Living predominantly in south-eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, north-eastern Syria and western Iran, the Kurdish people have long been persecuted, especially by Turkey. Amid their long-standing campaign for an independent state of their own, many see a saviour in Israel as it has the military power to help them achieve statehood.
Despite the majority of Kurds seeing Israel as an ally in the region, there is reluctance to form an official relationship among political leaders on both sides. Kurdish leaders fear further damaging their already volatile relationships with the anti-Israeli countries in which they currently live, while the Israelis have to balance diplomatic efforts with nations like Syria and Iraq.
Also in attendance at the conference was Kurdish Middle East political Professor Khalid Khayati, from Sweden’s Linköping University. In his view, Israel should see the benefits outweigh the risks in helping Kurdistan as, with around 40 million Kurds in the region, a Kurdish state would be a sizeable ally.
Professor Khalid Khayati from Sweden’s Linköping University (Image: Linköping University)[Missing Credit]
“Israel will not have to be a military [country] if Kurdistan achieves statehood because it will have a friendly neighbour near its borders,” Khayati told the JC.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke at the conference via a video link, discussing the importance of a relationship between Israelis and Kurds.
“We believe in strengthening the relationship… between these two minorities,” he said, adding his dismay at the fact that “Kurds have not yet achieved [lasting] political independence”.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaking at the conference on a video link (Image: Facebook/ Yehuda Ben Yosef)[Missing Credit]
However, Yehuda Ben Yosef, President of Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel, said of the prospect of signing the Abraham Accords: “I think it would be better for them to not sign it [immediately].”
He went on to cite all the countries like Turkey which would try to stop such a move, and the further damage it would cause to their relationships.
“The situation there is not good,” Yosef continued, adding that if the opportunity did arise, “we would do the connection smartly”.
He also said that the Kurds achieving statehood would be “very helpful to Israel” because they are “Israel’s only friends” in the region.
.jpeg?f=3x2&w=732&q=0.6)
Yehuda Ben Yosef (Image: Facebook/ Yehuda Ben Yosef)[Missing Credit]
“It would be very good if there was an independent country there. It would stop all the radical Islam from coming to the border of Israel.”
Despite the overriding consensus at the conference that Kurdish statehood would be a good thing, one attendee who helped Israelis recover from October 7, who did not want to be named, told the JC: “We need to wake up to the fact that it doesn’t matter if you have a state or not. The Jews do, the Kurds don’t, and we both have the same problems.”
