It is high time Israel supported Syrian Kurds
srael is a country that has the means to help the Kurdish people, and now is the time to do so,” reads a petition addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi. Launched by Maj. (res.) Yair Fink only a day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had announced the beginning of his Mohammedian army’s incursion into the majority Kurdish areas of northeastern Syria (also known as Rojava), the petition was immediately signed by dozens of Israeli “reservists with the ranks ranging from captain to lieutenant colonel.” Hours later and via his official Twitter account, Netanyahu condemned the Turkish invasion of Rojava, warned “against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey” and announced Israel’s readiness “to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people.” Despite Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely’s claim about ongoing Israeli support for Syrian Kurds, however, the deteriorating developments on the ground indicate that the Syrian Kurds have not received any substantial support from Jerusalem.
Aside from the moral dimension of helping a stateless people who are facing the danger of ethnic cleansing by a militarily superior power, why would protecting Syrian Kurds serve Israel’s national interests?
After the rise of the Justice and Development Party (aka AKP) to power in 2002, Ankara has openly adopted an Islamic discourse. Despite its initially friendly relations with Israel, open hostility with Jerusalem has become an indispensable hallmark of Turkey’s regional policy in recent years.
Erdogan accusing the moderate Shimon Peres of “knowing very well how to kill” at the World Economic Forum Conference in Davos in 2009; Mavi Marmara and AKP’s international campaign to damage Israel’s reputation; and numerous conspiratorial, anti-Israeli movies and documentaries (e.g. Ayrilik in 2009, Valley of the Wolves in 2010 and Mastermind in 2015) that portray Israelis as baby-killers – all indicate that Israel has lost its previous importance in Ankara’s new regional calculus.
If one agrees to the necessity of Israel’s adaptation to this new hostile environment, one can make a strong case for the indispensability of the role Syrian Kurds can play in Jerusalem’s new foreign policy.
Syrian Kurds have been the key ally of the US-led coalition against ISIS. Aside from being the US boots on ground in the fight against the Islamic State, they had successfully established a secular system with a high level of gender equality and respect for minorities prior to the recent Turkish invasion.
After the Arab League condemned Turkey’s military offensive, Israel’s archenemy Hamas voiced its support for Erdogan’s cross-border military adventure. Unlike Hamas, whose raison d’etre is the destruction of Israel, Syrian Kurds had not fired a single shot towards Turkey before the ongoing invasion – despite Ankara’s highly provocative policies towards them. If it is OK for Turkey to support Hamas, why would it not be OK for Israel to support Syrian Kurds who seek selfrule in a democratic Syria?
Common interests of Israel and Syrian Kurds are not limited to the AKP’s enmity toward them. The re-emergence of a strong, centralized government in Syria, whether Alavi (backed by Iran) or Sunni (backed by Turkey), is the last thing both Israeli and Syrian Kurdish leaders might want to witness. That is, supporting the Syrian Kurds would significantly empower Jerusalem to stop the “heart of Pan-Arabism” from resuming to beat again.
Given its geographical location, Rojava has also played a vital role in neutralizing Iran’s efforts to land-bridge Tehran to the Mediterranean shores. Therefore, helping the Syrian Kurds to save their self-rule would kill at least three birds with one stone for Jerusalem.
It would: 1) deter Turkey’s expansionism; 2) thwart the re-emergence of a strong anti-Israeli state in Damascus; and 3) rupture the ground connection of Tehran to Hezbollah.
In a recent off-the-record conversation with the author of this article, a high-profile Syrian Kurdish leader expressed the willingness of Syrian Kurds to accept “any form of aid” from Jerusalem, “to help us save our project in Rojava.” The aid could be in the form of military equipment, humanitarian assistance, airstrikes against Erdogan’s jihadi allies like the ones against pro-Iranian elements and, most importantly, lobbying for them to get a protection guarantee from Washington against both Ankara and Damascus.
Since 2011, Syria has been a fertile ground for dozens of Islamist groups, which all seek to establish a strong, centralized, anti-Israeli government. No matter how things unfold in Syria, Jerusalem has a vested interest in forging strong alliances with reliable partners who share its security concerns. Supporting Kurds – as the one and only group who favor decentralization – would not only serve Israel’s national security, but also provide Jerusalem with a buffer zone against both Tehran’s and Ankara’s expansionism.