How many times have we seen the title “Assad: Syria ready to talk peace with any Israeli government” in Ha’aretz articles, in various Gulf newspapers, on BBC interviews, on CNN…? Here’s the latest one: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069716.html
So why isn’t Israel jumping at the endless opportunities over the years? Surely Syria’s normal “enemy behavior”, as supporter of Israel’s other enemies (Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran) can’t be enough of a reason. After all, everyone knows you make peace with enemies, not with your buddies, right? So what’s the real reason – why are we continuously ignoring Syria?
Not long ago Dr. Alon Liel, former Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, career diplomat, and current head of the Israel-Syria Peace Society, told me that it has never been Israeli policy to turn down an offer to talk peace. “In our cadet school training,” said Alon, “each week they reminded us that if any Arab state is ready to talk to us, we must jump at the opportunity.” (Shai: This was even before Egypt and Israel began their own peace talks.) So what has been going on over the past few years?
While pondering this question, I naturally found some “quick answers”. These included the Bush administration and its destructive influence in Jerusalem, the lack of Israeli leadership on the scale of Menachem Begin or Yitzhak Rabin, as well as reasons echoed by many a hawks, who suggest that Israelis simply aren’t ready to give back the Golan to a “terror-supporting regime”. But these seemed too simple to me, and therefore not sufficiently convincing.
And then it came to me. Perhaps Syria is trying too hard! Could it be that when Assad says “Syria is ready to talk peace with any Israeli government”, while in the same breath saying “The right kills Arabs and the left kills Arabs…”, he is sending a message that, to some in Israel, may seem as near-desperation? And if Syria is perceived to be so “desperate”, then what’s the hurry?
I couldn’t help thinking of the similarity between such messages, and endless attempts made by a particular boy in class to woo a girl he likes, who inevitably rejects him because of his perceived desperate state. Is it possible that Syria is trying too hard? After all, if a relationship is to succeed, shouldn’t the courting stage be more balanced? In practical terms, shouldn’t Syria expect Israel to show more initiative and readiness on its own? Shouldn’t we see more articles titled “Israel is ready to talk peace with any Syrian government…”? (Or, of course, “… with any Palestinian government!”)
In the meantime, I’m not sure Syria isn’t marketing its strategic decision in such way, that is encouraging Israelis to think “So what if Syria wants peace…”
One Region, One Future 
March 10, 2009 at 4:40 am
Hello,
I was making some trouble at SC and thought of making some here..just kidding 🙂
On Sc they have linked a great article similar to your point here, the writer blamed in a great way the missing opportunity on Israel continuous occupation of Palestinian human being. really smart essay.
I do agree with the idea that Israel shouldn’t waste another opportunity for peace, it’s a national necessity not an accessory as some people might think.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069327.html
Here is another link to a great site,
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/
they have different message than yours, but it’s good if you could get your blog linked there, it’s not bad to market your work, good luck
This is a good one too:
http://www.icahd.org/eng/
March 10, 2009 at 5:12 am
Yossi,
In a nation where the organizing principle in society over the past 60 years has been the threat to our existence, it is no surprise that heavier doses of fear and war need to be administered every so often. After all, how can we keep Israel together if we don’t have something to fight against?
Just look at how proud 94% of Israelis are today, after bringing a good part of the most densely populated spot on earth 100 years back in time. It’s those damned 6% who opposed the war, who are so intent on dividing us up, on giving up on their own country, on surrendering to evil!
March 10, 2009 at 5:22 am
JAD,
Please “make trouble” anytime here! 🙂
Of course you are right that Israel shouldn’t miss yet another opportunity for peace. But how much more can we miss than the 3 successive Arab summits since Beirut 2002, where the famous Khartoum “3 No’s” were essentially nullified and turned into the “3 Yes’s”? The ENTIRE Arab world, every single nation without exception, signed and approved those resolutions calling upon Israel to withdraw to the 1967 lines (not 1948, not 1908, not 8 A.D.), and in return receive complete peace.
The only precondition that was not met, unfortunately, was an official announcement by all Arab parties of… surrender! If only your side would have done so, JAD, we could have been sipping ahwe right now in Damascus, or Aleppo, or Riyadh. Why can’t your side understand this??? It is your side that is continuously missing opportunities to surrender to Israel.
March 10, 2009 at 5:38 am
Shai,
Oddly enough, I actually agree with your sarcastic to some extent;
I believe the failure any failure in anything in this life can’t be blamed on one side, there is always sides for any problem and in our endless dilemma we all made mistakes an unforgettable mistakes from the way we react to the creating if a Jewish state to the way we treated our Jewish communities in respond to that and unfortunately we still in many parts of our crazy Arabic world for some fanatic and strange reasons.
