In Israel, Separation Anxiety Over the Future of the Golan Heights
Why some Israelis are fretting about peace talks with Syria
One thing that's different about these Israeli-Syrian peace talks is that for the first time, Israel is not dealing with President Hafez Assad, who died in 2000. Syria is now led by his son, Bashar, whose views are less well known. Something else that's new is the bone-deep cynicism in Israel's body politic toward giving up more land for the promise of peace with any Arab entity, what with the ongoing rocketing of Israeli border towns from the Gaza Strip nearly three years after Israel ended its occupation there.
Yet another new element is a U.S. president who isn't encouraging the talks. It has been widely reported that the Bush administration has little interest in moves that could ease the diplomatic isolation of Syria before it commits to breaking with its radical allies.
Settler activist Bar-Lev recalls past battles against Israeli prime ministers bent on trading the Golan Heights for peace, notably the settlers' hunger strike in 1994 that drew perhaps 250,000 Israelis to the Golan for solidarity pilgrimages. "Now it's a new round," she says.
Noting Olmert's legal and political troubles and Bush's chilliness toward the talks, she figures her team is starting out in a stronger position than in the past. But Olmert may have a successor before long, and Bush certainly will. "The chance of an agreement with Syria being reached under Olmert is almost zero," figures the Golan old-timer. "But 2009 should be an interesting year."
Reader Comments
The Golan – The security insurance of Israel.
One hardly requires the military acumen of Clausewitz to appreciate the huge military value of the Golan that gives Israel command over the approaches to Damascus and precludes Syrian command over the entire northern portion of Israel. This provides Israel with unequivocal deterrence, which has ensured that the Syrian frontier has been the most peaceful for over third of century – without Israel yielding a centimeter of territory. Only the moronic or the malicious could suggest that Israel would be better off militarily without the Golan. Nowadays, the Golan is an integrated region of Israel : http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2008/04/golan-heights-geography-geology-and.html
Syria and the Golan.
Syria controlled the Golan for 19 years, beginning in 1948, and used it to systematically shell and attack the Israeli towns below, such as Ein Gev and others in the eastern Galilee. 140 Israelis were killed in these attacks, many more were injured, and heavy property damage was also inflicted. Israel liberated the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six Day War, thus freeing northern Israel of the Syrian threat. Israel soon realized that the Golan was vital not only militarily, but also in terms of water, history, and more. The Golan was officially annexed to Israel in 1981, and over the years, 33 Jewish communities were built, including the full-fledged town of Katzrin. Today, close to 17,000 Jewish residents in 33 communities (27 kibbutzim and moshavim, 5 communal settlements and the town of Katzrin) live on the Golan Heights and the slopes of Mt. Hermon. More about the Golan: http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/2008/04/golan-heights-geography-geology-and.html
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