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Mount Hermon, located in the Occupied Golan, is trying hard to present itself as a unique destination for Israelis and foreign tourists alike. Promoted as the only ski resort in Israel, the mountain slopes of the Hermon is busiest in the winter, when visitors can participate in various skiing activities. In the summer it is popular with hikers, and a new bike track was recently opened for adventurous cyclists. Although Israel’s occupation of the Golan is sometimes less visibly repressive than in the West Bank -most notably through the lack of checkpoints- it would be a mistake for any holiday makers to fool themselves into believing that a trip there does not make them complicit in the same brutal occupation. Despite its proximity to the Syrian Druze town Majdal Shams, any business on Mount Hermon is tightly controlled by the Israeli mountain top settlement Neve Ativ. Neve Ativ is build on the land of the Syrian village of Jubata ez-Zeit, completely razed by the Israeli’s after six day war.
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Whilst most of the companies who operate within the resort seemed to be small Israeli settlement firms, one vital piece of technology is provided by an international company willing to aid the occupation through their experience in winter sport tourism. When you ride the cable cars up the mountain, it is Austrian ELIN Seilbahntechnik which keeps you moving. ELIN Seilbahntechnik is one branch of the engineering and infrastructure company VA TECH ELIN EBG GmbH -itself a subsidiary of Austria’s large VA Technology.
ELIN Seilbahntechnik GesmbH&Co.KG: Steinbockallee 9, A 6020, Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria
Phone: 0043512246220 Fax: 00435122462210
VA Tech ELIN EBG GmbH: Penzinger Strasse 76, A 1141 Vienna, Austria
Phone 00431899904100 Fax: 004318946468