Pyongyang, Damascus and the Golan Heights, Part II

Syria used to control the Golan Heights. From there, it shelled Israeli kibbutzim, killing more than 140 people and making life extraordinarily difficult for the intrepid residents (farmers couldn’t hear the shells from their tractors, so they had flagmen watch for the incoming rounds and wave at them to get to the shelters). Children slept in bunkers for protection (the functional opposite of Hamas putting children on rooftops to deter the IAF). When the IDF took the Golan in 1967, the soldiers stood where the Syrian gunners stood, looking down on the valley.

Syria used to control the Golan Heights. From there, it shelled Israeli kibbutzim, killing more than 140 people and making life extraordinarily difficult for the intrepid residents (farmers couldn’t hear the shells from their tractors, so they had flagmen watch for the incoming rounds and wave at them to get to the shelters). Children slept in bunkers for protection (the functional opposite of Hamas putting children on rooftops to deter the IAF). When the IDF took the Golan in 1967, the soldiers stood where the Syrian gunners stood, looking down on the valley. From the top, they understood the bottom; it was as if the Gaza Strip was elevated above Sderot. The marker they placed on that spot reads, “From here, you look ten feet tall,” testimony to the bravery of the Israelis who lived under the guns.

Since then, Israel has been protected from Syria in part by strategic height and in part by the deterrence produced by proximity to Damascus. Syria, in the meantime, has remained overtly hostile to Israel – the Yom Kippur War; using first the PLO, then Hezbollah in Lebanon to attack Israel; building and buying ballistic missiles and a non-conventional arsenal to compensate for its lack of air power; serving as Iran’s handyman, including allowing terrorists to cross into Iraq to attack American forces; hosting Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

And building a nuclear facility in conjunction with North Korea. Israel took the threat of potential nuclear capability in Syria so seriously that it destroyed the North Korean facility in a pre-emptive strike approved by the United States.

So what to make of Prime Minister Olmert’s apparent willingness to cede the entire Golan to Syria (including strip along the Sea of Galilee where Syria illegally encroached on pre-67 Israeli territory) at precisely the moment the Syria-North Korea axis is being exposed. Precisely the moment Israel’s vigilance and pro-active arms control should be winning (at least grudging) admiration from others who were protected. Precisely the moment the screws should be tightening on both Bashar al-Assad and Kim Jong-il.

JINSA has always believed that to cede or keep territory (with exceptions in Jerusalem) is the sovereign right of the Government of Israel – to be done in a manner that best protects the interests and security of the people of Israel, which we always assumed would be the first priority of a democratically elected government. In this case, we don’t argue with the Government’s right, but we certainly have an argument with its wisdom.

It is clear that the United States is pushing Israel hard to conclude a peace agreement with the Palestinians, probably as a matter of legacy for the President and Secretary Rice. It is also clear that Prime Minister Olmert is allowing himself to be pushed hard where he wishes to go anyhow. But in the case of the Golan and Syria, it appears that the Israeli government has gotten out even ahead of the Americans.

If this is a political move to match legacy for the President with legacy for the Prime Minister, then heaven help them and us – and everybody in between. A paper treaty with Syria, a puppet of Iran with its own legacy of wreckage in Lebanon, isn’t worth using as toilet paper, let alone is it worth risking the re-establishment of the Syrian army on the heights above Israel.