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12:18
Friday 27 November 2020
Erbil – (AFP):
Decades ago, the Iraqi and Israeli Kurds had a common enemy and what some consider similar persecution experiences … Today the Kurds are following with interest the pace of accelerated normalization between the Jewish state and its historical enemies in Arab countries.
The UAE and Bahrain recently signed two agreements to normalize relations under the auspices of the United States, and Sudan announced a similar agreement. This represents a major turning point in relations between Israel and Arab countries that had previously pledged not to establish diplomatic ties with Israel prior to peace with the Palestinians.
The Kurds have been repeatedly accused of establishing ties with Israel, and have sometimes been described as “agents” of the Israelis during their struggle for independence. During the referendum that was held in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2017 for the independence of the region, Israeli flags appeared in rallies, demonstrations and celebrations.
“The normalization of Arab countries with Israel is a good thing,” said Hamdad Najat, 38, an English professor in the provincial capital, Erbil. But he added: “There is an emotional bond between the Kurds and the Jews because of the grievances that have dominated both of them.”
The Kurds, who number about thirty million, are distributed among Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey, and have been asking for more than a century to found their own state.
Jews endured centuries of persecution until they succeeded in founding the state of Israel in 1948.
As hostility between Arabs and Israel escalated, the young state attempted to establish relations with non-Arab groups in the Middle East. She met with the response of the Iraqi Kurds, who, like her, were hostile to the Iraqi central government in Baghdad.
And Israel worked to provide humanitarian and military support to the Kurds affected by President Saddam Hussein’s harsh campaigns against them in the north of the country in the 1980s and 1990s.
More than half a century ago, most Iraqi Jews, frightened by the conflicts and troubles in Iraq, left the country through the northern Kurdish region to Israel.
The faster the better
And Israel supported the Iraq region independence referendum in 2017, although it opposed the United States, which supported the Kurds and Israel.
Kurdish activist Nabaz Rashad enthusiastically participated in the independence campaign of the time, which drew criticism from his Iraqi Arab friends who accused him of trying to establish “a second Israel in the Middle East”.
Today, 35-year-old Rashad looks bitterly at “normalization” agreements. He tells AFP that it reflects “pure hypocrisy”.
However, he expresses his hope that these agreements will bring stability to a region torn apart by decades of conflict.
“Furthermore, as a Kurd, I feel the hope that when a state is born or recognized, this gives us hope that the Kurds will have their own state,” he added.
Iraqi Kurds currently live under an autonomous regime which has its own security forces and manages the region’s borders with Iran, Turkey and Syria.
For his part, the head of the international relations commission in the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament, Rebwar Babaki, says that Iraq should normalize relations with Israel to promote peace in the region. “The sooner the better,” he adds.
He believes this could help “Arab countries to develop scientific and academic research through exchange programs, as Israel is a pioneer in scientific and technological research.”
But the Kurdistan region cannot do it alone, as the decision in the country’s foreign policy rests with the central Iraqi government.
Babaki added: “In the event that an Israeli embassy opens in Baghdad, a consulate will open in Erbil the next day.”
The best days of the past
Despite this, political analyst Hiwa Othman believes Israel’s rapprochement with Iraqi Kurds remains unlikely despite historical ties, because Israel no longer has the same importance for Kurds today. They were trying to get closer to it to communicate with the largest international power, the United States.
He explains that “the United States is present in Erbil today and the Kurds don’t need a mediator (to communicate with it), so they don’t need to establish a political relationship with Israel”.
Believes that, unlike Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Iraqi Kurds must maintain a delicate balance in their ties with Ankara and Tehran, which have important influence in the Kurdish political arena in Iraq and oppose the two ideas of independence and normalization with Israel.
Bilal Wahab, a researcher at the Washington Institute for the Near East, says Israel might consider ties with the Kurds less important than the diplomatic gains it has achieved.
“After normalization with the Emirates and Bahrain and on the road to normalization with Sudan, Israel is now looking to Saudi Arabia, not the Kurds,” he added.
He concludes that “the best days of that relationship are in the past, not the future”.
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