Opinion
Assad is waiting
Eitan Haber
Published: 01.04.09, 11:23
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1. Once the Golan is gone
daniel   (04.01.09)
time will be running out for Israel. But hey, it's a price worth paying for 'peace' aka as 'missiles raining down on the galil'.
2. ISRAEL AND YEHUDAH ONCE AGAIN ?
Roland Seener ,   LONDON ENGLAND   (04.01.09)
GOLAN HEIGHTS ISSUE, WILL CAUSE BROTHER TO FIGHT BROTHER SHOULD ANY ATTEMPT BE MADE TO GIVE IT UP,THE SAME GOES FOR JERUSALEM OR ANY PART OF BIBLICAL ORDAINED LAND.THIS TIME THE NORTHERN KINGDOM WILL HAVE THE GOOD GUYS AND THE SOUTHERNERS,THE BAD ONES.
3. Haber should focus on Syrian fascism against the Kurds
Eric Wood   (04.01.09)
Read these 2 amazing article which show Syria for what they are. http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15566 Open letter to Joseph Biden, Vice President Sherkoh Abbas 3/26/09 http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15139 Campaign for the international recognition of human rights of half a million Kurds “Buried Alive” in Syria 10/13/08
4. The Israeli left is delusional and defeatist.
Larry Michlin   (04.01.09)
The Golan Heights is not for sale. Its Israels land. Whats the deal with these Jews who want to give away there land.
5. Proof that Haber is 100% wrong
David Weinstein   (04.01.09)
Mr Haber i advise you to read this article which rebukes all your left wing lies. Like Turks, Israel must show determination in dealings with Syria. www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3347015,00.html
6. Why Israel must always keep the Jewish Golan
Ariel Shamir   (04.01.09)
If Israel yields the Golan, it will not only be the residents there who lose, but all of Israel will be demoralized. From here, the Golan belongs to Israel for the following reasons: 1. It started out as part of the Mandate. It was given to Syria (France) in exchange for Iraqi oil (Britain). 2. No Syrians live there; only Israelis live there. If the Druze (non-Syrians) want to join Syria, Israel can yield that part of the Golan where they live. 3. Israel has paid for the Golan. It has paid for it in blood 3 times. 4. The Golan is part of Geographic Israel--watershed 5. The Golan is part of historic Israel--Gamla 6. Israel needs the Golan for water, for landscape, for recreation, for room to grow. 7. Israel already complied with UN 242 on the Golan when it yielded returned the plains leading to Damascus and Kuneitra to Syria after the 1973 War.
7. Sorry but how much more obvious does Assad have to be?
Danny   (04.01.09)
He has stated he will NOT cut ties with Iran in any way and he will NOT cut ties with the "resistance" aka Hamas and Hizbollah. So we get exactly the same status as now except that Syrians sit on the shore of the kinneret and instead of Israelis overlooking Syrians, Syrians overlook Israelis.
8. disconnected from reality
marcel   (04.01.09)
Haber is disconnected from reality with same out peace now garbage. Syria is one of the prime movers of hezbollah and hamas as well a long time supporter of fatah with terror supplies in every way. You want rockets from the golan? Really- you want that -you bunch of tamir/olmert/livni morons!! Israel does not have the room. New formulae need to be explored. Parts of Jordan and saudi arabia should be evaluated for a new arab state. Finally, the oslo formula was the biggest mistake israel ever made and you can thank beilin,peres and haber for it. The families of the dead and maimed can thank haber for it.
9. peace
alexi   (04.01.09)
Even if the golan is given to syria, whe will not stop her relations with iran or support for arab terror or as she puts it-resistance. That haber buys the syrian pledge along with his buddy olmert shows how naive they are. What ar e you going to do, establish another UN convention to monitor syrian compliance. You want more. Syria was building a nuclear plant, and has chemical and biological weapons along with a full missile system.They cannot do much more. So haber's formulatioin is the dying gasp of the oslo crowd that is pathetic. Jusst as syria got used to turkish land needs, so must syria get used to israeli needs. Haber, yoiu cannot buy peace with concessions as europe found out with hitler. Why don't you get syria to do things up front. You are just another Olmert, a coward, crook, liar and first class dumbbell.
