Monday, June 2, 2008

The Golan Hights - Historical Rights and Legitimacy .

 

The Golan is where the tribes of Dan and Menashe settled, and Israeli kings ranging from Saul to Herod ruled there. The Golan saw consecutive Jewish settlement for 800 years; 300 Jewish communities from the time of the Mishna and Talmud were discovered there, along with the remnants of 27 synagogues. Later, 1,000 years of desolation followed, until the Jews returned. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Turks came in control of the area and remained so until the end of World War I.

 

The Golan belongs to Israel because it is the estate of the Jews forefathers and not only by the power of occupation in a defensive war against an aggressor, like America in Texas and Poland and former German territories.

 

Syria controlled the Golan for only 21 years, half the period it has been under Israeli rule. Almost half of its territory has been purchased by Rothschild and later robbed by the Syrian government. Jews settled in the Golan as early as 1886 (long before the Syrian Arab Republic existed)  but they were expelled, massacred, or fled because of malaria.

 

In 1886, the Jewish B'nei Yehuda society of Safed purchased a plot of land four kilometers north of the present-day religious moshav of Keshet, but the community, named Ramataniya, failed one year later. In 1887, the society purchased lands between the modern-day Bene Yehuda and Kibbutz Ein Gev. This community survived until 1920, when two of its last members were murdered in the anti-Jewish riots which erupted in the spring of that year. In 1891, Baron Rothschild purchased approximately 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land in the Hauran, about 15 km east of modern Ramat Hamagshimim. Immigrants of the First Aliyah (1881–1903) established five small communities on this land, but were forced to leave by the Ottomans in 1898. The lands were farmed until 1947 by the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association (PICA) and the Jewish Colonization Association, when they were seized by the Syrian army.

 

According to the Agreement of San Remo,(April 1920) The mandate for Palestine comprises an area incorporating what is now the entire state of Israel, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. The mandate specifically states that a national homeland for the Jewish people should be established in Palestine, but that the rights of non-Jews should be protected. In 1923, Britain ceded the Golan Heights (1,176 square kilometers of the Palestine Mandate) to the French Mandate of Syria, in spite of the specifications of the San Remo agreements and the  Mandate for Palestine which was conferred on Britain in 1922 by The League of Nations. Jews were also barred from living there. Jewish settlers on the Golan Heights were forced to abandon their homes and relocate inside the westerb area of the British Mandate.

 

Claims that the Golan is Syrian land has no geographic or historical basis. All theese evens should be known before we talk about strategy and security.

 

And the situation today?

 

A poll found that 48% of the public said they would refuse an order to evacuate the Golan. This strengthen the Golan loyalists, and it appears to undermine Israel's right to hand over parts of the country to other states.

 

With the exception of Stalinist Russia, states only expelled the populations of enemies defeated in war, rather than their own citizens. And just like depriving a person of his rights and freedoms is forbidden, "cleansing" the Golan off Jews would not only be a national sin, but also a crime against humanity, which allows for the right to resist. Should Golan leaders not internalize this, the Gush Katif tragedy shall repeat.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

these "negotiations" about the Golan are based on the most mistaken premise. were the Golan truly important to Syria, and Syria truly wanted a genuine peace with Israel, they would be the ones making the approach, they would offer to expel hamas members, break the alliance with iran and cease all terrorist activities as preconditions to talks. instead, we have the idiots in smolmert's failure of a government taking them at their word - that ceding of the Golan is the precondition! what a great idea - to give up land which is the source of Israel's water and vital for its defence in return for a fake peace with the syrian national socialist ba'ath party.

Michael Jacobs said...

The San Remo conference of 1920 in fact adopted the Balfour declaration of 1917. Later, in 1923, these decisions were formally accepted by the League of Nations. Specifically, these agreements stipulated that a Jewish National Home should be established in Palestine, while none of the religious and civic rights of the indigenous population should be prejudiced. Importantly, they did not mention or grant any sovereign political privileges to the Arabs of Palestine, since the Arabs were already generously supplied with political independence in all the lands surrounding Palestine.

Dan said...

I'm amazing how this fraud Jimmy Carter wont speak out on Syrian fascism.

