SPECIAL COMMENTARY

What's To Be Gained
By Giving Away The Golan?

istic terms, the status quo with Syria is
here is no question that the
quite tolerable. It has been the quietest
recent negotiations in West
of all of Israel's borders. Since 1974,
Virginia were monumental.
there have been no border skirmishes,
It is the closest that Israel
no crossings by terrorists and no hos-
has ever come to establishing dialogue
tile overtures.
with its northern neighbor. The major
At present, there is no significant
issue on the trading block is the Golan
threat of a full-scale Syrian attack. The
Heights — should Israel relinquish
Syrian military is in sham-
control over any of it, and if
bles, having long ago been
yes, how much? This ques-
abandoned by its Russian
tion, which Prime Minister
sponsors. And if Syria should
Ehud Barak has promised
nonetheless try anything,
will be decided ultimately by
Israel, from the Golan, has
the people of Israel in a ref-
early-warning systems that
erendum, is often simplisti-
can see across the plains
cally reduced to the oppos-
almost to Damascus. Israel
ing sides of "peace at any
also has a land buffer sepa-
cost" and "not one inch of
rating the Syrian forces from
sacred soil may be given
ARI Z.
its population centers in the
up.
ZIVOTO FSKY
Galilee.
It seems to me that the
Specia 1 to
The Golan Heights is a
analysis that is required is a
the Jewish News
source of much of Israel's
cost-benefit study. That is,
water. By controlling the
what is Israel giving up and
Golan, Israel not only has
what is it getting in return?
relative safety, but also now controls"
What is the "before" and what is
the source of one-third of its water.
"after" the peace treaty?
That's a commodity as dear as oil in
A peace at Israel's northern border,
that dry part of the world.
such as the United States has at its
By giving this all up, what does
northern border, would be ideal. But
Israel hope to gain? In the ideal, a
just how bad is the status quo? In real-
warm peace with economic, cultural
and academic exchanges is envisioned.
However, this dream has not yet been
Ari Z. Zivotofsky is currently doing
realized even with Egypt more than 20
neurophysiology research at the National
years after the Camp David accords.
Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.
But even such a warm peace with
He has a doctorate in biomedical engi-
Syria would have few tangible benefits
neering and a master's degree in Jewish
for Israel.
history.

T

Syria is not a true potential trading
partner. According to a recent CIA
report, "Syria's predominantly statist
economy is on a shaky footing because
of Damascus' failure to implement
extensive economic reform. Syria [has
an] inadequate infrastructure, out-
moded technological base and a weak
educational system." Syria's per capita
GDP (gross domestic product) is a
mere $2,500 as compared to Israel's
per capita GDP of $18,100. There is
little potential for Syrians to buy
Israeli products or to come as tourists
to Israel. The likelihood of mutually
beneficial cultural and academic coop-
eration is equally remote.
The sole area of the status quo that
is untenable is the Lebanese-Israeli
border over which Syria has control.
Arguing that Israel should placate
Syria so that it will end its illegal,
forcible occupation of a third country,
Lebanon, is simply extortion. If the
United States and United Nations are
truly concerned about that issue, they
should open talks between Lebanon
and Syria to resolve that illegal occu-
pation. But leave the Golan out of it.
There is no intrinsic link between
Syria's occupation of Lebanon and
Israel giving up the Golan.
The "before" with Syria is thus a
known, tolerable status quo. What is
the "after?" Firstly, it is very unknown.
Syria is one of the few select nations
on the U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring
countries. It is an undemocratic coun-
try controlled by a military dictator-

ship that, when the need arose, massa-
cred 10,000 of its own people in 1982
in Hama.
Syria, an impoverished, van-
quished country, has now come to
the table demanding concessions
without so much as agreeing to
return Eli Cohen's body, or Zachary
Baumel and the other three MIAs it
has been holding since 1982. Syria's
foreign minister has even refused to
shake hands with the Israeli delega-
tion. Can one even imagine the
insanity of a defeated Germany try-
ing to dictate terms to the allies,
refusing to shake hands and demand-
ing the return of parts of Poland!
Certainly peace is the ideal. But is
that what is happening? Is the tradeoff
really worthwhile? I think not. The
price that Israel is being asked to pay
is enormous: dismantle Israel's early-
warning systems, hand over a major
water source and evict 18,000 resi-
dents (if there is peace, why can't they
live there?) from 33 settlements.
All this in exchange for a very
uncertain future in which the Syrian
army is revamped by the U.S., the
Israelis have a $17 billion debt of grat
itude to the U.S., and few, if any, fore
seeable material benefits go to Israel.
And yes, the great honor that Syria's
foreign minister will finally shake
Prime Minister Barak's hand instead c
turning his back on him! While we al
hope for peace, it seems that giving
the Golan to Syria at this point does
not further that goal. ❑

LETTERS

Show Outrage
Over Gun Use

Thank you for your wonderful editori-
al on gun control ("Stand Up For
Gun Control," Jan. 14).
As Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of
the Union of American Hebrew Con-
gregations, observed in his speech to
the UAHC biennial convention last
month, "We need to see the control of
guns not as a political problem but as
a solemn religious obligation. Our
gun-flooded society has turned
weapons into idols, and the worship
of idols must be recognized for what it
is — blasphemy. The only appropriate
religious response to idolatry is sus-
tained moral outrage."
The UAHC and the Religious
Action Center of Reform Judaism

1/28

2000

32

have organized a campaign to end gun
violence tided "Swords into Plow-
shares." Individuals and organizations
can get information on how they can
help bring an end to this plague on
our society on-line at
www.rj.org/rac/pubsigtms.html#swor
ds
Each one of us can make a differ-
ence. Bravo to the Jewish News for
bringing this to the fore.
Rabbi Elliott Kleinman
regional director,
Union of American
Hebrew Congregations
New York

Gun Control
Propaganda

This letter is in response to your gun

control editorial ("Stand Up For Gun
Control," Jan. 14). Unfortunately,
your editorial is so full of inaccuracies
and demagoguery that it is just simple
propaganda.
You state that we tolerate the sales
of Uzis that actually have been banned
for years. You don't discuss the 1 mil-
lion times a year that firearms are used
to protect innocent lives. The cause of
reducing gun-related crime in the
United States is admirable. But "gun
control" is a false idol and not a valid
enough reason to sacrifice the civil,
human and constitutional rights of
Americans.
We must all have the courage to
look at the true and actual causes of
gun violence in this country and take
real steps to combat them. The strange
jump in logic that says, because guns
are used by criminals we must restrict

and ban guns is false. If it were true,
the thousands of gun laws that we
already have passed in this country
over the years would have eliminated
gun crimes long ago. In the '50s, gun
were much easier to buy and much
less restricted than today. However,
gun violence happened far less than
does now even though we now have
many, many more restrictions on
guns.
The Reform movement will lean
the sad lesson that all "gun con-
troll e rs" must face sooner or later.
That after spending untold million
of dollars and hours of effort, gun
control doesn't work in reducing gL
crime, although it sure makes the
gun controllers feel good. The
Reform movement and the Jewish
News could really work to eliminate
gun-related violence by throwing it