8 April 4 • 2019
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s difficult as it is to admit, our 
country’
s history is rich in hate. 
Far too often, we’
re reminded 
of how far we still must 
go for the greater good 
of all people. Violence, 
pain, death and sorrow 
impact victims of hate 
crime every day, both 
domestically and abroad. 
Last month, New 
Zealand experienced 
a tragedy that’
s all too 
familiar here in the United States. What 
was supposed to be a sanctuary and 
place of worship quickly morphed into 
a nightmare. A total of 50 people were 
killed and 31 injured — nine still in 
critical condition. This was a crime of 
pure hate and heartbreakingly tragic.

The attack played out on social media 
along with the visibility of the manifesto 
online: Terrorists were applauded, and 
blatant hatred for specific groups along 
with self-proclamations of racism were 
all included. 
Unfortunately, active shooters and the 
hate crimes they commit are no stranger 
to us in the United States:
Charleston, S.C. – June 17, 2015, a 
man* murdered nine people in worship 
at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal 
Church. He admitted to police his desire 
to start a “race war.
” 
Orlando, Fla. – June 12, 2016, a man* 
murdered 49 people and injured 53 at 
Pulse, a popular nightclub geared toward 
members of the LGBTQ community. 
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Oct. 27, 2018, a man* 
entered the Tree of Life Synagogue, 

ultimately murdered 11 innocent people 
and, according to law enforcement, 
made anti-Semitic statements while 
shooting and on social media. 
I want to make it clear that senseless 
acts of hate and terror have no place 
in Michigan. We created the Hate 
Crimes Unit with the express purpose 
of protecting everyone in this state from 
those who wish to terrorize people who 
live here. We are committed to working 
relentlessly and tirelessly in cooperation 
with federal and local authorities.
This is personal for me as a Jewish 
woman. My grandparents fled Europe in 
order to be free from those who wished 
to exterminate them for no other reason 
than they worshipped differently from 
the majority. But to them, America 
was — and is — the land of freedom 

— freedom to be who we are and to 
worship any way we like.
Our state is home to immense 
diversity, which is a source of joy and 
pride for us. There may be individuals 
who feel the opposite and choose 
to speak about their dissatisfaction. 
Regardless of how vile or appalling their 
words can be for some, hate speech is 
not illegal and is, in fact, protected.
When speech turns to action, 
however, we are compelled to act. That’
s 
why I established the Hate Crimes Unit 
within the Department of Attorney 
General. The Hate Crimes Unit is here 
to work with both local and federal law 
enforcement to be vigilant in our efforts 
to investigate and prosecute actual crime 
driven by hate. As attorney general, I will 
always uphold the law and do everything 

guest column
Hate, an Action Word

Dana Nessel

guest column

Trump’s Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty 
Over the Golan: Politics not Peace
W

ith Israeli elections sched-
uled for April 9 and polls 
showing Prime Minister 
Benjamin Netanyahu 
in a tight race with the 
new Blue White party, 
President Donald 
Trump has tried to 
tip the scales. Publicly 
praising Netanyahu, 
Trump announced 
his recognition of 
Israeli sovereignty 
over the Golan while refraining from 
revealing the details for his Israel-
Palestinian peace plan until after the 
election.
Although Israeli Prime Ministers 
Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud 
Barak, Ehud Olmert and Netanyahu 
(until the outbreak of the Syrian civil 
war in March 2011) all sought “land 
for peace” deals that would have 
returned most or all the Golan to 
Syria, many Israelis are relieved that 
those deals never came to fruition. 

They feared bases for Hezbollah or 
Iran might have been built in the 
Golan in the aftermath of the Syrian 
civil war, thereby literally gaining the 
high ground over Israeli populations. 
Prior to the 1967 Six Day War, 
Israelis remember Syrian troops 
shooting from these heights at Israeli 
farmers below. As a 5-year-old, I 
recall spending the 1973 Yom Kippur 
War in Israeli bomb shelters as Syria 
initially stormed the Golan and the 
Egyptian army initially crossed into 
the Israel-controlled Sinai Peninsula. 
Israel has legitimate security 
concerns, exacerbated by a Syrian 
regime that has committed crimes 
against humanity, let Iran build 
bases in its territory and has allowed 
Hezbollah to entrench itself on the 
Israel-Syrian border, as it has on the 
Israel-Lebanese border.
Regardless, it is in Israel’
s long-
term interests to make peace with 
Syria when there is a regime that 
could bar an Iranian and Hezbollah 

presence from any territory that 
Israel concedes. Before the Syrian 
civil war, Netanyahu was negoti-
ating such a land-for-peace deal. 
According to Dennis Ross in his 
book The Missing Peace, Barak was 
close to trading the Golan to Syria 
for peace but bowed to the poten-
tial domestic political costs of con-
ceding land to both Syria and the 
Palestinians in a short time frame. 
These prime ministers recognized 
that an Israel-Syria peace requires a 
land deal. Egypt got the entire Sinai 
back for peace, and negotiations with 
the Palestinians have been based on 
this “land-for-peace” formula. The 
door should be left open to a future 
peace agreement with Syria. Israel 
possesses the strongest military in 
the region and would be able to 
make a deal ensuring its long-term 
security. 
Trump’
s bid to give Netanyahu an 
election boost has additional costs. 
They have contributed to cracking 

the solid bipartisan U.S. support for 
Israel that is vital to the relation-
ship. The Golan announcement has 
also galvanized the Israeli far right 
bent on annexing all or part of the 
West Bank. Israel’
s normalization 
with more Arab states and its long-
term survival as a Jewish majority 
democracy rely on eventual peace 
agreements with the Palestinians and 
Syria, based on the pre-Six Day War 
borders with land swaps. 
Until such time, Israel controls 
the Golan. The temporary emotional 
appeal of U.S. recognition of Israeli 
sovereignty over the Golan is not 
worth the negative effects on Israeli 
politics, bipartisan American support 
for Israel, and the chances for long-
term peace with Syria and normal-
ization in the region. ■

Yael Aronoff is director of the Michael and 
Elaine Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and 
Modern Israel and the Michael and Elaine 
Serling and Friends Chair in Israel Studies at 
Michigan State University.

Yael Aronoff

continued on page 10

