In the fight against Daesh (ISIS), the Kurdish army was the spearhead in both Iraq and Syria. In both countries, the Kurds have achieved extensive autonomy in their residential areas. The fall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria also meant a new attack by Turkish-backed rebels against the Kurds.
The unstable situation in Syria could be a step towards the formation of an independent Kurdistan. In my opinion, this would have a stabilizing effect on the situation in the entire Middle East and I think that now – with the weakening of its opponents – Israel should significantly strengthen its support for the Syrian Kurds in order to respond to the threat posed by Turkey.
Already at the beginning of the last century, some Kurdish Jews were active in the Zionist movement, one of the most famous freedom fighters [Lehi aka Stern activist] was Moshe Barazani, whose family had moved from Iraqi Kurdistan to Jerusalem in the 1920s. Lehi/Stern waged an underground struggle against the then British administration of the mandated territory.
The majority of Kurdish Jews were forced out of northern Iraq in the early 1950s, along with other Iraqi Jewish communities. At the same time, the majority of Iranian Kurdish Jews also immigrated to Israel. Today, there are about 200,000 Kurdish Jews living in Israel.
Israel and the Kurds have had good relations for decades. For example, Israel has supported the armed struggle of the Kurds in Iraq since the 1960s. The most prominent Kurdish Jew was Itzhak Mordechai, who two decades ago served as defense minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The Kurds in Syria and the Days After al-Assad
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are estimated to have 40,000–60,000 fighters, most of whom are members of the YPG. In addition to the armed forces, the SDF also has an internal security force (Asayish) of around 12,000 personnel, responsible for counterterrorism operations in Kurdish-held areas of northwestern Syria and assisting military forces. There is also a police force of around 30,000.
The Turkish-backed rebels succeeded in their attack to take over areas of western Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan). For example, when 1,500 Kurdish families fled from Shehba to Afrin, the rebels arrested 300 people, 3,000 are still missing and more than 25 were killed on the road out of Shehba. Up-to-date information about the Kurdish region in English is available from the Rojava Information Center website.
Kurdistan
The number of Kurds worldwide is estimated at 30-45 million, with the majority of them living in the so-called Greater Kurdistan (including the Kurdish regions of Syria and Iraq, as well as the Kurdish regions of Iran and Turkey). According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, Kurdistan covers approximately 190,000 km² of Turkey, 125,000 km² of Iran, 65,000 km² of Iraq and 12,000 km² of Syria, for a total area of approximately 392,000 km².
In 2017, Dr. Edy Cohen – BESA/Israel – published his analysis [Kurdistan: From Referendum to the Road to Independence ] in which he states that
supporting a Kurdish state is important for Israel from both an economic and security perspective. Furthermore, to contain the jihadists in Syria and Iraq, Jerusalem should participate in the development of Kurdistan, the IDF [Israeli army] should train Peshmerga soldiers and it might even be justified to establish an air base in Kurdistan for protection.
The Kurds of Iraq and Syria have had the motivation to defend their homeland for the past decade and they also have relatively good resources – oil, money and weapons – to do so. However, an independent Kurdistan has not yet emerged due to internal political differences among the Kurds.
While the Kurds form an ethnically and culturally distinctive community whose relatively secular values differ decisively from the extremist religious practices of the Middle East. A telling fact is, among other things, that Kurdish women played a significant role in military campaigns.
In my opinion, political differences within Kurdish communities can be overcome in a new state through the confederal model. I agree to the highest degree with the document on the future democratic confederalism of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Öcalan (Democratic Confederalism). Among other things, he states
that democratic confederalism is based on grassroots participation. Its decision-making processes are the responsibility of the communities. Higher levels only serve to coordinate and implement the will of those communities that send their representatives to general assemblies. For a limited time, they are both mouthpieces and executive institutions. However, the fundamental decision-making power lies with local grassroots institutions.
Surrounded by enemies, the Kurdish region shares borders with Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. These countries, especially Iran and Turkey, are strongly opposed to the establishment of a Kurdish state. They fear that Kurdistan – which has managed to build a friendly island of peace and stability in a region surrounded by enemies and war – will indeed become that odious thing, “another Israel”.
Epilogue
“The Kurds are fighters who have proven their political commitment and political moderation, and they have earned their own political independence. We must support the Kurdish aspirations for independence. They deserve it.” (Benjamin Netanyahu v. 2014)
Now is the best window of opportunity in years to establish an independent Kurdistan. For Israel to step up the pressure, the Syrian Kurds should act alone in their own interests. I cannot help but agree with the arguments put forward in The Wall Street Journal by Thomas Kaplan and Bernard-Henri Lévy, founders of the non-profit Justice for Kurds, why support for the Kurds in Syria and Iraq is crucial to maintaining lasting peace. Below is a well-conceived excerpt from Kaplan and Lévy’s article:
“The regime change in Damascus has created a rare opportunity to pay our debts and moral obligations to secure the future of the Syrian Kurds. This also strengthens interests in the region. Bipartisan consensus much admired the coordinated energetic support of the Kurds would provide behind the United States and the most effective political alternative response that America has returned as the world’s most reliable partner. The moment is ripe to contrast the loyalty, trust and power of the West with the current state of brotherhood of autocrats. In addition to humanitarian aid, strong political and security relations with our fellow Kurds would serve directly as the fundamental pillars of the state’s regional policy.”
From my perspective, the Kurds have a right to sympathize with Israel, a desire to develop relations with it and even to hold it as an example, sharing the fate of another small people whose existence and right to their own land are not universally recognized. The Kurds are Westernized, moderate and ready secularists and have proven organizational and institutional skills. By establishing Kurdistan now in the Kurdish regions of Syria and Iraq, this home state could – like Israel – welcome the Kurds now living in diaspora around the world.
Sources e.g: Rojava Information Center , JewishInsider , BESA
The article first appeared in the Finnish online publication Ariel-Israelista Suomeksi