viewpoints » S end letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS theJEWISHNEWS.com Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us Photo by David Shay/Wikipedia Commons essay Protective Shield Israel’s claim to the Golan is just. I srael captured most of the believed Israel is merely Israel marks land mines it placed on the Golan Golan Heights from neigh- the caretaker of the Golan mountainside to deter attacks emanating from Syria boring Syria in the Six-Day — and that the expanse as well as to identify Syrian land mines dating to when War of 1967 and vows never to ultimately is subject to Syria controlled the strategic and contentious ridge. return the rugged land. negotiation. But with It never should. whom would Israel nego- The militarily strategic tiate: Bashar Assad, the 1973, Israel and Syria agreed to a ceasefire, highlands help Israel secure tyrannical president who leaving the Jewish state in control of the Robert Sklar gassed his own people during Syria’s its north from Iran-backed vast majority of the Golan. Both an Israeli Contributing Hezbollah Shiite terrorists as still raging, five-year civil war? military command and a U.N. peacekeep- Editor well as from Sunni jihadists The Golan ranges from Lebanon ing force have maintained a presence associated with the Islamic eastward to Syria and Jordan, all there. State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Arab nations. The first two are sworn In 1981, Israel, citing security, unilater- and the Al Qaida-linked Al Nusra Front. enemies of Israel; the third has a peace ally extended civilian law to its area of At an April 17 treaty only as durable as King Abdullah II. the Golan, in effect annexing the area. cabinet meeting held About 21,000 Israeli Jews live in the The international community still eyes on the rocky, fertile Golan. It’s also home on the Israeli side to that area as Israeli-occupied Syrian ter- ridge, Prime Minister about 22,000 Druze, most fiercely loyal ritory. Benjamin Netanyahu to Syria. Israel continues to invest in the The Arab League branded Netanyahu’s declared Israel would Golan, reinforcing its commitment there. Golan Heights declaration “a new escala- never “come down from tion. ” Syria vows to retake the Golan by the Golan Heights” given any means. In reality, Netanyahu seems to the volatile makeup of want to leverage Syria’s strife and woo the Benjamin the Middle East. Amid world toward recognizing Israel’s right- Netanyahu the possibilities radiating ful sovereignty over the Golan’s so-called from the Oslo Accords “Israeli-occupied” area. in the 1990s was the Golan’s return as part of land-for-peace offers; today, times are PRESSING ON radically different. The day before that first-ever cabinet Southern Syria and the Syrian capital meeting in the Golan, Netanyahu called of Damascus are in view from the Golan, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to allowing Israel to track Syrian move- oppose any diplomatic effort seeking ments, notably collaborative efforts with return of the Golan as part of ending the Hezbollah, a missile-armed proxy of the Syrian civil war. Netanyahu told Kerry the Assad regime. ISIS, murderously claiming Golan had become “an integral part of the swaths of Iraq and Syria, also is a regional State of Israel in the new era. ” danger as it battles Syrian government Articulating why the Heights are in forces. Imagine ISIS staging along the good hands, Netanyahu, according to the THE HISTORY shores of Israel’s Sea of Galilee. Washington Post, said atop the landscape In the Golan during the Great Revolt of known for wine, goat cheese, a ski hill, AMERICA’S TAKE 66-70 C.E., Jewish rebels held off Roman black basalt and sweeping vistas: The U.S. doesn’t consider the Golan part of soldiers until a crushing Roman surge. “For the 19 years that the Golan was Israel and calls Israel’s ironclad grip on the The modern-day Golani Brigade, aris- under Syrian occupation, it served as a mountain range a breach of international ing in the Golan during the 1948 War for place for bunkers, barbed wires, mines law. President Barack Obama reaffirmed Independence, has stood strong in all of and aggression — it was used for war. In the U.S. position the day after Netanyahu Israel’s wars. the 49 years that the Golan is under Israeli declared the Golan would always stay part During the Six-Day War, Israel’s pre- control, it was used for agriculture, tour- of Israel. emptive strike against Syria and Egypt ism, economic initiatives, building — it Through Democratic and Republican thwarted an impending Arab attack. In was used for peace.” administrations, the White House has 1974, following the Yom Kippur War of Would Israel be expected to negotiate with Bashar Assad, the tyrannical Syrian president who gassed his own people? * CORRECTIONS • In the story “Called to Serve” (May 12, page 24), the mother of Shimmy Cohen is actually Kayla Littman of Oak Park, who also wanted the chance to kvell about her son who is serving as a Lone Soldier. “I’m 6 May 19 • 2016 so proud of the man he has become over the past few years,” she said. “I know how important Israel is to him and respect his decision to serve in the IDF. I couldn’t be more proud.” Shaindle Braunstein, who was quoted in the story, is Shimmy’s stepmother. • In “Beth Shalom Hosts Rabbi And Comic” (May 12, page 26), the price for Rabbi Bob Alper’s Lunch & Learn at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 9, is $22, not $28. RSVP at (248) 547-7970. F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us | Editorial Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@renmedia.us Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen kcohen@thejewishnews.com Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin lkonstantin@renmedia.us Senior Copy Editor: David Sachs dsachs@renmedia.us Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us Contributing Writers: Ruthan Brodsky, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Adam Finkel, Ryan Fishman, Stacy Gittleman, Judy Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Harry Kirsbaum, Barbara Lewis, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, Steve Stein | Creative Services Corporate Creative Director: Deborah Schultz dschultz@renmedia.us | Advertising Sales Sales Director: Keith Farber kfarber@renmedia.us Account Executives : Kathryn Andros, Wendy Flusty, Vivian Friedman, Andrea Gusho, Annette Kizy, Paige Lustig Sales Manager Assistants : Joelle Harder, Karen Marzolf | Business Offices Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner Collections Analyst: Hazel Bender | Production By FARAGO & ASSOCIATES Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Amy Pollard, Pam Sherevan, Michelle Sheridan, Susan Walker | Detroit Jewish News Chairman: Michael H. Steinhardt President/Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz ahorwitz@renmedia.us Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett kbrowett@renmedia.us Controller: Craig R. 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