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

The Kurdish People are the second largest ethnic entity in Syria, consisting of more than three million of the total population. The Kurds have been living on their ancient historical homeland and have actively contributed to liberating and building up the modern republic of Syria. Successive Syrian governments after independence in 1946 have denied the legitimate national rights of the Kurdish people and their contributions to achieving independence. Since the Baath Party seized power after the coup of March 1963 and declared itself the autocrat of the country, it has been systematically applying all political, military and psychological means to eradicate the Kurdish existence and forcibly assimilate the Kurdish national identity and annihilate their culture. These racist discriminatory policies have deprived the Kurds of the constitutional recognition of their cultural and national existence. The following atrocities are an ongoing part of these policies of the Syrian totalitarian regime for nearly half a century:

Exceptional Census:

The suppressive Syrian regime, in flagrant breach of human rights and international law, developed the racist, discriminatory Census Article 93, issued on 23/08/1962 and implemented on 05/10/1962, limited to Al Hasakah and Kurdish regions, which initially resulted in more than 150,000 and now increased to more than half a million, Kurds, who had been living in their own homeland, being stripped of their Syrian nationality certificate, thereby depriving them of the basic human right of surviving and prospering in their own country. Those whose nationality was withdrawn, and henceforth considered as foreigners in their own land, have no right to work in formal government departments, nor to own property, nor can they have access to education and health facilities. They cannot register their marriages and neither are they allowed to register their children in the state civil records. They cannot travel abroad as they cannot obtain a passport. They have no rights to practice some freelance professions such as medicine, law and teaching, which require a nationality certificate. In conclusion, they have no birthright to live in their own homeland. This racial and cultural genocide still continues today, after more than four decades, despite many promises to resolve this human rights issue which is so disastrous for the Kurds.

The Arab Belt and Arabisation Policy:

Since the racist Baath Party seized power in the 1960s, the Kurds have been cruelly subjected to a ethnic cleansing, racial and cultural genocide, aiming to eradicate the whole Kurdish national and cultural existence by isolating and separating the northern and southern parts of Kurdistan.

On 24/6/1974 the Chauvinist Government issued the racist Article 521, known as “The Arab Belt” which resulted in the seizure of the Kurdish agricultural lands (350km long and 15 km wide), and thousands of Kurdish land owners and farmers were forcibly driven from their own property, which was confiscated and given to Arab settlers and farmers coming from Arab regions. This widespread annexation of Kurdish agricultural lands and the settlement of immigrant Arabs resulted in splitting families and the destruction of social relationships, and in Arabising the names of villages and towns, which has altered the character of the whole region. This inhuman deprivation of natural ownership rights and livelihood has terrorized the Kurdish population who were deported from their cultural homelands and property and forced to live in isolation and destitution in big metropolitan cities.

The Political Repression of the Kurds in Syria

The Baath regime launched a campaign to eradicate all Kurdish national identity including Kurdish cultural and social activities. Kurdish political leaders, academics and intellectuals were brutally executed, imprisoned or exiled.

In 1949 the Kurdish President of the Syrian Republic, Mr. Husni Zaeem and his Kurdish Chief of Council of Misisters Mr. Muhsin Berazi, were overthrown and executed.

On 15th July 1951, two national Kurdish leaders, Prince Jaladat Bederxan and Dr. Noraddin Zaza, were assassinated and the Kurdish leader Apo Osman Sabri was exiled by the Arab nationalists.

On 31st November 1960 the Syrian authorities committed a horrific racial genocide in the Amuda Cinema where 380 Kurdish children were deliberately burnt to death while on a school excursion, watching a film on the Algerian revolution.

On 21st March 1986 the Syrian military forces attacked the Kurdish people and killed a man and injured many others in Damascus at a peaceful Newroz demonstration.

In 1993, 72 Kurdish prisoners were burnt to death and 100 were injured in the Central Prison in Hasakah City. To date, hundreds of Kurdish activists and academics are still dying under the brutal torture of this barbaric regime.

On 12th March 2004 the Syrian secret police and the Baathist Arabs incited and attacked Kurdish civilians in Quamishly and other Kurdish cities and areas. More than 30 Kurds were murdered and hundreds injured during these incursions. Hundreds more were arrested.

On 2st August 2004 the Syrian military secret forces arrested and tortured to death the Kurdish activist Mr. Ahmed Hussain Hussain a member of leadership council of PYD (Democratic Union Party). In July 2004 a member of PYD Miss Naziliye Kechel was arrested and to date her fate is unknown.

On 1st June 2005 the Syrian secret police abducted and tortured the Kurdish clerical leader, Dr. Sheikh Mashouq Al Khaznawi resulting in his death.

