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Kurds: Israel, our ally 31.8.2010
By Ksenia Svetlova |
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August
31, 2010
Kurds in northern Iraq are reaching out to a group
of people with whom they believe share a historic
ethnic connection, and many common enemies. You
guessed it, it’s us.
It’s early morning in Erbil, capital of Iraqi
Kurdistan. A few men gather around a small kiosk
where dozens of newspapers and magazines in Arabic
and Kurdish are carefully arranged on a piece of
cloth on the ground.
The camera zooms in and concentrates on one of the
men, who holds a glossy magazine with a large Magen
David on the cover. This is not another illustration
to an article about Israeli policies in Gaza and
West Bank. The title is “Israel-Kurd” and the whole
edition is dedicated to relations between the
Kurdish nation and the State of Israel.
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Photo: Courtesy |
The anchor of
American-funded Al- Hurra TV, who reads the
introduction to the Israel-Kurd item, seems just as
astonished as the customers at the newspaper stand
in Erbil – it’s not every day that you see Israel’s
name mentioned in a context other than the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
In Iraq, publishing a magazine with the word Israel
on its cover is a risky business, considering the
generally negative attitude toward Israel and those
in the Arab world who seek rapprochement with the
Jewish state.
“During last year we were often intimidated and
threatened by different elements who didn’t like
what we do, but this year it seems that people are
more understanding and interested in our product,”
says Hawar Bazian, managing editor of the magazine.
Bazian was born in Iran and fled the country with
his family, finding refuge in Erbil. Although he has
lived there for many years and completed his BA in
English literature at Erbil University, he doesn’t
have Iraqi citizenship and is not able to further
pursue his education.
Bazian believes there are many similarities between
Kurds and Israelis and says that his publication,
which was established two years ago, is meant to
build a cultural bridge between the two nations.
Obviously, not everybody in Erbil and beyond agrees
with him and Mawlood Afand, the editor-in-chief and
founder of the magazine. In addition to threats and
intimidation, the Web site of the magazine has twice
been hacked by Turkish users and the authorities
have not given it a work permit.
“There are two approaches to Israel in Iraqi
Kurdistan,” Bazian says. “There are those who are
very interested in relations with Israel and eager
to learn more about it, and those who hold quite a
negative view of this country, being influenced by
radical Islamic ideology.
They think that Israel is the enemy,” Bazian told
The Jerusalem Post.
SINCE THE Israel-Kurd association hasn’t received a
permit from the Iraqi authorities, there are no
offices, computers or faxes – the association exists
on-line and publishes a monthly magazine in Kurdish.
The Web site is also available in Arabic, English
and Turkish.
Some articles are also available in Hebrew. The
banner, “Let’s know Israel as itself,” promises an
insight into Israeli society and history.
The Web site mainly offers news from the Kurdish
world and Israel and op-eds and analysis on
different developments in the Middle East by
Kurdish, Israeli and American contributors.
“We are the result of the historical suffering done
by the Persian, Arab and Turkish nations against the
Kurds, who lost their national, religious and
cultural rights. These enemies try to destroy our
future as well as our past. The Israel-Kurd
Institute tries to mention a historical relationship
between Kurds and Jews and review this relation
without any religious or ideological concerns.
So we have a clear message which talks about an
honorable and great historic stage of the Kurdish
nation that belongs to Kurdish-Jewish relations. We
will use this for the Kurds’ sake and for the sake
of their national question,” the “About Us” sections
of the on-line magazine states.
“Not only do Israel and the Kurds have mutual
interests and historical ties between their peoples,
but also many common enemies,” says Bazian and
starts to count: Iran, Syria, Turkey, the Arabs –
almost everyone in the Middle East. That is exactly
why, he believes, the Kurds and the Jews, two
ancient nations who endured enormous suffering and
were stripped time and again of their natural
rights, should join forces and cooperate.
Some Kurdish contributors go even further and
suggest that Jews should come to Kurdistan and help
build the national Kurdish home. “Kurdistan will be
the second home for Jews after Israel,” believes
Hamma Mirwaisi,www.ekurd.netauthor of Return of the Medes. “Kurds
always have treated Jews as equal partners in
Kurdistan since the Median Empire. It
may be because Abraham, the forefather of the Jewish
nation, was an Indo-European Kurd instead of an
African Semite like the Jewish scholars have been
claiming after Moses came back from Egypt. Or a
large segment of the Kurdish populations are the
descendants of the lost 10 Jewish tribes after they
were exiled by the Assyrian Empire to Kurdistan.
Whatever the reasons, the Kurds are treating Jews
equally, even if Islamic clerics are encouraging
them otherwise.
“Kurdistan can absorb millions of Jews, because it
is a large territory and in need of the Jews’
knowledge. Jews and Kurds can be a blessing for one
another and live in peace and prosperity for
generations to come.”
Other articles and op-eds printed in the magazine
discuss the recent deterioration in relations
between Israel and Turkey. “Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan describes Israeli soldiers as
‘murderers’ or the Israelis as ‘barbarians,’” notes
one writer. “I believe it’s the other way around;
the Turkish soldiers are the true murderers, not the
Israeli soldiers. Israelis are defending their
ancient Holy Land of Israel, but Turkey occupied the
Kurdish holy land of the Medes. They are occupiers
and murderers.”
“Turkey should be held liable for all the damage
that was caused to Israel during the Hamas-supported
events, also for damage caused to the Kurds.
Turkey, with all the support that they get from the
Israeli Government and Unites States, still cannot
face the Kurdish Freedom Fighters. I wish that the
Israeli Government from now on will be able to
support the PKK Freedom Fighters against the Turkish
Government in order to support human rights and stop
the violence against innocent Kurdish people.”
BAZIAN SHARES THIS point of view and believes the
way Israel dealt with the Turkish flotilla was
appropriate and understandable. “We were watching
carefully the developments around the Turkish
flotilla, and we were amazed by the international
reactions.
After all, Israel has every right to defend its
borders. We would understand if some other state,
such as Iran, which is known for its provocations,
would do something like this, but Israel is a very
normal country. So I think that it was legitimate
what happened there.”
Bazian says he would love to visit Israel some day,
but now it still seems a far off dream as there are
no diplomatic relations between Iraq and Israel. But
Kurds are used to being patient, he says, and good
things come to those who wait, as the proverb has
it. “Any diplomatic relations have their stages. In
the beginning there is communication and
establishing of cultural bridges, which is exactly
what we are doing.
It might take time until things change, but Israel
has to know it has a good friend in the Middle East,
perhaps its only friend,” he concludes.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency, The Jerusalem Post | jpost
com
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