Israel Matzav

Kurdistan: Is it only a matter of time?

The Jerusalem Post published an editorial on Sunday calling for a Kurdish state.

According to prevalent mythology, the international community deems self-determination the natural and inalienable right of each nationality. That, at least, is the pretext for the worldwide clamor for a Palestinian state.

Swept aside are reservations about the rather recent origin of claims to a separate Palestinian national identity, along with the fact that Palestinians are indistinguishable from their neighbors in language, religion, culture and every conceivable marker of ethic uniqueness.

National designation, we are told, is subjective. If any collective regards itself as worthy of self-determination, then self-determination is its due. Yet this principle is hardly applied with universal even-handedness. Evidence of bias abounds even without bringing in pervasive animus to the very notion that the long-suffering Jewish people merits sovereignty just like far younger and less distinctive ethnicities.

The Kurdish case clearly underscores such double standards.

Far more numerous than Palestinians, they’re estimated at between 30 million and 35 million. They form an obvious separate nationality, non-Arab, with its own culture and readily distinguishable language (a subcategory of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages.) They were around far before any Arabs had learned of the Palestinian moniker, and the Kurds struggled for independence long into the 19th century, before the advent of Arab nationalism. They established the short-lived Republic of Ararat in 1927 but it was soon vanquished. Both Turkey and Iran cruelly suppressed numerous Kurdish uprisings. Kurds are still fighting for their freedom.

The contrast between how the world treats the Palestinians and the Kurds couldn’t be more marked. Palestinians are spoiled with international succor and are pampered financially. They were offered an independent state back in 1947 but rejected it, preferring to destroy the twin Jewish state instead.

Practically the entire world has come round to backing Palestinian statehood again and awaits with fevered anticipation the unilateral quest for recognition of Palestinian independence at the UN General Assembly in September.

The unilateral declaration of Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, however, was greeted with deadly silence. The world couldn’t care less. It doesn’t glorify the Kurdish nationalist drive, doesn’t offer it diplomatic assistance, doesn’t shower it with indulgent cheer-leading in the media and doesn’t fund Kurdish separatists, and has denounced what’s perceived as Kurdish terrorism but has abided anti-Kurdish ruthlessness in four countries for many decades.

The editorial goes on to suggest that Israel should support the Kurdish quest for an independent state. There have been rumors that we have been doing so covertly for years. But doing so openly could put us on a collision course with the US, which wants us to reconcile with Turkey.

The PKK, the Kurdish nationalist party, is at risk of war with Iran and Turkey. Turkey and Iran have joined forces against the Kurds, and have attacked the Kurds on the Iranian - Turkish border, allegedly with the blessing of the United States, which regards the PKK and other Kurdish nationalist parties as terror organizations. More here.

One of the rules of the jungle in these parts is that my enemy's enemy is my friend. By that standard, we ought to be helping the Kurds out. Were it not for our relationship with the US, I believe we would have been doing so openly for a long time.

Clearly, Kurdistan is a much more legitimate candidate for statehood than the fictitious 'Palestinians.' Some might argue that by supporting a Kurdish quest for statehood, we would be undermining our own position vis a vis the 'Palestinians.' But if that's the case, why did we support South Sudan?

Labels: Iran, Kurdistan, PKK, Syria, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:57 PM