The view from the Golan Heights

Earlier this week I spent a few days in the Golan Heights. Like the West Bank and Gaza, Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Six Day war. Unlike the West Bank and Gaza, however, the local population (almost exclusively Syrian Druze) are not actively seeking to separate from Israel. In fact, Israelis and Druze get along in the Golan. For example, the small Israeli town where I stayed, Nimrod, is just a few kilometers away from the two largest Druze towns in the Golan, Majdal Shams and Masada. I spent time in both towns and saw Israelis and Druze interacting a lot. I also saw Druze in Nimrod. This is very different than what I experienced in the West Bank. I suspect one reason for this is because the Druze in the Golan face the prospect of being a religious minority in Syria or Israel. While they may not like either option, its reasonable to believe that they may be indifferent to Israeli or Syrian control. Its also conceivable that some may even prefer Israeli control.

Notes from Samaria

Last Sunday, I spent some time visiting Israeli settlements in the West Bank, specifically in Samaria, the northern half of the territory. I have travelled all over the West Bank in the past. What made this visit different was that we had an Israeli settler take us on a tour. The purpose of the tour was to allow the settlers to present their version of how Israelis and Palestinians could live in the area together. The most disturbing part of the visit for me was how the settlers I met basically air-brush the Palestinians out of the picture. They did not demonize Palestinians or claim that Jews have a stronger right to the land than anyone else or present detailed ideas for how the Israelis and the Palestinians could live together. Rather, they simply ignored them – as if the Palestinians did not exist. When I raised the issue I did get honest (and hair-raising) responses, but I had to bring up the issue. I am not sure if ignoring Palestinians was a strategic choice or accurately reflects realities in the area (i.e., Israelis and Palestinians live in different worlds). A bit of both, I suspect.

Keeping up appearances

Bibi and Obama were all smiles and handshakes yesterday, but there is lots of speculation that the tensions between the two administrations remain.

Bibi and Obama

This sounds about right to me:

Obama is not convinced that Netanyahu is serious in his declared intentions regarding the process, and the Israeli premier is not confident that the current American administration is committed to maintaining the same relations with Israel as those held by its predecessors.

Of course, these are two sides of the same coin. If Netanyahu’s government was more serious about negotiating a two-state solution, the Obama administration wouldn’t be so annoyed with it. The reverse argument – that Obama is inherently anti-Israel – doesn’t hold.

Don’t forget to pack a sweater, Bibi

Even though DC is quite hot in July, it is not going to seem that way to Netanyahu. The US is Israel’s strongest ally and the country would be far more isolated if the US did not defend it. Continued isolation of Gaza, expanding Jewish suburbs in Jerusalem, and building more settlements in the West Bank seem like pretty pathetic reasons to destroy a close relationship with the US.