As the Iraqi Army, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Shia militias attack Iraqi Kurdistan, Israeli MK Akram Hasson and Israeli diplomat Mendi Safadi reiterate Israel’s support for an independent Kurdistan.
After the Iraqi Army, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the Shia militias launched multiple offenses in Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Khurmatu, Prde and other areas over the last week, many Kurdish civilians have been forced to flee their homes due to the indiscriminate violence, torture, gang raping, looting, and the burning of civilian homes and properties. So far, 168,372 civilians have been displaced. In the wake of such wanton violence targeting the Kurdish community, Israeli MK Akram Hasson proclaimed the State of Israel’s support for the Kurdish people at this critical juncture.
“Israel displayed a clear position for the right of the Kurdish people to an independent state within the historic borders of Kurdistan,” he declared. “We stand as one front against the Iranian threat, which declares its desire to eradicate Kurdistan and Israel. We won’t permit them to arm themselves against our allies. We stand with them against every threat and we recruit the support of the free world to prevent the fall of their dream by leading terrorists in Iran.”
At a historic meeting between Israeli MK Akram Hasson, Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani, Mr. Dilshad Berzani and Mendi Safadi, the head of the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy and Public Relations, Mr. Dilshad Barzani warned that if the Kurdish wall against Iran will fall, Shia terrorism will achieve its goal and he called for American support in stopping the recruitment of Iran in spreading Shia terror, which works for the eradication of the Kurdish dream and the Kurdish people in the region. Mendi Safadi added: “This is a historic meeting where I stressed cooperation for achieving an independent Kurdistan. We are working via joint efforts to establish an international lobby to support the Kurdish peoples’ struggle.”
Mendi Safadi also attended a demonstration in front of the Iranian Embassy in Berlin, where thousands of Kurds protested the Iranian attacks and Iran’s open war alongside that of the Iraqi Shia militias against the Kurdish people. Safadi stated in his speech that the Israeli people support their right to an independent state, emphasizing that both the Jewish and Kurdish people have a historic right to their homelands.
He noted that while the Arabs are fighting to erase this historic right, the Israeli people still want them to have a country. Safadi hopes that the Kurdish and Israeli flag will be flown over the skies of an independent Kurdistan for Israel’s government welcomes them and supports their just demand for independence.
As Israeli scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar proclaimed, “Every group has the right to have its own state, its own homeland, its’ own government and to control itself. It is time for all the nations occupied, coerced and persecuted by other religions and nations to be liberated. If they want independence, let them have it in order to make sure they stay alive and prosperous. Why should they be forced to live under the yoke of another culture especially when the other culture is vicious and cruel?”
Meanwhile, within the Islamic Republic of Iran, already many Iranian Kurds are inspired by Iraqi Kurdistan’s Independence Referendum despite the brutal onslaught the Iraqi Kurds have faced from the Iraqi Army, Iran and the Shia militias for voicing their opinions democratically. According to Iranian Kurdish dissident Kajal Mohammadi, “The people of Iranian Kurdistan stand in solidarity with the struggle of greater Kurdistan. The language of violence and threats no longer scares them.” Noting that Iranian Kurds have demonstrated in solidarity with Iraqi Kurdistan and the violent Iranian response to these protests, she emphasized: “No occupying force can break this bond of solidarity and support for one another. The people of Kurdistan are fed up with the Iranian regime. Their threats of bloodshed and their continued militarization no longer work.”
Iranian Kurdish rebel Mohammed Alizadeh stressed that he believes Iran reacted in the way that they did to the Iraqi Kurdish Referendum and the celebrations by the Iranian Kurds of this referendum for they are afraid of its implications: “The first step was taken to reach the goal of having a Kurdish nation. The enemies of the Kurdish nation are so afraid of this. Iran sent in a large military force to prevent the freedom celebrations of the Kurdish nation but the people of Kurdistan are brave enough to resist Iran.”
However, as Kurds across the world are increasingly standing in solidarity with Iraqi Kurdistan and waving Israeli flags alongside Kurdish flags at political demonstrations, there is also a lot of criticism of how America has responded to the recent violence implemented by Iran and its allies against Iraqi Kurds. As Kurdish leader Arif Bawecani declared, “From 2014 to 2017, many of you prized the Kurds for fighting for the whole world in the war against ISIS and terrorism but today you are sending Iran and Iraq against the Kurds. What kind of friendship do you have for the Kurds? Where is your conscious?”
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