Jews in Kurdistan, Diaspora Issue Joint Statement
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Posted On: 06/14/2017 5:41:12 PM
Jews in Kurdistan, Diaspora Issue Joint Statement Supporting Kurdish Independence
On Sunday, Jews in the Kurdistan Region and the Diaspora, along with the State of Israel and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Representative for the Jewish community Sherzad Omar Mamsani, issued a joint statement expressing support for the KRG’s decision to hold a referendum vote on their independence on September 25, 2017.
“We as Kurdish-Jews in Kurdistan, the Diaspora, and Israel support the independence referendum,” the joint statement read, according to Kurdistan 24. “We must have a united voice on the ownership of the land, water, and sky within the framework of an independent and tolerant Kurdistan.”
It also stated that, “After 100 years of being stateless and oppressed, today the people of Kurdistan have gotten the opportunity to have a state of their own. The Kurdish-Jewish community warmly welcomes the referendum for Kurdistan’s independence.”
The Jews and Kurds have historically had a good relationship.
Kurdistan 24 notes, “The Kurdistan Region used to be home to a large population of Kurdish Jews in the past century, but in the early 1950s, faced threats and expulsion by the Iraqi governments, which pushed a vast majority of them to flee abroad and to Israel.”
The Kurds reportedly said the move to hold a referendum vote in September is beyond the point of return.
Breitbart News reported that Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi “issued a statement rejecting the call by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani for a national independence referendum, declaring that the Kurdish people cannot ‘decide its fate unilaterally.'”
In April, Rudaw reported that al-Abadi said the time was still not right for the Kurdish people to hold a referendum vote, saying, “The desire of our Kurdish brothers to create a country of their own is their right given the desire and the objective and nobody has the right to deter them.
“But holding a referendum at this time is not right as the ISIS war still rages, the region’s situation is not suitable and some neighboring countries believe this move poses a threat to the nation’s security themselves.”
Although American officials have stated their belief that Kurdistan would become an independent state, the State Department issued remarks on the matter on Thursday, warning against placing the vote before the ultimate defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, “We support a unified, stable and a federal Iraq. We appreciate and understand the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan.”
Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the chief of the Pentagon’s intelligence arm and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, previously said, “Kurdish independence is on a trajectory where it is probably not if, but when.”
Kurdish Peshmerga forces, along with Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite militias and the Iraqi military, are currently fighting to eradicate the Islamic State from Mosul.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also declared Israel’s support for an independent Kurdistan.
On Sunday, Jews in the Kurdistan Region and the Diaspora, along with the State of Israel and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Representative for the Jewish community Sherzad Omar Mamsani, issued a joint statement expressing support for the KRG’s decision to hold a referendum vote on their independence on September 25, 2017.
“We as Kurdish-Jews in Kurdistan, the Diaspora, and Israel support the independence referendum,” the joint statement read, according to Kurdistan 24. “We must have a united voice on the ownership of the land, water, and sky within the framework of an independent and tolerant Kurdistan.”
It also stated that, “After 100 years of being stateless and oppressed, today the people of Kurdistan have gotten the opportunity to have a state of their own. The Kurdish-Jewish community warmly welcomes the referendum for Kurdistan’s independence.”
The Jews and Kurds have historically had a good relationship.
Kurdistan 24 notes, “The Kurdistan Region used to be home to a large population of Kurdish Jews in the past century, but in the early 1950s, faced threats and expulsion by the Iraqi governments, which pushed a vast majority of them to flee abroad and to Israel.”
The Kurds reportedly said the move to hold a referendum vote in September is beyond the point of return.
Breitbart News reported that Friday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi “issued a statement rejecting the call by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani for a national independence referendum, declaring that the Kurdish people cannot ‘decide its fate unilaterally.'”
In April, Rudaw reported that al-Abadi said the time was still not right for the Kurdish people to hold a referendum vote, saying, “The desire of our Kurdish brothers to create a country of their own is their right given the desire and the objective and nobody has the right to deter them.
“But holding a referendum at this time is not right as the ISIS war still rages, the region’s situation is not suitable and some neighboring countries believe this move poses a threat to the nation’s security themselves.”
Although American officials have stated their belief that Kurdistan would become an independent state, the State Department issued remarks on the matter on Thursday, warning against placing the vote before the ultimate defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, “We support a unified, stable and a federal Iraq. We appreciate and understand the legitimate aspirations of the people of the Iraqi Kurdistan.”
Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the chief of the Pentagon’s intelligence arm and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, previously said, “Kurdish independence is on a trajectory where it is probably not if, but when.”
Kurdish Peshmerga forces, along with Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite militias and the Iraqi military, are currently fighting to eradicate the Islamic State from Mosul.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also declared Israel’s support for an independent Kurdistan.
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