16 July 1967

Sub-delegation to Quneitra report after visiting Mansura,
July 18, 1967

ICRC delegation visit to Farj,
July 19, 1967

Michael Comay’s latter to Shlomo Gazit,
July 5, 1968

Annex to Moreillon’s letter - ICRC response to the expulsion of Golan Heights residents,
August 27, 1969