Majority of Kadima MKs Against Golan Withdrawal

B”H

This article reminds us, at the end, that the government ministers were against a withdrawal of Gush Katif once too, then they pulled out.

What the article doesn’t say is how that was accomplished. There was a huge disinformation campaign aimed at the settlers of Gush Katif in order to convince the general public that Israel would be better off without Gaza.

By the time I traveled to Israel, in 2002, the public was all mouthing the mantra:

“Gaza isn’t really part of historic Israel anyway. There are no important religious sites there. If we just got rid of Gaza, we wouldn’t be under constant attack. Just give them what they want, it will be easier.”

I heard that a thousand times, and after you hear it so many times it almost becomes believable—especially when you hear it from other settlers. Yes, my friends. I heard it constantly in Judea and Samaria when I was there—mouthed by the very same people who would be ashamed to have said it today, and upon whom the next expulsion will fall.

I never believed it, though.

Not one inch. Not one centimeter. Not one hair’s-breadth of Israel should go to anyone but Israel.

The only way we can have peace is to do what Hashm has demanded from the moment the Torah was written on Sinai: remove those who do not belong. We will not have peace until we have ALL of Biblical Israel restored to the Jewish people. It is our Heritage and our Homeland. Our strategy should not be to retreat, but to move forward.

Let us become the ones to whom the US and the EU try to convince to stop our hostilities. Let us be the ones who will accept concessions from our enemies, rather than making concessions. Let us be the aggressor, the one to fear.

Until that moment, we will live in constant fear and war.

Hashm has already given us a roadmap. Let’s stop making detours to disaster and grab our fair share. We have to want it more than they do, and we have to fight for it.

M
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15 Kadima MKs Oppose Olmert's Golan Withdrawal Stance
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/126007
by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) The majority of the Knesset faction of Kadima - Israel's largest party and political home of the Prime Minister and most of the more influential Cabinet ministers - opposes a giveaway of the Golan Heights.

The results of an internal party poll to this effect were published on the Kadima party website. The site emphasizes that the results are "fluid," as they are dependent on the precise nature of an agreement that might be signed with Syria.

Prime Minister Olmert has not denied reports of last week that he transmitted a message to Syria stating he would be willing to give up the entire Golan in exchange for peace with the North Korean ally.

"Do You Favor Significant Withdrawal?"
The party's 29 MKs were asked whether they would support a "significant withdrawal" from the Golan Heights. This term was defined as either the uprooting of all or most of the 33 Jewish towns there, or their transfer to Syrian sovereignty with a measure of Israeli autonomy.

Fifteen of the 29 MKs said they are totally against a "significant withdrawal." These included ten members of the Knesset Golan lobby - Ruchama Avraham Belila, Eli Aflalo, Tzachi HaNegbi, Yoel Hasson, David Tal, Marina Solodkin, Ze'ev Elkin, Ronit Tirosh, Michael Nudelman, and Shai Hermesh - as well as Yaakov Edry, Sha'ul Mofaz, Avraham Hirschson, Ze'ev Boim, and Otniel Shneller. This number includes four Cabinet ministers (Mofaz, Boim, Edry and Belila).

Transportation Minister Mofaz told reporters in Washington on Monday that surrendering the Golan to the Iranian ally would mean giving Iran control of the high ground overlooking much of northern Israel. The former Defense Minister, who met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, is visiting Washington as part of the American-Israeli strategic dialogue that takes place every six months.

The position of two Kadima MKs - Minister Gideon Ezra and Amira Dotan - is not clear. Ezra has gone on record as saying that there is no point in talking with Syria at present.

Twelve Kadima MKs say they favor a "significant withdrawal" from the Golan in exchange for peace with the country the US terms a "terrorism sponsor." They are Olmert, Ministers Livni, Dichter, Sheetrit, Ramon, and Bar-On, and Shlomo Mula, Dalia Itzik, Menachem Ben-Sasson, Yitzchak Ben-Yisrael, Yochanan Plesner, and Majli Whbee.

Syria Shelled Israel from the Golan
Syria controlled the Golan for 19 years, beginning in 1948, and used it to systematically shell and attack the Jewish towns towns below. 140 Israelis were killed in these attacks, many more were injured, and heavy property damage was also inflicted.

Israel liberated the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six Day War, thus freeing northern Israel of the Syrian threat. Israel soon realized that the Golan was vital not only militarily, but also in terms of water, history, and more. The Golan was officially annexed to Israel in 1981, and over the years, 33 Jewish communities were built, including the full-fledged town of Katzrin. Today, over 17,000 Jewish residents live in the Golan and the slopes of strategically-vital Mt. Hermon. In addition, 19,000 Druze and 2,000 Muslims live there as well.

History to Repeat?
It is noteworthy that when Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert first floated the idea of a Disengagement from Gush Katif and northern Shomron, many of their Likud party members opposed it. As time passed and political circumstances changed, however, their opinions did as well.