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The Kurds and the Jews
27.3.2008
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March 27, 2008
In 2001, Israeli, German, and Indian scientists
discovered that the majority of Jews were closely
related to the Kurdish people. Kurdistan is
primarily in northern Iraq, only a few hundred miles
from the meeting place of the Tigris and the
Euphrates Rivers.
DNA studies show that almost all Jewish populations
have origins in the Middle East, and that the DNA of
Jews from almost every corner of the diaspora is
more similar to that of other Jews than to any other
population. When compared with non-Jewish groups,
the closest match is with the Muslims of Kurdistan,
not with the European peoples alongside whom
Ashkenazi Jews lived for centuries or of the the
Arab neighbors of many Sephardi populations.
Although all Middle Eastern populations have broad
similarities, "Jews were found to be more closely
related to groups in the north of the fertile
Crescent (Kurds, Turks and Armenians) than to their
Arab neighbors." The could mean that we all carry
the genetic markers of ancient indigenous
populations of the Fertile Crescent,www.ekurd.net
while Palestinian Arabs
and Beduins may descend from the Arab conquerors.
Genetics may soon provide answers to questions like
what proportion of Palestinian ancestry arrived in
early or late migrations.
Who are the Kurds? Most of the 10 Tribes of Israel
who were the Northern Kingdom were taken into
captivity by the Assyrians in 721-715 BCE. That’s
about 2800 years ago by the Assyrian king
Shalmaneser. They were deported to Media, Asssyria
and Mesopotamia. This area is what we call Kurdistan
today. Under Persian and Parthian rule, the Jewish
Kurdistanians enjoyed their own autonomy and had an
exile ruler. He was of Davidic descent and was the
king’s representative. They had a council of elders.
The Kurdish royal house of Adiabene was converted to
Judaism in the 1st century BCE. The king was
Monabazes and his queen was Helena. Their son was
Izates. A large number of Kurdish citizens also
converted. The Jews were given permission by the
rabbinic authorities to allow conversion from the
local population. This was the only country outside
of Israel that sent provisions and troops to the
rescue of the besieged Galilee. By the 2nd century
CE, Judaism was practiced in central Kurdistan.
By the 4th and 5th centuries, Christianity was
established in Adiabene, but Judaism continued with
many. Kurdish Jews speak a form of ancient Aramaic
called Suriyani, and in business and with their
friends they speak Kurdish. Many of their folk
stories that tell about their origins connect them
with the Jews.
What can we find in Kurdistan that connects us to
our Jewish history? Queen Esther and Mordechai have
tombs in Hamadan. Biblical prophet Nahum has a tomb
in Alkush. Jonah’s tomb is in Nabi Yunis (ancient
Nineveh). Daniel’s tomb is in Kirkuk. Habakkuk’s
tomb is in Tuisirkan. Several caves visited by
Elijah are considered important Jewish shrines and
are venerated by all Jews today.
The grandson of Judah the Maccabee, hero of our
Chanukah holiday was named King Yannai. His widow
was Queen Shlomis Alexandra "Shlomtzion". She had a
brother, Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetach. He advised the
Pharisees, who were the rabbinical Jews, to split
with the Sadducees and other militant Jewish groups.
The Pharisees also opposed Roman rule but preferred
academic study to military revolt. In other words,
they were on the left, or peaceniks.. Just before
the downfall of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the warriors had
conflicts with Rome and themselves.. The Hellenists
wanted to assimilate by adopting its culture. The
Pharisees wanted to continue Judasim by academics
and study. The Herodians, Sadducees and their
Jordanian converts plotted revolt. By 135 CE with
the Bar Kochba revolt, they were crushed by Rome.
Then Sadducees or militant Jews went south to Jordan
and southern Arabia and finally founded the Jewish
state of Himyar (biblical Sheba) in Saudi Arabia and
Yemen. There they practiced Judaism that finally
became Islam by Mohammed.