Some of our people denies the Holocaust forgetting that they are not part of that not at all, and as a result they shouldn’t be use to be part of the stupid denial process.
We are mistaken as you Israelis are, but now, you have more keys to use than us, your people should know better than anybody else that living in a camp is not a life, destroying Palestinian lands in no answer, bulling your neighbor because he is an Arab is not a way to treat your neighbor, killing anybody under occupation is not what God created you the Jew for.
You are the first people who declare the name of God and you should keep it clean and make your citizen being proud of calling themselves as the chosen ones by love and care not by killing and destroying.
You know shai, I wish that you get a great leader who know how to lead your people for a better future instead of future full of wars.
March 10, 2009 at 6:06 am
Dear JAD,
I cannot agree with you more…
March 11, 2009 at 2:59 am
Shai, Yossi,
What does an average Israelis know about Syria, Syrians, their culture, tradition, history, the normal life of a Syrian living in Damascus, Aleppo or Lattakia, what is the general impression you think Israelis get when you mention the word Syria to them as a country and people not as an enemy?
Thank you.
March 11, 2009 at 4:58 am
JAD,
The average Israeli unfortunately knows next to nothing about Syria, its people, culture, history, etc. The average Israeli probably doesn’t know which is further north, Damascus or Aleppo. When the word “Syria” is mentioned, most would think of some kind of demonic association they’ve either been raised on (e.g. All Arabs want to throw us to the sea, Eli Cohen, Israeli POW’s tortured in Syrian jails, endless shellings of our kibbutzim around the Lake, surprise attack of October 1973, etc.) Many would also say “A member of the Axis of Evil…, that gives Hezbollah and Hamas and Jihad everything they need to kill us…”
Very, very few would think of Syria or Syrians as anything other than an enemy that wants to destroy us. Even less of those have ever met or spoken with a Syrian…
That’s precisely why if there was something I could force right this minute, it would be interaction between our people. Our leaders have for too long robbed us of a peaceful future. It’s time our people see the “other side” for themselves. And let the pressure for peace come from the bottom up, if political impotency, lack of courage, zero foresight, and various self-interests are stopping its appearance from the top down.
March 11, 2009 at 5:11 am
Thank you Shai,
I believe in the method of making the base to push the top to react I used the same system in my research.
After almost 30 years of peace with Egypt and a decade with Jordan what does the Israelis views of Egyptians or Jordanians?
March 11, 2009 at 5:17 am
http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/george-galloway-the-noble-man/#comment-17457
I hope that works 🙂
March 11, 2009 at 5:33 am
JAD,
That’s actually an interesting question (we Israelis don’t really ask ourselves about Egyptians and Jordanians much). I would say that most of us take both peoples and their nations for granted, that is, as Arabs that have a vested interest (as we do) in maintaining “peace” (non-war), and not much more than that. Long gone are the days where you could find Israelis visiting Khan el-Khalili, or even Petra. What’s left, is mostly in the form of youngsters going to Sinai, because it’s cheaper than Eilat or Europe.
Most Israelis are afraid to go to Egypt or Jordan. As Ralph Begleiter noted in the recent Mona Eltahawy presentation (the one Alex posted a video of on SC), while few Israeli journalists still visit Cairo and Amman, essentially no Egyptian or Jordanian journalists cover Israel through first-hand coverage, in Israel. So the ignorance and lack of contact is both-ways.
You and I both know that at the core of it, is the Palestinian issue. Few Egyptians or Jordanians can accept us Israelis, while their brethren are being subjugated and suffocated by Israel, for so many years. I believe that a peace agreement with Syria could ignite a different motion in the region, if Syria actively assists Israel, Fatah, and Hamas resolve their differences. I still think we could begin to see and feel “real peace” in our lifetime, if we do just a few things first…
March 11, 2009 at 5:47 am
Good analyze Shai,
I do think that solving the Palestinian issue should be a priority since even if you have peace with Syria today and Syrians still see that you are treating the Palestinian the same way the situation wont be better than a cold peace as Egypt and Jordan.
March 11, 2009 at 6:10 am
Thank you very much Yossi
To be honest I never thought of Israelis and their fears or hope before, and in your explanation I could see through what is behind the aggression we see on TV and that is not coming purely out of Israelis being bad by nature but all that is in somehow out of depression, stress and lost of hope the same way as the Palestinian and Arabs are feeling.
It is not the ‘evil’ but the necessity and feeling vulnerable.