On 2st November 2007 during a peaceful demonstration organized by PYD in Qamishly and Kobani three people were killed, many injured, a hundred imprisoned, and the Kurdish activist and organizers Mr. Isa Hiso, Abas Khilo and Isa Mella Hasan were arrested and tortured. Later, on 27/11/2007 the Kurdish activist Mr.Osman Suleyman who had been a member of the Syrian parliament, was abducted and tortured to death.

On 20th March 2008, the Syrian secret police opened fire against Kurdish people who were peacefully celebrating Newroz, resulting in the deaths of three young Kurdish young men.

The Aim:

The aim of this campaign is to promote and publicise awareness of these human rights violations, and develop support for the international recognition for the basic human rights of more than half a million Kurds in Syria who have suffered deprivation and the misery of destitution as a result of these crimes against humanity committed by the Syrian authorities.

Objectives:

• to investigate and collect evidence and valid documents related to the discriminatory policies and the criminal deprivation of basic human rights implemented against the Kurds

• to present statistical documentation of the evidence of the human rights violations and deprivation of nationality, ownership and access to health, education and employment provision

• to prepare and present a legal prosecution against the perpetrators of all crimes committed against Kurdish people and to seek justice in court and to pursue appropriate compensation for their loss of livelihood and use of property suffered by the victims, and the provision of advice and support for them

• to liaise with the regional and international community, UN, EU, Unicef, AI and other human rights organisations concerning basic human rights issues and to gain official recognition of the deprivation and destitution suffered by the Kurds

• to guarantee constitutionally the provision of nationality, the restoration of citizenship and ownership rights, and the return of all confiscated property. In the absence of recognition of these provisions by Syria, an application for UN Refugee Status will be sought

The Campaigners:

The campaign is an initiative by The Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria, and supported by the Kurdish Federation in the UK (Fed-bir). The campaign is a voluntary group working to promote the culture of democracy and tolerance.

The Supporters:

The campaign aims to lobby and win the support of MPs, MEPs, Members of the House of Lords, human Rights activists, lawyers, political and intellectual academics, NGOs, charities, international experts and others.

Contact and E-mail: Dr Amed Semo
fedbir@yahoo.co.uk, Tel: 07811346272

Dan said...

http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15566
Open letter to Joseph Biden, Vice President
Sherkoh Abbas
3/26/09

Dear Vice President Biden:

Recent American and European overtures towards the Assad regime in Syria, suggesting a dialogue with the minority Alawite-led regime in Damascus, has encouraged the Syrian regime to continue implementing its long-held policy of persecuting its Kurdish people and other advocates of democracy in Syria. We are gravely concerned that this trajectory reverses earlier U.S. initiatives that promoted Middle East democracy in general and Syrian democracy in particular. Presently the Syrian regime has continued to or is newly carrying out actions that seek to punish Syrian Kurds and which must be ended:

a) The group of more than 300,000 Syrian-Kurds who were stripped of their Syrian citizenship some 40 years ago and made stateless continue to lack access to nationality - a basic human right. This on-going policy initiative by Baathist regime in Damascus aims to retain control over the demography in the Kurdish region of Syria by displacing the Kurds and promoting Arabization in the Kurdish region.

B) Syrian presidential directive #49 proscribes Kurds from selling, buying, or owning property or businesses. Kurds are however permitted without restriction, to sell their property to Arabs.

C) Kurds serving in the Syrian Army as part of their mandated national service have been singled out for punishment, tortured, or even killed by Arab officers. The families of these Kurdish servicemen have been denied due-process or access to their remains.

D) Ordinary Syrian Kurds have been imprisoned, tortured, and died at the hands of their torturers.

E) There is an ongoing and systematic campaign of kidnapping and assassination of Kurdish leaders.

F) Under Syrian presidential directives, Syrian Kurds as well as denationalized Syrian Kurds are forbidden to operate businesses and denied employment in the private sector, public enterprises, and government.

G) As part of the Assad regime’s Arabization of the Kurdish region, names of Kurdish towns and villages, and even businesses enterprises have been changed.