10. the only winner in Israel is Bibi who gets a nobel prize
zionist forever   (04.01.09)
EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE COUNTRY LOOSES. Syria is one of the weakest military powers in the region and other than the occasional flare up with Hizbullah Israels northern borders have been the most peaceful of all since 1973. Peace with Syria won't solve the Iran problem becase Iran pulls Syrias strings not the other way around, Iran will manage just fine without Syria. So if we don't need peace why are we so desperate for it ,,, never heard of the saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. Sometimes peace isn't the best solution. About 2 weeks ago Assad went on record as saying there is a difference between a peace treaty & peace. Unless the palestinian problem is solved Syria is only willing to offer a peace treaty which in effect means nothing. Assads first plan is to move up to 1 million Syrians into the Golan creating a potential hotbed of terror and Assad has plausable deniability so there is very little we can do other than complain to the UN. Assad will be given US military aid & money which is part of the standard peace process package. An enemy with outdated weapons and badly trained soileders will get the same modern American weapons Israel has & probably American training for the soilders like the palestinians are getting. We create a threat intentionly and we don't even have the strategic high ground anymore. Tens of thousands of druze will be driven out their homes to make way for Syrians & they won't want to live under Syrian rule anyway so Israel has an influx of druze to house. Around 30,000 jews will be expelled that means find homes for them all and pull jobs out of thin air and considering half the 8000 Gaza residents are still not in permanent accomodation and are unemployed how are we going to handle an extra 30,000 + the druze. The palestinian problem in the north will increase, Syria has hundreds of thosands of palestinian refugees he wants to get rid off and he will do everything possible to dump them onto Israel with full support of the arab world & probably some western states. The costs involved of moving everybody, the thousands of long term unemployed will take us into a recesion so deep it will take over a decade to come out of especialy considering we are already in a recesion. Also don't expect America to be overly generous they might give us some loan garuntees which is what they usualy give for peace treaties not huge cash handouts. So other than a little bit of good public relations and a nobel prize for Netanyahu what in this for Israel?
11. Danny- No IRANIANS look down!
Alan ,   SA   (04.01.09)
12. Golan
michaelpielet ,   boca, usa   (04.01.09)
It is truly amazing that haber would bring up this issue.His boss Rabin offered gthe golan to syria, did not inform anyone in israel, only US Sec. of state christopher.Without the golan, israel would be further down the road to destruction. the golan is a stategic asset of the highest level. Any chance of peace will be extinguished by the return of the golan. Cynicism will not bring peace!
13. I want a talkback reply from Mr.Eitan !
FO ,   Belgium   (04.01.09)
I can't imagine that you are unaware of the recent history of the country you are living in. I am convinced you know that the Golan Heights never were part of Syrian territory as decided by the League of Nations the 22th of July 1922. The document voted that day unanimously by all its 51 members and joined by by a 52nd nation, the United States of America, granted the Jewish People an embryo of a State, and gave the Jews the IRREVOCABLE RIGHT to settle anywhere in Palestine, the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan, INCLUDING THE GOLAN, a right unaltered in INTERNATIONAL LAW and valid to this day due to ARTICLE 80 of the UN CHARTER. I know that the leftist "Elite" at that time rejected the notion of a Jewish State, and this behaviour contributed to the drama that was going to happen to the European Jewry. And when it happened the leftist "Elite" succeeded in eradicating all traces of the League's document of 1922 from literature and Zionist history. So the history of the Golan disappeared at the same time. But you can't lie to your people and the world forever. A most interesting report was written, not by a "extrem Israeli rightist" but by a team of American proeminent people, including Prof. Eugene Rostow, the author of UN resolution 242. "Excerpts from A Special Report Prepared for the U.S. Center for Security Policy by: General John Foss (USA, Ret.), Commanding General U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command; formerly responsible for U.S. forces in the Sinai. General Al Gray (USMC, Ret.), Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps. Lieutenant General John Pustay (USAF, Ret.),Assistant to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; President, National Defense University . General Bernard Schriever (USAF, Ret.), Commander, U.S. Air Force Systems Command. Admiral Carl Trost (USN, Ret.), Chief of Naval Operations. Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr. (USN, Ret.), Chief of Naval Operations . Douglas J. Feith, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense; Middle East specialist, National Security Council. Frank Gaffney, Jr., Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Policy); Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. Richard Perle, Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Policy). Eugene Rostow, Director, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; Under Secretary of State (Political Affairs); Author of U.N. Resolution 242 . Henry S. Rowen, Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs); Chairman, National Intelligence Council, Central Intelligence Agency. "The Golan Heights [Gaulanitis] were illegally given away to the French Mandate of (Syria -Lebanon) on March 1923. This territorial transfer was made surreptitiously in a capricious and arbitrary fashion by the British whose sole interest was to secure Mosul 's oil fields to Iraq, and reduce the constant friction with the French Mandatory Powers in Syria-Lebanon which had designs on these oil fields and Trans-Jordan. A Mandate is a Trust, according to ART. 80 of the UN Charter. Israel's decision to impose its Laws on the Golan Heights on December 14, 1981, had eventually, RIGHTED the WRONG that was committed by the British in March 1923. Syria cannot make a standing claim in an International Court of Law as Syria was not an Independent Country then, but was in its formative years under the French Mandate. The "Golan Heights" as they are known TODAY were never part of Syrian Real Estate, but part of the Palestine Mandate. I want your reply in this rubric. Thank you inadvance. .
14. Rabin
(04.01.09)
Rabin z"l said clearly that anyone who would abandon the Golan is purposefully sacrificing Israel. Rabin z"l would curse the revisionist Haber who pretends that he is Rabin's follower.
15. Golan is part of Israel
(04.01.09)
16. Golan
Orren ,   London UK   (04.01.09)
Does nobody realise that giving back the Golan will only create a temporary peace with Syria. As soon as Israel responds to any attack from Gaza or anywhere else, Syria will be right in behind them, claiming that Israeli aggression left them no choice. The world will undoubtedly hold Israel responsible for a war with Syria and any attempt to take back the Golan will result in further demonization of Israel throughout the world.
17. Creativity
Israeltalk ,   Israel   (04.01.09)
Peace with Syria does not have to be so "black and white". http://israeltalk.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/netanyahu-assad-and-the-golan/
18. The Golan is Israeli land, now and forever.
Bunnie Meyer ,   Los Angeles, CA USA   (04.01.09)
19. Not his business
David ,   USA, exile   (04.01.09)
Eitan Haber you are old. Your hair is grey. You are soon to go the way of all the world. But if you and your kind are successful in weakening Israel it is those who are left who will suffer your defeatist judgments. Golan has been Israel since before Israel existed. It was a promise to Avraham. Now please go away quietly.
20. There is only one way to keep the peace
Gee ,   Zikron Yaakov   (04.01.09)
Keep the Golan. Any concession of the least amount rewards Arab genocide. Syria want pieces of Israel not peace with Israel
21. DUMB ANALASYS
HERtzel H'Tveriani ,   ISRAEL   (04.01.09)
I can't believe this Haber is getting paid for writing his delusional wishful thinking that if materialized will bring him, his grandchildren and all of Israel down. Iran will sit on the golan across from my home town, but hey, you Haber live in Tel Aviv, so you got nothing to worry about, Bottom line PLEASE KEEP YOUR STUPID IDEAS TO YOUR LOCAL CAFE FRIENDS.
22. re 13, complete lies that you have made up
Sayid ,   Sweden   (04.01.09)
Golan was always Syrian, it was never part of Palestine.
23. The rational for giving Golan back is false logic.
Aaron ,   SF, USA   (04.01.09)
All the positives and truths for keeping the Golan outweigh what Peace with Syria would actually bring. Plus, besides minimal funding to Hamas, the actual military tension between Syria and Israel is pretty lackluster.
24. #22 you only wish those were lies.
Aaron ,   SF, USA   (04.01.09)
Everything 13 said is truth and is documented.
25. #22, "Golan was always Syrian". LOL!
