Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in an interview with JNS.org that he visited the Golan earlier this year and was struck by the factthat “with a pair of binoculars, I could see the ISIS (Islamic State) flag flying on the Syrian side.” He said he was told by an Israeli intelligence officer that“there are at least eight different terrorist groups controlling areas along the Syrian side of the current Israel-Syrian border.”

“It’s no wonder Israelis across the political spectrum agree that Israel must retain control of this strip of land,” Cooper said.

Cooper said that the Wiesenthal Center’s support for U.S. recognition of Israel’s retention of the Golan is based not only on the strategic importance of the region, but also the“extensive archaeological evidence of ancient Jewish roots on the Golan,” and the fact that U.S. recognition “would help stabilize the situation of members of theSyrian Druze community on the Golan, whose status is in limbo because they are unsure who will control the area in the long run.”

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