Deputy Minister Ayoub Kara has a Turkish map from World War I showing that the northern village of Rajar must not be divided, but must rather remain totally Israeli. The borders of the Druze village of Rajar are today at the center of an international controversy. Hizbullah demands that Israel withdraw from the northern half of the village, claiming it is Lebanese. Those in Israel who support retaining the entire village say it was captured in its entirety from Syria. Kara, a Druze supporter of Jewish rights and claims to the Land of Israel, says the newly-discovered map shows that there was a mistake in the Sykes-Picot agreement map of 1916. The agreement was made between the United Kingdom and France, with the assent of Imperial Russia, defining their respective spheres of influence and control in the Middle East after the expected downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Its terms were negotiated by French diplomat François Georges-Picot and Briton Sir Mark Sykes. The official map mistakenly has the Druze village of Rajar as half Syrian and half Lebanese. However, Kara’s map shows that Rajar - population 2,200 - was in fact totally Syrian, and not Lebanese. The error in the Sykes-Picot map was caused when the original was traced over, and a slight movement caused the line to be drawn through, and not aside, Rajar. The implications of this are that Rajar is part of the Golan Heights, the area that was annexed to Israel in 1981. As such, its northern half need not be “returned” to Lebanon, as demanded by Hizbullah. Meeting With Barak - Canceled Kara was planning to meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak on this topic on Wednesday, but the Gilad Shalit issue forced a cancellation. Instead, Kara and Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin will meet with a delegation from Rajar in the Knesset on Sunday. Village Elders: No Division The map was given to Deputy Minister Kara by village elders, who say, “We will fight for the unity of our village, and we will not allow a fence to divide between brothers and between fathers and sons and thus tear the heart of our village into pieces.” “Dividing Rajar would be a major security blunder,” said Kara, “as well as an ethical abandonment of the village residents. Israel must not repeat the error it made on the southern border when Rafiah was divided in this manner – a mistake for which we are paying even now.” Israel’s cabinet resolved, in December 2006, to withdraw from the northern part of Rajar and give it to the UN forces (UNIFIL). This has not happened, however, as Hizbullah itself demands control of the city.
