“Natural Allies”: Israel to Cultivate Kurdish, Druze Ties

Latest Developments

• Outreach to Arabs, Minorities by New Foreign Minister: Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s new foreign minister, gave remarks on November 10 in which he spoke in favor of expanded peacemaking with Arab countries while also ensuring the Middle East’s minorities are not neglected. “The Kurdish people are a large nation, one of the largest stateless nations. They are our natural allies,” he said. “They are a national minority in four countries, with autonomy in two of them – de facto in Syria, and de jure, in Iraq’s constitution. They suffer from oppression and aggression from Iran and Turkey. We must reach out to them and strengthen our ties. There are both diplomatic and security dimensions to this.”

• Decades of Discreet Relations: Israeli-Kurdish relations date back to the 1960s, when Jerusalem supplied the minority group with weaponry and financial assistance in return for help in gathering intelligence on Arab enemies. In 2014, Israel sought to persuade the United States to support the short-lived Kurdish bid for independence in northern Iraq and was reported to be secretly buying oil from that region. 

• Potential Friends in Lebanon, Syria: The second minority group named by Sa’ar as potentially open to closer ties were the Druze, around 10% of whom live in Israel and serve in its military, government and parliament, and the rest of whom are divided between Lebanon and Syria.

FDD Expert Response:

“The colonial boundaries of the Middle East were all but erased by the Arab Spring and the ISIS rampages of the last decade, and now they look set to be redrawn if Iran and its proxies continue to be beaten back by Israel’s regional counteroffensive. There is no better time for Jerusalem to openly court the Kurds and the Druze. The covert alliance with the former can safely come out of the cold. And the Druze, with their political leverage in Lebanon and their Syrian communities close to the Israeli border, will be key to securing more neighborly relations once Hezbollah’s hegemony ends.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO

“When Israel advocated for Kurdish statehood a decade ago, it had to be mindful of the risks of exposing its national security interests vis-a-vis Iran or of upsetting Turkey. Now Israel is openly exchanging blows with the Iranians, and any semblance of face-saving diplomacy with Ankara has been trashed by Erdogan’s thuggish and antisemitic rhetoric. Carving a Kurdistan out of part of Iraq would support the empty idea of sacrosanct borders in a region where ethnicity trumps ink on a map, and in turn it will serve the Jewish state’s efforts to achieve defensible and recognized boundaries in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“Israel has enjoyed a unique and positive relationship with the Kurdish people in the Middle East since the country’s founding. The roots of these ties come from shared experiences of Jews and Kurds as minorities in the region. Israel and the Kurdish people in Syria, Iraq and Iran have often faced similar enemies, such as Saddam’s regime, Syrian Arab nationalism and the Ayatollahs. Kurds in Turkey have also faced increased repression at the same time leaders in Ankara became more hostile to Israel. It is important to strengthen these bonds and support the Kurdish people in the Middle East.” — Seth J. Frantzman, Adjunct Fellow

FDD Background and Analysis

“Kurdistan Regional Elections Mark a Step Forward for Iraq’ Stability,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Iranian Diplomat Claims Israel Threatens Iran from Iraq,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Turkey to Halt Military Operation in Northern Iraq,” FDD Flash Brief