To be honest, I don’t blame your friends not knowing about religion and sects differences, Syria is my country and I still don’t fully know the real differences between Sunni and Shia in details even the differences between Catholic and Roman Orthodox..or know what a Druz really are, or even the Alwite.
I think I’m lucky for that since I don’t have the knowledge which will make me take the crazy decision of preferring one sect over the other and create a monster sectarian out of me.
Again, thank you Yossi for being that much open and honest with me, I appreciate that.
March 11, 2009 at 6:13 am
Yossi, to be honest, Your explanation was way better than Shai but don’t tell him. He is going to make a huge scene, I think he is a worst Drama king than me ;)..
March 11, 2009 at 6:45 am
JAD,
I think Yossi and I said EXACTLY the same thing, except I said it in 3 short sentences… 🙂
I’m kidding. Yossi expresses himself far better than I do, and I also love reading his comments.
I’m more of a “rural” type… if you know what I mean… 🙂 (Background banjo music from “Deliverance”)
March 11, 2009 at 7:06 am
I agree that your comments Shai where much shorter and to the point while Yossi was longer and he lost me couple times reading his 3 pages front and back about his dinner with his friends but I had to be polite and fake that I’m interested and agree with him….LOL
Should I ask you not to tell Yossi?
I don’t agree that you any of you guys is ‘rural’ at all, I think you both are the most sophisticated Israelis I ever talked to.
March 11, 2009 at 9:05 am
Shai,
Good post. So what would you do differently, if you were Syria?
March 11, 2009 at 9:46 am
QN,
If I were Syria, I would stop saying every other Monday and Thursday “We’ll talk to ANY Israeli government…”, and instead say once (and very loudly) “We’ve stretched out our hand in peace time and again over the past two decades. If Israel wants peace, it knows where to find us.” And that’s it.
And at the same time, I would begin opening up to the Israeli public, so that it finally gets to learn about Syria not from its leadership, but first-hand. I would initiate and invite two or three top Israeli journalists to come visit Damascus, to interview “free people” on the street, and the top leadership. I would send those journalists across Syria, to towns and villages, to create a documentary about “Our Enemy Syria”, to be shown on Israeli TV for days and weeks afterwards. I would, quite directly and intentionally, recruit the Israeli media to help deliver my message to the Israeli people. And I want to see the first Israeli leader that won’t allow a team of journalists to travel to Syria. He would be out of office the next day.
There is no better way to get Israelis to understand you, than by doing it yourself. And, as much as we debate the “democratic” nature of Israel, its citizens are still the ones that elect their leadership. Hence, if you convince them, you’ll convince their leaders. Unfortunately, for too long the other way around just doesn’t seem to work.
If this doesn’t happen, then we’d all better start praying to Allah, or to Obama. One of them will have to deliver.
March 11, 2009 at 9:58 am
Shai,
That’s a nice idea in theory, but Asad will never go for it. They barely let friendly media into the country! 🙂
But if, for some reason, they change their tune, I’d like to recommend lisa goldman for the job. She snuck into Lebanon a couple of years ago, and wrote a sweetheart piece about Beirut for Time Out Tel Aviv. Highly worth reading.
March 11, 2009 at 10:11 am
QN,
Didn’t you post something about her on your site? I seem to recall writing a comment about how crazy she was for taking that chance… Still, her story was amazing, and definitely worth reading.
March 11, 2009 at 10:42 am
Here are two links to Lisa’s reporting from/about her visit to Beirut:
1. Time Out Tel-Aviv magazine (Hebrew version): http://digital.timeout.co.il/activemagazine/welcome/timeout_249.asp
2. Israel Channel 10 (Hebrew with English subtitles): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ksay_channel-10-report-from-beirut_news
March 11, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Shai, I do like your idea and I think it might work great,
I disagree with QN that we barely let friendly media into the country!
As far as I know Syria permits journalist to film documentaries about Syrians and Syria in general, it is not North Korea QN.
There are two conditions they need to meet;
No military zone images (understandable)
Have a proper permit form some ministry. (Many countries even Lebanon ask for such permits)
I don’t see them that extreme, do you?
Again, it’s a great idea and it should be considered by Syria.
March 24, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I think the two reasons that it’s more difficult for Israel to make peace with Syria than with Egypt are:
1. As Shai said above, Syria isn’t a great military threat, at least not directly. After 73 Israel saw the balance was shifting. Removing the biggest Arab state, potentially a real military threat, from the enemy camp made good sense.