H) Over 500,000 Kurds displaced due to the Syrian government Arabization policies and as a result of drought and starvation, have streamed into Damascus, other cities in Syria. Those able to do so have moved to Europe. The Syrian government, moreover, has refused basic assistance to these Kurdish displaced persons, including food, shelter, healthcare, and employment.

i) Tens of thousand of Syrian Kurds have sought refuge in Europe, Iraqi Kurdistan, Canada, and the U.S. but only 50,000-75,000 of them have found it. Regrettably, some European countries, and Germany in particular, agreed to comply with the Syrian government’s demand to refoule 7,000 Kurdish asylum seekers where they will now face economic hardship, imprisonment, and torture.

J) The Assad regime has armed the Arab settlers in the Kurdish region as a means to intimidate and harass local Kurds.

The Kurdistan national Assembly of Syria (KNAS) supports a dialogue with the Syrian regime that addresses issues of democracy and human rights, and includes as part of the dialogue cessation of the deliberate disenfranchisement of the Kurdish minority by the Assad regime.

The KNAS calls on the Obama Administration to be true to the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and immediately address the deliberate and systematic denial of human rights and freedom to the Kurdish minority in Syria, including unwarranted torture of Syrian Kurds citizens. Finally, we wish to remind President Obama of the universality of the American promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The people of Syria, and Syrian Kurds in particular, want the same inalienable rights, the same gifts as the American people have: freedom and democracy.

Yours truly,
Sherkoh Abbas, President
Kurdistan National Assembly - Syria
kurdnas@gmail.com Website: www.kurdnas.org

Dan said...

This is who Olmert the sicko wants to appease.
The Syrian Nazi country who gave refuge to the biggest Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner. And the Syrian lying country that spreads blood libels against Jews.
How does Olmert live with himself trying to give the Jewish Golan to these evil Arabs.
Thankyou everyone for the brilliant posts how the Golan belongs to Israel.

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD62303
December 8, 2003
Syrian-Produced Hizbullah TV Ramadan Series' Video Clip of a 'Blood Libel'

ProudZionist777 said...

Ahh..didn't we take Texas from Mexico in the Mexican-American war?

Cornelis said...

According to my division maps the area belonged not to the tribe of Dan, but to east Menashe.

Dan Kelso said...

The Golan belongs to Israel Period.
Syria controlled the Golan for only 21 years from 48 to 67, half the period it has been under Israeli rule. Almost half of the Golan had been purchased by Rothschild in the late 1800s and later robbed by the Syrian government in 1946.

All Jews were expelled from the Golan by terrorist Syria in 1946.

The Golan Heights was part of the British Mandate borders of 1917 that was supposed to go to Israel. The British gave the Golan to France in 1922 and France gave it to Syria in 1946.
The Golan was never part of Syria before 1946.

The Golan Has Been Jewish for Centuries. These rotten Arab colonialists have stolen lands from Kurds, Berbers, Copts, Babylonians, Chaldeans and they want to steal Jewish lands as well. The Golan was part of ancient and modern Israel for centuries, while it was under Syrian occupation for a mere 21 years!! The archaeology of the Golan is proof that the Golan is Jewish. I personally helped dig up a Talmudic era synagogue in Katzrin which is now has a visitor centre.

The only Arab land is (Saudi) Arabia. The Arabs can go back there!!
The Golan is where the tribes of Dan and Menashe settled, and Israeli kings ranging from Saul to Herod ruled there. The Golan saw consecutive Jewish settlement for 800 years; 300 Jewish communities from the time of the Mishna and Talmudwere discovered there, along with the remnants of 27 synagogues. Later, 1,000 years of desolation followed, until the Jews returned. The Golan belongs to Israel because it is the estate of their forefathers.


Dan Kelso said...

In the 1890s, Baron Rothschild purchased 20,000 acres of Golan heights land owned by the Ottoman empire. In 1942, the Syrian government illegally confiscated the land. The Baron transferred the deeds to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in 1957. In 1992, the deeds were moved to the Prime Minister's Office where they are stored today.

After I read the series, I called a contact in the JNF, Bunny Alexandroni, of the public relations department. She said she'd look into the matter and called me back. She informed me that she couldn't comment on the Globes series but asked me to meet her at her office. An appointment was made and she told me that her boss, the director of her department, would talk to me if I agreed not to publish his name.
After so agreeing, I entered his office and he invited me to be seated. He explained, "The Globes articles were essentially correct. They were a bit off on the location of the Rothschild land. Some of it is in the Golan, but most is in the Horan, in Syria itself.
And that is the biggest secret of the Golan: the Israeli government is holding onto legal title to land in the Golan and beyond and is hiding the fact from the public

Post a Comment