The Pharisees or Rabbinic Jews moved east, then
north and finally to Babylon. This is near what is
now called Kurdistan. Then the Arab conquest began
in 637 CE. This community assisted the Arab advance
in the hope that it would afford them help from the
Sassanid persecution. So the Arabs occupied their
land. They expelled some Jews in Himyar, Saudi
Arabia and they settled in Kufa. Over the next two
centuries they were forced to convert to Islam. They
were excluded from public office,www.ekurd.net
were kept from building
any new schools or synagogues, were subject to
special taxes and experienced programs. They were
treated as Dminnis. Most of the community then
converted by the end of the 9th century. Because
they were heavily taxed on their farms, they left
agriculture for the first time and went to live in
larger towns like Baghdad, Basra and Mosul where
they became traders and craftsmen. The peasants
intermarried and became "The Kurds".
By 1138 Saladin was born to a family of Kurdish
adventurers in the Iraqi town of Takrit. He was a
Kurd in Middle East politics, and he was from Syria,
a Sunni state, and he was trying to rule Egypt, a
Shiite country. He finally became lord of Egypt,
Syria and much of Mesopotamia. A generation before
his birth, European crusaders had conquered
Jerusalem and had massacred the Muslim and Jewish
habitants. Many oriental Jews fought with the
Moslems against the crusaders. So Saladin finally
conquered Jerusalem from the Christians. He was
humane and applied justice in his rule. He even
allowed Christians into Jerusalem again. Maimonides,
the great Jewish sage, was his physician. Of course
he allowed Jews in Jerusalem and even discovered the
Western Wall of the Jewish Temple. It had been
buried by garbage under the Roman-Byzantine rule.
The Kurds were never accepted as equals to other
Islamic groups who feared a revival of the Jewish
faith. We had several men in the past who claimed
they were the expected messiah such as Abu Issa Al-Isfahani
who lived in about the year 700 CE, and Shabbetai
Tzvi of the 16th century CE. They had looked to the
Kurdish community for help to raise a Jewish army to
liberate Israel. It didn’t happen.
Iraq’s Saddam Hussain killed Kurds with poison gas.
They are known for the massacre of Halabja. .What
happened was that Kurds make up about 17% of Iraq’s
population. They were the majority in three
provinces in Northern Iraq which is known as Iraqi
Kurdistan. They also have a presence in Kirkuk,
Mosul (50,000) , Khanaqin, and Baghdad. (300,000)
About 100,000 Kurds live in southern Iraq. From 1960
to 1975 they engaged in a civil war against Iraqi
regimes and were led by Mustafa Barzani. In March
1970 Iraq had a peace plan giving them Kurdish
autonomy to be implemented by 1974. The peace plan
did not last long and by 1974 the government began
another offensive against the Kurds. By March 1975
Iraq and Iran signed the Algiers Accord where Iran
cut supplies to Iraqi Kurds. Iraq started another
Arabization plan by moving Arabs to Kurdistan’s oil
fields, especially around Kirkuk. They deported
200,000 Kurds between 1975 to 1978 to other parts of
Iraq.
During the 1980's Iran-Iraq War, Iraq implemented
anti-Kurdish policies and a civil war broke out.
Their campaign against the Kurds was called Anfal
"Spoils of War". This led to the destruction of
2,000 villages and death of from 50,000 to 100,000
Kurds. On March 16, 1988 in the Kurdish town of
Halabja, Iraqi troops used a mixture of mustard gas
and other nerve agents and killed at least 5,000
civilians. This continued with both Iraqis and
Iranians using it against the Kurds.
The Kurds also had problems with Turkey who
practiced military actions inside Kurdistan in
Northern Iraq. They killed civilians and destroyed
villages, homes and property. Turkey continued its
military cross-the border operations which were
needed for intelligence information. They were even
striking Kurdistan from the air. This went on
because of the Kurds in Turkey who were fighting
against Turkey for their freedom.
So it appears that the Kurds do not fit into the
average Arab mentality and are not fitting into
their society. They want their freedom and autonomy.
Reference:
Jerusalem Post, Genetics and the Jewish Identity by
Diana Muir and Paul Appelbaum. Washington-report.org.:
Saddam’s Kurdish Problem,
wikipedia.org, Kurdish people,
Resource: The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia: Tribes,
Lost Ten & Babylon
EretzYisroel.org: The forced conversion of the
Jewish community of Persia and the beginnings of the
Kurds
Kevin Alan Brook: The Genetic Bonds Between Kurds
and Jews
Copyright, respective author or news agency, Jewish
Facts From Portland blog,
http://jewishfactsfromportland blogspot.com
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