2. Perhaps more importantly, Sadat was desperate for an alliance/ client relationship with the US. Egypt accepted US-Israeli hegemony in the region. But Syria wants peace with independence. It wants to retain its alliance with Iran, for instance. It wants to be treated as an equal. Inherent in this position is that the warmth of future peace will be linked to whether or not Israel is able to live with the occupied Palestinians and its own Palestinian citizens as equals.
March 24, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Although Alon Liel says Israel’s policy is to jump at any peace offer, my reading of Avi Shlaim’s history The Iron Wall makes me think otherwise. Ben Gurion etc spurned peace overtures from Jordan, Syria and Egypt. It was Egypt proving it could be a threat in 73 that changed things.
March 24, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Qunfuz,
Welcome to our blog! Your comments are greatly appreciated.
I just finished listening to Barack Obama’s appearance on the Jay Leno show and I can’t help but feel unbelievably impressed, and optimistic, that finally after so long, there’s a U.S. President on the calibre of JFK, if not higher. He is our hope, and in’shalla he will bring change also to our region.
When you speak of mutual respect and equality it makes such perfect sense and yet, most here can’t seem to grasp it. The emotional barriers and the painful history seem to overshadow even hope. There’s something about Obama that transcends logic and pragmatism. He’s got almost an “aura” around him, of both humility, determination, deep understanding and patience, open-mindedness, and of course great intellect. If there’s a president that can also be an empathic one, he seems to be the man.
The fact that he used the phrase “America is ready to reach out its hand” already speaks volumes to his planned policy in the region. I am optimistic, although cautiously so, after seeing the hard right-turn my nation has taken as of recent. But, perhaps that’s for the better. Perhaps like a good “business-deal” that is done, there may be a need to bring emotions to a new high, perhaps even fear, in order to experience the relief that will hopefully come with peace.
Maybe I’m overly optimistic. Maybe even naive. But I’d rather be that, than obsessively pessimistic. What good is life then, right? 🙂
March 24, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Qunfuz,
Re: your comment #28. You’re right, what I meant was that it was (in the past) the Foreign Ministry’s policy to “jump” at every opportunity at dialogue, and certainly at peace. The leaders did not always follow that policy. As you suggested, we very often did not, and it was the threat of ongoing wars that changed the minds of some (like Begin).
Incidentally, the last two meetings that took place between Alon and the indirect representative of the Syrian side, Ibrahim Suleiman, occurred during the 2nd war in Lebanon (2006). In fact, on the 11th day, Syria sent a message through Switzerland to Alon, to urgently meet Ibrahim in Europe. Alon flew over right away, and was informed by Ibrahim that Syria is offering to help calm things down with Hezbollah, but demands to have an immediate meeting in Vienna, at the level of deputy-foreign ministers, the next day! Alon flew back to Jerusalem, reported to the Foreign Ministry, and was basically told “forget it…” At that time, the current administration was heavily influenced by Washington and by Bush’s anti-Syria policy.
Yet another example of a great opportunity missed, by Israel.
March 24, 2009 at 5:33 pm
thanks, Shai. of course, being the anti-imperialist that i am, I see the US problem as greater than the man at the top, but of course I welcome a return to ‘realist’ imperialism and the abandonment of neo-con ideology. Of course I am also very impressed with Obama as an intelligent human being, and with America for manging to vote for a black man. The tone of Obama’s message to Iran was great. The substance – not that we could see it clearly – was less encouraging, in that it referred to Iran’s support of resistance groups and nuclear programme as violence and terror. An approach which treated Iran as an equal would involve saying, for example: we help to arm Israel, you help to arm Hamas and Hizbullah. We’ll stop if you stop. We feel threatened by the possibility that you might build nuclear weapons, but we understand your feeling threatened by our military bases in the Gulf and Israel’s nuclear weapons. We will negotiaite on the basis of both real perceptions of threat…
I hope that Obama will help calm the region down (although his Pakistan policy, so far, seems insane; and I can’t understand this, as he seems clever and there’s no big Israel lobby to worry about there), but I don’t expect him to risk his neck on Palestine. Perhaps Syria. But I do hope for a gradual estrangement of the US, and US Jews, from Israel in the Obama years, for a whole host of reasons including the energies that Obama’s campaign released. I hope that the boycott campaign, revivified since Gaza, will grow steadily all over the West. And I hope that increasing pressure from the West, if not from US leadership, will encourage many Israelis to think about the direction that Zionism has taken and could take, to make a better future for all of us.
That statistic that more than 40% of Israelis believe Jews were a majority in Palestine at the end of the 19th C: it seems to me that the important work to do in Israel is to establish a counter-narrative to the zionist version, to educate. If the people knew what had happened, and were able to imagine themselves into the minds of the Palestinians, i would expect that their politics would change naturally.