Inside the Israeli town named after Donald Trump

Five years after moving to Trump Heights, Daniel Biber says one thing has become clear: beyond the famous sign at the entrance, daily life in the tiny northern Israeli community has very little to do with Donald Trump.

The community, known in Hebrew as Ramat Trump, was named in 2019 after US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights during his first term. Since then, it has become a popular stop for curious visitors, particularly American tourists eager to take a picture beside the entrance sign.

But after Trump’s role in helping broker ceasefire agreements following the recent conflicts with Lebanon and Iran, residents told i24NEWS they are focused less on politics than on raising families and building their community.

“Except for the name, I think it stops there—on the name and the sign,” Daniel said. “You go in, and you can’t know that there is a Trump in the name of this place.”

Today, Trump Heights is home to just 27 families, including 85 children.

Daniel and his wife Tzofit moved there in 2021 after searching for a place where they could raise a family in a mixed religious-secular community. “We were looking for a place that is not only for one kind of population—a mixed community of religious people and secular people, because we are a couple from different backgrounds,” he said. “This opportunity just arose, and we went for it.”

Another resident, Eran Ben Shabat, left the southern city of Ashdod five years ago.

“My children experience things here that they would never experience in central Israel,” he said. “The freedom and the freedom of movement—that would not have happened in Ashdod.”

Life on Israel’s northern frontier

The quiet surroundings were one of the main reasons families chose to move to Trump Heights.

But the community’s location—close to both the Lebanese and Syrian borders—also meant residents spent months living under the threat of rocket attacks during the war.

Daniel recalled long periods of sirens, uncertainty and disruptions to everyday life. “It was a very long time of sirens and rockets and not knowing what was going on with our children,” he said. “There was no routine at all for a very long time.”

Residents showed i24NEWS their largest public shelter, built a full floor underground and stocked with food, water and other emergency supplies.

They also established a local command center during the war, where volunteers coordinated with the community’s emergency response team. Despite the current calm following ceasefire agreements with Lebanon and Iran, many residents remain cautious.

“I think our situation is better than it was before,” Daniel said. “I feel safer, but I always know that it can change in a minute.”

Eran was even more skeptical. “I don’t really feel safe,” he said. “We don’t know what will really happen. I don’t think a ceasefire is the solution.”

Building for the future

Despite years of conflict, residents say they have no plans to leave.

Construction has already begun on the community’s first permanent neighborhood, with enough homes for around 100 families. The Israeli government’s long-term vision is to expand Trump Heights to around 400 families.

The community’s unusual name continues to attract attention.

Daniel Biber says tourists frequently ask whether Trump is still connected to the community—or whether the residents get money from him. “We don’t,” he said with a laugh.

He says the novelty has faded for those who actually live there. “In the beginning, it was funny. It was something to talk about, to laugh about. But we’re just used to it.”

For the families of Trump Heights, the famous name may draw visitors. But day to day, residents say their priorities are much closer to home: raising children, building permanent homes and hoping the current calm along Israel’s northern border lasts.