At the Top of the Triangle – A Rare Syrian Israeli

Here is the story of a man with Israeli and Syrian citizenship who lives in a village in Lebanon. Impossible, you think? Not at all.

This Syrian Israeli, whom we’ll call B, is a 32-year-old dentist from an Arab village that straddles the border of Lebanon and Israel/Palestine. (We will call this country Israel for the purposes of this story because we are talking about the northern part of the country.) Part of this village, which we’ll call the Top of the Triangle due to its geographic location, sits inside Lebanon and part in Israel. B lives on the Israel side. However, this village is considered to technically belong to Syria. The inhabitants of The Top of the Triangle are the only people in the world given both Syrian and Israeli citizenship. Complicated? Of course. This is the Middle East.

B grew up in Israel and has family in both Israel and Syria. (You can read his cousin’s perspective on the Arabs of Israel here.)

At 19 years of age it was time for B to enter university. He decided to leave Israel and move to Syria to study. B felt Syria was an easier environment for him to live and study in due to the Israeli occupation and the racism he experienced there. “In Syria,” he says, “there isn’t racism.”

While studying in Damascus, B was given Syrian citizenship, which others in his village already had. After 9 years he completed his studies and, although he had a girlfriend in Syria, he chose to return to Israel to be with his family and open his dental practice. His girlfriend was not allowed to come with him, of course.

Life in Israel is good for this Syrian Israeli. “In Israel we have here a good system, like the public infrastructure.” But life in Syria was also very good. “In Syria I felt the freedom. I had a real life there.”

As a rare Syrian Israeli, B’s heart remains in Syria while his mind is on Israel. B wants to tell the world, “both Israel and Syria are beautiful. One complements the other.”