8 April 4 • 2019
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A
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