![handle is hein.journals/ucladis58 and id is 1 raw text is:
IN SUPPORT OF A REFERENDUM ON THE GOLAN HEIGHTS
Avi Perry
On December 9, 2009, the Knesset1 voted to advance legislation requiring
that the handover of any land under the administrative and judicial authority
of the State of Israel pass a national referendum.2 The legislation-termed the
Golan Heights and Jerusalem Referendum Bill-passed its first reading by a
margin of sixty-eight to twenty-two (with one abstention). It now returns to
committee for revisions and then must pass second and third readings, in a
process that could take months.'
If the bill becomes law, it is expected to impede Israel from ceding the
Golan Heights to Syria in a peace treaty.' Israel captured the Golan Heights
from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and, in 198 1,6 effectively annexed it over
objections from the international community.7 Since then, the Golan
Heights has been heavily developed by Israel and now many Israelis regard it as
indispensable. For at least a decade, Israeli polls have shown strong popular
resistance to a withdrawal from the Golan Heights, with nearly two-thirds of
Israeli Jews in opposition.9
By supporting this bill, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be
gesturing to his Syrian counterpart, President Bashar Assad, that a deal between
the two states must be struck quickly, before the bill becomes law and before the
* Yale Law School, J.D. expected 2010; Yale College, B.A. 2005. I am grateful to Adam Grogg,
Julia Herst, and Stephen Wizner for their comments and support.
1. The Knesset is the legislature of State of Israel.
2. See Rebecca Anna Stoil & Gil Hoffman, Knesset Advances Bill Aimed at Blocking]'lem, Golan
Concessions. Barak Slammed for Voting for Legislation He Opposes, JERUSALEM POST, Dec. 10, 2009, at 1.
3. See Jonathan Lis, Knesset Votes Overwhelmingly in Favor of Golan Referendum, HAARETZ,
Dec. 10, 2009, available at http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134131.html.
4. This lengthy process is not unusual. Under Israeli parliamentary procedure, all bills must pass
three readings before becoming law.
5. See Aluf Benn, Netanyahu Tying His Own Hands With Golan Bill, HAARETZ, Dec. 11, 2009,
available at http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/ 134026.html.
6. See Golan Heights Law, 5742-1981, 36 L.S.I. 7 (1981-82) (Isr.).
7. The United Nations Security Council condemned Israel's move, declaring that the acquisi-
tion of territory by force is inadmissible. S.C. Res. 497, U.N. Doc. S/RES/497 (Dec. 17, 1981).
8. See EPHRAIM YAAR & TAMAR HERMANN, TAMI STEINMETZ CTR. FOR PEACE RESEARCH,
PEACE INDEX (1999), available at http://www.spirit.tau.ac.il/xeddexcms08/download.asp?did =peaceindex
1999 12 3 ([The Jewish public at this time lacks a majority in favor of full withdrawal from the Golan
in return for a full peace agreement with Syria.).
9. See Ephraim Yaar & Tamar Hermann, Poll: 70% of Israelis Back 2-State Pact, 63% Oppose
Golan Pull-Out, HAARETZ, Aug. 30, 2008, available at http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/877751.html.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ucladis58&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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