Putting the Golan on the map. Former cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser (Photo: Flash90)

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here’s been a recent groundswell in Washington to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights, with more congressional heavyweights entering the fray this week.

Helping to nudge this policy forward is Zvi Hauser, who served as Israel’s secretary of the cabinet from 2009 to 2013. Today a private citizen, he has established the Coalition for the Israeli Golan, and he’s been making the rounds in the capital to lobby government officials and opinion leaders. Hauser sees this as a final window of opportunity before Assad takes over all of Syria. He squeezed me into his busy schedule between meetings with Texas senator Ted Cruz and the Brookings Institute.

How is your organization working to advance your agenda?

We’re looking to effect two significant changes. The first is on the Israeli domestic front — to shift the public mindset that sees the Golan as only a temporary deposit in Israeli hands. The fact that we’ve succeeded in settling only 22,000 people in the area is a badge of shame for all the governments that have held power since we took over the Golan. Establishing facts on the ground is the surest way of dispelling the notion of an Israeli withdrawal. The second is to encourage international recognition.

What is the urgency behind this?

As the Syrian civil war winds down, all the players are pursuing their own interests: Putin wants to project Russian power, Assad wants to secure his regime, the Iranians are building a strategic foothold in Syria. Only Israel hasn’t managed to safeguard its interests. The war is almost over. Assad is the puppet of Iran and Russia, so the fact that Assad is staying means that the Iranians are staying.

The Golan constitutes just 1% of Syria’s pre-1967 land mass. And it’s crucial to stress that this is just land, as opposed to Judea and Samaria [where a lot of people live]. With the Golan, there are no questions of civil rights, no clashes between different sectors. The Druze who live there are the luckiest in the entire Middle East, and they know it.

When you’ve spoken with Republicans, you’ve been preaching to the choir. What do the Democrats have to say?

I have no doubt that this has to be a bipartisan effort. Just as in Israel, Yair Lapid and Labor both support it unquestioningly, I have no doubt that in the US as well, we’ll find partners on both sides of the aisle. Just as there’s a consensus in Israel, there must certainly be one in the US. We’re working to advance that and we believe we definitely have a chance. (Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 721)