Vakkas Dogantekin
22 March 2019•Update: 23 March 2019
ANKARA
The repercussions of U.S. President Donald Trump's unofficial recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights has reverberated across the international community, and especially among influential Jewish groups in the U.S.
Powerful pro-Zionist organizations in the U.S. -- such as the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) -- appear deeply divided over Trump’s controversial move.
While the CFR staunchly opposes the decision, AIPAC and the ZOA both hailed the move, for which they thanked the U.S. president.
CFR President Richard Hass, for his part, warned that no Arab government would make peace with Israel after such a decision.
Haas tweeted: "Strongly disagree [with] Donald Trump; now NOT the time 4 US to recognize Israel sovereignty over Golan Hts. No Arab govt would make peace w Israel & would violate UNSCR 242 which rules out acquiring territory by war and serves Israel as it says all states have right 2 live in peace.”
AIPAC, for its part, which has been under fire from American liberals due to its recent attacks on Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, welcomed the move.
"Given current political and security circumstances in Syria, we have said it was inconceivable to imagine Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights,” AIPAC tweeted.
“Donald Trump's statement marks a dramatic change in American policy, and we appreciate his leadership on this issue," it added.
The ZOA, meanwhile, released a statement on its website expressing its "great appreciation" for Trump’s Golan remarks.
"We look forward to the Trump administration’s formal recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," the statement read.
Israel has long pushed Washington to recognize its claim to the territory, which it seized from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
Israel occupies roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights region as a direct result of the 1967 conflict.
It “annexed” the territory in 1981 in a move unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council.
On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution opposing Israel’s continued occupation of the Golan Heights.
On the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Israel had “no right” to the disputed territory.
"Under UN resolutions, Israel cannot lay claim even on a small bit of the Golan Heights," Erdogan said at an election rally in Turkey's central province of Konya.
