The President and Golan Heights

American policy until yesterday was in line with the rest of the world. Which considers the Golan Heights occupied territory. That was reiterated yesterday by a near unified reaction by the rest of the world, rejecting any such recognition.  

That was no surprise to me since Europe never wastes a minute seeing Israel as an aggressor that oppresses those under it’s illegal occupation. Europe's latent antisemitism is alive and well, albeit disguised as having an even-handed policy with respect to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The liberal critics in this country were not much better. They say that this was a naked political move on the part of the President to bolster Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chances at the polls in a few weeks. That may very well be true. But so what? It wouldn’t be the first time an American administration meddled in Israeli politics by either party.

Then there is the argument that by Trump recognizing the Golan Heights, he places an American imprimatur on unilateral annexation of foreign lands. That is what Russia did by taking over Crimea - a part of the Ukraine that borders Russia - and annexing it. It is kind of ironic that Russia was one of the first to condemn the US for doing that since they have no problem doing the same thing. But why would Russian antisemitism expressed in this disgusied way be any different than the rest of Europe?

One may legitimately ask, what has been gained by doing this? The facts on the ground will not change. The status quo will remain as is – just as it has been for 52 years ever since Israel captured that area during the six day war. Much the same as the US recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital changed nothing.

If that’s true, why upset the entire Arab world and their sycophants in Europe with this unilateral action? Shouldn’t the final status of the Golan Heights be settled via an overall peace agreement? And until then allow things to remain as they are without inflammatory comments?

Good question.

But what many people ignore in this equation is how Israel feels about it. And why they feel that way. The vast majority of Israelis believe that Israel should never relinquish control of that area. My guess is that there is not a single mainstream politician in Israel that wouldn’t applaud what the President did. I would be shocked for example if Netanyahu’s chief opposition, Benny Gantz, would do anything other than fully thank the President for recognizing the necessary status quo.

Why is this any different than what Russia did in Crimea which was internationally recognized as part of the Ukraine? Doesn’t it undermine US condemnation of that – as many pundits have been saying? No, it doesn’t because the situations are anything but parallel.

Israel never had designs to capture that territory. Even though Syria (which the Golan Heights was part of prior to 1967) used it as a base to target Israelis just across the border. Those heights provided a convenient means of doing so. Israels were in constant danger of being fired upon by Syrian snipers. And every so often that happened!

Despite that Israel would not invade a foreign nation and annex any of their land. So what happened?

Led by Egypt in June of 1967  Israel was attacked by Syria simultaneously along with all of its neighbors (except Lebanon). The purpose of that attack was to destroy the Jewish state entirely and ‘take back’ the land Zionists ‘stole’ from them in 1948. 

In the course of that war, Israel penetrated Syria and captured the Golan Heights. Thus forever ending sniper attacks against Israel by Syrian soldiers. This was a strategic and defensive move against a hostile country dedicated to its destruction. Brought on by a war that Israel did not start. Israel was attacked and defended itself.

There is not a political leader in Israel’s history that didn’t understand the reason for Israel permanent occupation of the area. Every single Israel prime minister supported that. This was never a left-right issue. It was a survival issue. The world’s rejection of it didn’t matter.

This was not the case with Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea. This was merely a land grab by Russians against a country they were not at war with. They were not attacked. No Ukrainians were shooting at Russians across the border. Russia’s only claim was that Crimea was culturally Russian and that its residents supported Russia taking it.

That said, at the end of the day, the US declaration recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights did not really accomplish anything concrete. Which may very well mean that the President did in fact do it for political reasons - both here and in Israel. It is a move popular with his Evangelical base here which has always supported Israel’s perspective on this issue. Not to mention supported by most Orthodox Jews. 

And it helps Netanyahu, whom Trump supports. Let us also not forget how popular the President is in Israel. Netanyahu has campaign posters featuring him together with the President - claiming with some justification that under the leadership of both of them, the relationship between the US and Israel has never been closer.

Of course critics on the left will say that this relationship is meaningless and has added nothing concrete to Israel’s survival. And that instead it has weakened US support by alienating Democrats and the rest of the world. There is some truth to that. But I would argue anything less than complete capitulation to Palestinians demands would not have any support from Europe anyway, And that Democratic support has always been more or less conditional. Their support was tied to how Israel’s policies were advancing the (non existent) peace process - based mostly on the Palestinian perspective. Netanyahu’s  polices are seen as counterproductive to that. 

I do not agree. I doubt that Israel would be any closer to peace now if a Democrat were in office still complaining about settlements. My own opposition to settlements is only against those deep into the West Bank that did nothing except - at best exacerbate tensions with Palestinians that live there. And at worst cause death and destruction. And in the past because I saw any settlement activity hurting Israel’s relationship with the US.  The latter is clearly not the case now.

Furthermore just because there is nothing immediately tangible doesn’t mean that Israel doesn’t benefit. The idea that the most powerful nation in the world by far stands with Israel sends a valuable message to the world. It also sends a valuable message to Israelis about who their real friends are. And thank God it is America.

One might say that the Israeli bubble might burst after the Trump peace plan is revealed. It may be true that Israel might be asked to make sacrifices for peace that they are not comfortable with. Especially under a right wing government. But that plan is a non starter anyway since Palestinians have already unequivocally rejected any plan the Trump administration comes out with. Sight unseen.

What about a postscript? What happens if Trump loses to a Democrat in 2020? Or even if he wins what happens in 2024? Good question. Some of the more progressive Democratic candidates have already declared that they will reverse many of Trump’s decisions in the Middle East. Including rejoining European support of the nuclear deal with Iran and lifting sanctions against them. Or returning the US embassy to Tel Aviv. Or re-designating the Golan Heights as occupied territory. .

I hope that doesn’t happen. My hope is that whatever happened now will remain as is regardless of who wins the next election. Even if they did not agree with it, changing things back to the way they were will do nothing for anyone. 

In the meantime, I could not be happier with the President’s clear and unambiguous support for the Jewish state. Even if it is only moral support and symbolic. I never thought I would see the day that Israel would get the kind of support form the US that it has now. How wrong I was.

Update
Apparently Trump’s policies with respect to Israel has had a positive impact on at least some European countries. Who put their antisemtism aside and for the first time have rejected a portion of a UN Human Rights Council resolution they had supported in the past which singled out only Israel for condemnation. As the link below says, this is unprecedented!

These EU states just took an unprecedented stand for Israel at the UN Human Rights Council - Jewish Telegraphic Agency 

Thank you Nikky Haley for your help in getting us there.

This should not be seen as an endorsement for the President’s reelection. All it is - is an appreciation for his strong support for Israel.