DRUZE DEPUTY MINISTER PROMOTING GOLAN DRUZE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 000302

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2020
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SY IS
SUBJECT: DRUZE DEPUTY MINISTER PROMOTING GOLAN DRUZE
CONTACTS WITH SYRIA

Classified By: Ambassador James B. Cunningham, Reason 1.4 (b) (d)


1. (C) Summary. Deputy Minister for the Development of the
Negev and Galilee and member of Knesset Ayoub Kara briefed
the Ambassador February 9 on his projects promoting closer
ties between residents of the Golan Heights and Syria. Kara,
a Likud Party member who is also Druze and the only Arab
member of the Netanyahu government, took credit for an
initiative to open the Golan border with Syria once a month,
claiming that 600 Golan residents have visited Syria in the
past year, including 50 women. Kara also said he has been
approached by unidentified Syrian representatives interested
in providing irrigation water to the Golan. The Druze on the
Golan reportedly export apples to Syria, which the Syrians in
turn re-export to the Gulf. The additional water would
enable Druze farmers to expand their apple production, and to
grow additional produce. Kara argued that expanded human
contact and economic ties between the Golan Druze and Syria
would help create a more conducive atmosphere for
Israeli-Syrian ne
gotiations. Noting that Prime Minister Netanyahu supports
his efforts but does not want to push too hard due to the
opposition of other ministers, Kara requested that the U.S.
Embassy in Damascus convey U.S. support for the water idea to
the Syrian government. The Ambassador made no commitment but
said we would report his request. Kara also made an
impassioned plea on behalf of the residents of Ghajar,
arguing that it made no sense to divide the village, whose
residents have no desire to become Lebanese and whose
territory should not have been divided by the UN. He warned
that proceeding with the UN solution would lead to tension in
the area. The Ambassador replied that we recognize that the
villiage is in a difficult situation, but we support
implementation of UNSCR 1701 and that the UN proposal being
discussed with Israel is a good faith effort to find a
solution. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara, accompanied by his
office director Mendi Safadi and an Israeli academic, Effi
Lahav, called on the Ambassador February 9. PolCouns also
attended the meeting. In a previous meeting with PolCouns,
Kara described himself as the Israeli Arabs' channel to the
Netanyahu government. As a Druze, Kara takes a strong
interest in the well-being of the Druze on the Golan Heights,
and has also presented himself as representing the interests
of the Alawite residents of the divided village of Ghajar on
the border between the Golan and Lebanon.


3. (C) Kara claimed that since becoming deputy minister
about a year ago, he has taken the initiative to arrange the
monthly transit of Druze residents, including religious
leaders, from the Golan to visit their families and Druze
religious congregations in Syria. According to Kara, about
600 Golan residents have been able to visit Syria as a
result, including the first fifty women to visit Syria from
the Golan. Kara also said he had secured GOI permission for
16 Druze university students who had studied in Damascus to
return to the Golan. Kara said that in addition to the
humanitarian aspect, he hopes to establish economic links
between the Golan and Syria that will help calm the
atmosphere between Israel and Syria. Kara said Prime
Minister Netanyahu supports his efforts, but Netanyahu does
not want to push too hard since other members of the
coalition, in particular Foreign Minister Lieberman, are
opposed to facilitating contact between the Golan Druze and
Syria. Since both the Israeli and Syrian governments are
"afraid" of such contacts, Kara said the project needs
support from the outside, especially the U.S.


4. (C) Kara said he had heard that Syria may be interested
in providing water for irrigation to Druze apple farmers on
the Golan. Druze farmers currently export apples to Syria,
which the Syrians re-export to the Gulf, and with additional
water they could expand their cultivation. Kara claimed
Minister of Agriculture Simhon supports this idea, and Kara
wants to send a delegation of Druze to Syria to explore
Syrian interest. He appealed for U.S. support, noting that
while a water deal would be good for Israel, the GOI is
"afraid to take further steps." The Ambassador noted it
would help if the overall Israeli-Syrian atmosphere were more
positive. Kara mistakenly commented that the U.S. has
returned its ambassador to Syria, and suggested that the U.S.
ambassador could convey a supportive message on the water
issue to the Syrian government. The Ambassador explained
that we have not yet announced our ambassador-designate, but
we do maintain a political dialogue. He noted that while the
ICRC is supporting humanitarian visits to Syria by Golan
Druze, economic cooperation such as the water project would
require the support of the Israeli and Syrian governments.
He assured Kara that he would inform Embassy Damascus and the
State Department of Kara's activities.

TEL AVIV 00000302 002 OF 002




5. (C) On Ghajar, Kara said he is in close contact with the
residents and noted that they are opposed to the UNIFIL plan.
Kara said the UN had made a serious error in 2000 when it
based the Blue Line on the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916,
when none of the current states in the area existed, so that
the UN-drawn Blue Line cut through the middle of the village.
Kara noted that while the Ghajar residents received Israeli
citizenship after 1967, they are Syrian Alawites who have
never considered themselves Lebanese and have no connection
to Lebanon. Kara said the best solution would be to adjust
the border between the Golan and Lebanon so that Ghajar could
remain united. He cautioned that the Ghajar residents may
resist UNIFIL and that imposing the UNIFIL plan will raise
tensions in the area. The Ambassador recongnized the
difficulties facing the village but noted U.S. support for
implementation of UNSCR 1701. The UNIFIL plan under
discussion with Israel is a good-faith effort to find a
workable solution.


6. (C) Comment: We are skeptical about the prospects for a
water agreement of the sort Kara mentioned, but his promotion
of closer human contacts between the Golan Druze and
relatives in Syria appears to us to be both a positive
humanitarian development and a small step toward confidence
building.
Cunningham