protecting Israel's north. A Syrian attack is topographically channeled via only two passes in which armored vehicles can cross. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, some 150 Israeli tanks stopped invading Syrian columns - with more than 1,400 tanks - in the "bottleneck" Valley of Tears pass in the north, and the pass through the volcanic hills in the south.

The surprised and vastly outnumbered Israeli troops held off the invaders for the 48 hours that were required to mobilize and deploy the necessary forces that ultimately beat back and defeated the Syrian aggressors.

Having these critical passes in Israeli hands is no less important now, with Syria's enormous buildup of highly advanced weaponry, than it was in 1973. Since 1982, the Syrian army has doubled in size, whereas according to foreign sources, Israel's army has only increased by 15-20%. On paper at least, it should be understood that Syria has already achieved military parity with Israel. Hence, one needn't be a military genius to realize
that it's better to concentrate a small standing force on the high ground, defending the 10 km. area of the passes, than the same force having to defend a 60-kilometer line.

Any proposed pullback of Israeli forces from these passes returns Israel to the vulnerability she suffered prior to the 1967 Six Day War, and more so. It is only the vast size of Israeli artillery and tank forces in the Golan Heights targeting the Syrian army's deployment area beyond, as well as the capability to shell and bomb the outskirts of Damascus at a given moment, that is keeping Hafez al-Assad from implementing his "Greater Syria" strategy where Israel is concerned

Instead of this defeatist policy, let Prime Minister Barak hold the Syrian regime directly responsible for Hizballah actions in Lebanon. The terrorists there are Syrian-supplied and operate with active Syrian cooperation in attacking Israel's north. The Sagger over-the-shoulder missiles and Katyusha rockets fired by Hizballah at Israeli troops and northern civilian population centers, for example, are supplied by the Syrian army.

In the period of the Kings, the Golan was the site of the battle between King Ahab of Israel and the army of Aram. Israel's victory over Aram was achieved at the present site of Kibbutz Afik, only a few miles east of the Kinneret in the southern Golan

In the Second Temple period, the Jews who had been exiled to Babylonia returned to their homes in the Golan. Jewish communities in the Golan were attacked by their gentile neighbors, and Judah Maccabee launched a rescue expedition on their behalf.

At the end of the Hasmonean period, King Alexander Yannai conquered the Golan and settled it with Jews. Jewish settlement in the central Golan existed continuously since then for a period of 700 years. Major cities were Banias and Susita. The district capital was Gamla, which fought with supreme heroism in the Great Revolt, losing 10,000 residents in battle in defense of the Golan. Second Temple period coins were found there after the Six-Day War inscribed with the words "For the Redemption of Holy Jerusalem."

In the Talmudic period, Jewish settlement in the Golan flourished and expanded. Among the wealth of archaeological findings in the Golan Heights were remnants of 34 synagogues.

In the Byzantine Period, Jewish settlements existed beside Christian communities, until the defeat of the Byzantine army, and nomads took over the area.

In the 19th century, the heads of the Zionist movement and the people of the old settlements of Tsfat and Tiberias made every effort to settle the Golan. In 1886, the Bnei Yehuda society of Tsfat purchased a plot of land in the Ramataniya village in central Golan, and settled there for about a year. In 1887, they purchased the lands of the Bedouin village Bir Ashkum, between Bnei Yehuda and Ein Gev. The Bnei Yehuda members held on to the land with determination, until two of the last settlers were murdered in the Arab riots of 1920, thus bringing an end to the settlement. In 1891, Baron Rothschild purchased some 18,000 acres in eastern Golan (approx. 15 km. east of present-day Ramat Magshimim).

At the beginning of the 20th century, the settlers of the First Aliyah struck roots in the Horan lands (just east of the Golan), establishing five settlements, but were evicted by the Turks in 1898. Following the eviction, the land was managed as a farm by PICA until the land was seized by the Syrian government. In light of the Golan's Jewish history, the Zionist organizations demanded that the Golan be included within the borders of the Jewish National Home. The Golan Heights were liberated on June 10, 1967, the last day of the Six Day War. (Much of this information can be found at "www.golan.org.il")