Cowboys of the Golan Heights

Cowboys of the Golan Heights

Advertisement

Cowboys tend cattle on a ranch just outside Moshav Yonatan, a collective farming community close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria.

A group of cowboys have been running the ranch on the Golan's volcanic rocky plateau for some 35 years. The farm also hosts the Israeli military who use half of the cattle farm as a live-fire training zone.

1 / 20

Slideshow

Nadav, chief cowboy of the Yonatan herd, tends cattle on a ranch just outside Moshav Yonatan.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Nadav, chief cowboy of the Yonatan herd, tends cattle on a ranch just outside Moshav Yonatan.

Amit rounds up the herd.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit rounds up the herd.

Amit treats his horse after working with the cattle.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit treats his horse after working with the cattle.

Alon is silhouetted against the sky as he rides his horse.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Alon is silhouetted against the sky as he rides his horse.

Cattle jostle for space in their pen.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Cattle jostle for space in their pen.

Alon smokes as he walks past a pen.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Alon smokes as he walks past a pen.

Cowboys lead cattle into their pen.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Cowboys lead cattle into their pen.

Alon stands on a fence as cattle are funnelled into a pen.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Alon stands on a fence as cattle are funnelled into a pen.

Amit sits on a fence next to a truck loaded with cattle from the Yonatan herd.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit sits on a fence next to a truck loaded with cattle from the Yonatan herd.

Nadav (right) and Amit watch as a truck loaded with their cattle drives away.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Nadav (right) and Amit watch as a truck loaded with their cattle drives away.

Nadav (right) walks next to Israeli soldiers on the ranch just outside Moshav Yonatan.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Nadav (right) walks next to Israeli soldiers on the ranch just outside Moshav Yonatan.

Amit unloads his horse in the early morning.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit unloads his horse in the early morning.

Nadav takes his horses back to their stalls.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Nadav takes his horses back to their stalls.

A horse eats thistles on the ranch.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

A horse eats thistles on the ranch.

Alon (right) and Amit, unload their horses early in the morning.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Alon (right) and Amit, unload their horses early in the morning.

Horse riding equipment hangs on a wall in the staff room of the ranch.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Horse riding equipment hangs on a wall in the staff room of the ranch.

Nadav (centre) and his team eat together at the end of the day.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Nadav (centre) and his team eat together at the end of the day.

Amit gets ready for a day of the ranch in the early morning.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit gets ready for a day of the ranch in the early morning.

Amit (left) and Alon adjust their hats.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit (left) and Alon adjust their hats.

Amit gets ready for a day on the ranch.
. GOLAN HEIGHTS. Reuters/Nir Elias

Amit gets ready for a day on the ranch.

"I came away from my day on the range with a keen respect for the professional way the men tackled a tough job on rocky terrain."
Nir Elias, Reuters Photographer

On a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights I bumped into a group of Israeli cowboys working their herd near the tense frontier with Syria, where a civil war is raging just several kilometers away.

After taking some photos of the men with the Hermon mountain range in the background, I was able to arrange a full day shoot. Arriving before the crack of dawn, I was welcomed with a steaming cup of coffee by the head cowboy, Nadav. Joined by four other riders, we saddled up and rode out.

Each cowboy made his own fashion statement. Nadav was dressed for the trail – no tassels or frills, just workers’ pants, a button-down shirt and a broad, weather-beaten brown leather Stetson. Alon looked like he had just walked out a fashion shoot, accessorising his get-up with a Zippo lighter, a multi-tool Leatherman, an extra knife and a pack of cigarettes. Yakir, who grew up with horses and cattle on a kibbutz, or collective farm, wore a simple t-shirt and jeans with a baseball cap.

I came away from my day on the range with a keen respect for the professional way the men tackled a tough job on rocky terrain. It was a refreshing break from taking photos some of the more familiar aspects of the Israeli-Arab conflict and a reminder that unique, individual characters are very much part of the landscape.