In the spring of 2000, some 13 years prior to the founding of The Jewish Link of New Jersey, a group of African-American elected officials from around the nation took an information-gathering trip to Israel.

At the same time, there was talk of Israel negotiating with Syria about the future of the Golan Heights, perhaps with land-for-peace concessions.

One of the current Jewish Link staffers was on that trip with the politicians, a mission that would include a tour of the Golan Heights. There, the officials, most from state legislatures and a couple from Congress, saw the critical strategic importance of the Heights.

On the bus heading south from the Golan, a state senator from Maryland blurted out, “Israel would be crazy to give that land back to the Syrians. There’s no way.”

Her firm statement was echoed some 18 years later on Capitol Hill by Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who in a joint statement recently said, “Israel gained possession over the Golan Heights in a defensive war over 50 years ago and has responsibly controlled the area ever since. It’s past time for the United States to recognize reality by affirming Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”

With Syria an unstable hot mess of a country under the control of Iran and Russia, the recognition of the Golan as a permanent part of Israel could be closer to real consideration. The Trump administration courageously fulfilled a campaign promise when it moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

So maybe like the senators suggest, it’s time to look northward and support the sentiments, feelings and reasoning Israel might have when it comes to the Golan.

With the threat from Hezbollah-occupied Lebanon literally tunneling into the northern border, the urgency is there for Israel to review the status of the land they have managed and held since June 1967.