Kurdistan Region close to independence, predicts Jewish scholar

Kraków, Poland – There is a lot of common ground between Kurds and Jews, says one Jewish academic who believes an independent Kurdistan will be established in the near future. 

Jonathan Ornstein, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Centers (JCC) in the Polish city of Kraków, speaks enthusiastically about relations between Jewish and Kurdish parties, two groups who have suffered repression due to being stateless. “This is an important and common point in the relations between the Kurds and the Jews,” he said.
 
The JCC works serves the needs of the Jewish community in Poland, where Jews faced mass extermination by the Nazis during the Second World War. 

Ornstein thinks that relations between Kurds and Jews are based on strong common ground, with the two having common enemies he said, adding, “I believe we will see an independent Kurdistan in the near future.”

Israeli pro-Kurdish rhetoric often irritates the four countries which control Kurdish lands – Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. 

Two years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his country’s support for an independent Kurdistan. He argued that the Kurdish state would contribute to an alliance of moderate powers in the Middle East.

In January this year, Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked echoed the support for an independent Kurdistan. “We must openly call for the establishment of a Kurdish state that separates Iran from Turkey, one which will be friendly towards Israel,” she said. 

“The Kurdish people are a partner for the Israeli people,” she added. “It is time to help them.”

Jews declared the State of Israel in 1948 under uncertain circumstances and quickly came into conflict with neighbouring Arab countries. 

“I think founding a Kurdish state is easier compared to the establishment of the Jewish State,” Ornstein predicted. “You need support, just like the support which the United States provided to Israel. I hope that the US would do the same for you.” 

“If you look back on 200 years ago, those who have endeavored to achieve independence have done so. That is why it is not impossible for Kurds to achieve independence.”

Ornstein said that American Jews care about the Kurdish question. “Large numbers of Jews in the US are trying to forge relations with the Kurds. They know about the Kurdistan Region and are watching the war that has engulfed Iraq.”

Ornstein is acquainted with Kurds from all four parts of Kurdistan. He is unhappy about the deadlocked political process which has anchored the Kurdistan Region for over a year. “The continuation of these disagreements will be distancing the Kurds from reaching their objectives,” he said.