Jake   (04.01.09)
That's a good one. First of all, until the Mandate period, there was no sovereign nation called Syria. The Ottoman Empire did not have a sub-division called 'Syria'. Secondly, it is true, much of the Golan was part of the British Palentine Mandate before 1923. The agreement of 1920 between Britain and France agreed territorial exchanges to be made with the French Mandate, above all ceding the Golan Heights to the French Mandate of Syria in exhange for the French giving up their claims to Mosul and ceding it to the British Mandate of Mesopotamia (later, Iraq). Of course, that is not the reason why Syria lost its right to claims over the western Golan (eastern Golan is part of Syria today), but nevertheless, it's a fact.
26. Sayid #22 you are the one lying
Gee ,   Zikron Yaakov   (04.01.09)
The Golan has been part of Israel long before Syria ever existed. The Golan was stolen by the British and illegally given to the French who gave it to Syria.
27. re 25 and 24, if its true show me documented evidence.
Sayid ,   Sweden   (04.01.09)
I have seen the British boundary in 1920 and it showed that 95% of Golan was in Syria. So how is this much? Show me evidence.
28. Will The Golan prize brings Peace ?
To EITAN HABER ,   Paris, Haber   (04.02.09)
Dear Eitan HABER, Removing Syria from The Evil Axis may not be sufficient to remove the existential threat constituted by Iran. If The Creation of a demilitarized palestinian State and the Return of Golan to Syrians could remove the existential prize created by a nuclearized Iran , The prize will certainly be paid. If this would convince the Americans and the European Uniion as well as Russia , China to do whatever is needed to eliminate the threat of a Nuclearly Militarized Iran,. In this case, Both BARAK and BIBI will pay the prize. Nevertheless The Chess party is more complicated than what you think about Barak's and Bibi's EGOs. They are both as well Boogy YAALON only concerned by the threat. IRAN wants to be a NUCLEAR POWER. at any cost JEWS and ISRAEL CANNOT AFFORD the luxury of this situation. Iran is a nation of 75 MIllions of People living on a territory 3 times larger than France in term of Superficy. Their existence has never been seriously threatened. Only a part of their Territory was at stake during the Iraki-Iran War. Behind IRAN you have CHINA and its other PROXY North KOREA. The SUNNIS understand very well that what IRAN wants is just conquer the MECCA.......to HAVE THE KAABA. Both Barak and Bibi know that IRAN is not acting rationally with both Russia, USA and China wanting to help them economically in order to garantee their respective oil supply. For Iran, Israel is the Proxy of The USA. They believe that the USA and Israeli are The GREAT SATAN. They want a deterrent power against Arab States, against USA, against The EU who Fueled the Iraki-Iran Conflict. They still have an account to settle with America, EU and the SUNNI World. They will not give up their well advanced project to obtain the Atomic Bomb. SYRIA as EGYPT are not at all stable politically. They can reverse any peace treaty any time EXCEPT if the USA have them under their control. A NATO treaty with EGYPT, ISRAEL, SYRIA and PALESTINIANS as WELL JORDAN and SOUDI ARABIA and IRAK could constitute a deterent vis a vis IRAN but such a Treaty will never be signed .......... What Country will send soldiers to control such a vast area............They do not want to send soldiers even in GAZA....... Thus I am not optimistic at all.......... The Treaty with SYRIA will come after the IRAN THREAT IS REMOVED NOT BEFORE. In this case, SYRIA will have only RUSSIA and CHINA supporting its Views . In this case we would be in a rationale REAL POLITIK Situation where a lasting deal can be done.
29. The Golan – a paramount strategic asset for Israel.
Robert Bernier ,   Tel Aviv   (04.02.09)
Apart from the clear operational advantage that the Golan’s topography provides the IDF, the intelligence gathering value of the area – particularly the ridge of hills on its eastern fringes and from atop Mt. Hermon (aptly dubbed “the eyes of the country”) is indispensable. There is wide agreement among experts that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find adequate substitute to compensate for the loss of the intelligence installations stationed there. Nowadays, the Golan is an integrated region of Israel : http://xrl.us/bjvii
30. Post #27, Proof the Golan is historically Israels.
David Stoler   (04.02.09)
Proof Golan is historically Israels http://xrl.us/bmfrf
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