On November 30, Syrian jihadist forces, mostly a faction of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), unexpectedly seized Aleppo, proceeded toward Homs, and ultimately captured control of Damascus, resulting in the Assad regime’s downfall on December 8. While the majority of Sunni Arab Syrians celebrated the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus and in exile, the Kurds, along with other minoritized Christian and Assyrian communities, engaged in a bloody survival battle with the Turkish state and its army of criminal jihadists, many of whom were recruited from abroad, trained, and mobilized by the Turkish state under the banner of the Syrian National Army (SNA). The international community’s response is limited to rhetoric calling for an end to violent clashes, failing to take any serious action to deter the Turkish regime from its destabilizing policy in Syria.
Israel has been diplomatically engaged with various Western governments to put pressure on Turkey and dissuade it from launching aggressive attacks on the Kurds. The Kurds have welcomed Israel’s engagement and expressed the desire for a strategic partnership with Israel to counter Turkey’s aggressive expansionist policy, colonization of Syrian territories, and a future threat to Israel. Israel may also help the Kurds, pushing the USA and other significant stakeholders for a no-fly zone in northeast Syria or Rojava as part of its diplomatic support. However, any cooperation with Turkey while disregarding the Kurdish desire for a strategic alliance with Israel is shortsighted, naive, and devoid of historical context. A scenario like this would be disastrous for the Kurds, for Israel’s security interests, and for a potential Kurdish-Israeli alliance. Why?
The Turkish regime has been on an expansionist trajectory since the onset of the Syrian civil war. Its objective is to create an Islamist regime like the Ottoman millet system. It is committed to a neo-Ottoman imperialism that aims to create a new Middle Eastern order based on Turkish nationalism and political Islam inspired by Muslim Brotherhood ideology. To that purpose, the Turkish state, which is frequently sponsored by Qatar, has collaborated and coordinated with various jihadist groups, including Al-Qaida, Al-Nusra, and ISIS in Iraq, Libya, Gaza, and Syria. It enabled around 25,000 radical Islamists from all over the world, primarily from European countries, Turkey, Chechnya, and Uzbekistan, to cross the Turkish-Syrian border and join Al-Qaida-linked forces and ISIS. It provided them with weapons, training, and intelligence and thus helped them establish an army of criminals under the SNA’s banner. The Turkish state’s ties to Hamas prior to October 7 through NGOs and lobbying have not remained a secret. Being an epicenter of pro-Hamas activities, Turkey has campaigned for Hamas objectives. It regards Hamas, along with the SNA, HTS, and ISIS jihadists, as the Turkish-led “Sunni Axis’s aspiration to conquer Jerusalem.” In this context, Devlet Bahceli, the head of the ultranationalist party and a staunch coalition partner of Erdogan’s regime, stated last week that “conquering Damascus signifies the conquest of Jerusalem, and Israel should not forget the Ottoman slap in the face in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.” In addition, the Turkish regime has inked a trade pact with the Iranian regime worth $30 billion each year. It remains to be seen whether Turkey, as a part of this deal, will become a new weapon transport corridor connecting Tehran and Beirut. In the past, Turkey helped Iran evade sanctions by moving billions of dollars and a large amount of gold. It is likely that Iran exploited these revenues to fund Hamas and its rackets, used to commit atrocities against Israelis on October 7 and afterwards. The Turkish president personally approved breaking sanctions imposed on Iran. The current Turkish foreign policy minister and the former head of Turkish intelligence, Hakan Fidan, revealed the Israeli elements to Iran in 2013. Thus, the Turkish state has directly and indirectly supported forces that targeted Israel and its interests on various levels. Finally, the intensity of antisemitism in Turkey is unparalleled in any Western society and on par with the most extreme Islamist regimes. The Turkish media, academics, shopkeepers, and regular citizens in Turkish cities openly declare their hatred toward Jews. While many intellectuals assert that the Jews are to blame for all injustices in the region and around the world, shopkeepers display signs specifying that Jews are not permitted to enter their businesses. These feelings do not occur in a vacuum and are not independent of the government’s antisemitic stance. Turkish state institutions, for example, supply Erdogan’s coalition partner, HÜDAPAR, which is represented by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Turkish parliament, with unrestricted resources to stage anti-Jewish rallies in the Kurdish region. The Turkish state has become the main external power, directly colonizing a large swath of north Syria and giving orders on how to rule. Turkish banks, post offices, and municipalities operate in Syria; Turkish teachers teach Turkish to Syrian students; and the Turkish army trains SNA jihadists who commit ethnic cleansing against Kurds, Yezidis, and Christians. The Turkish state indirectly controls Damascus through its influence on HTS. The Turkish regime has previously proclaimed that it will assist HTS in establishing a national army in accordance with Turkish objectives. We should not forget that the HTS’s leader, Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, and many of his followers were inspired by the “Palestinian intifada” against Israel to become jihadists who slaughtered members of other communities in Iraq and Syria. Antisemitism has been a crucial factor in galvanizing and radicalizing al-Jawlani and his associates. Surrounded by this jihadist reality, Israel may suffer repeated October 7 atrocities if the Israeli leadership fails to realize these truths and prioritize short-term interests within the framework of realpolitik. To counter the long-term threat posed by the Turkish-led Sunni Axis’s aspiration to conquer Jerusalem, the Kurds, as an indigenous community with their Yezidi faction and Assyrian, Christian, and Druze communities, provide Israel with not only a bulwark against Islamist and Iranian expansions and possible attacks but also numerous opportunities. These might include energy resources, agricultural products, and, most crucially, the spirit of the Abraham Accords, which symbolize a similar democratic, liberal, secular vision. The Kurdish people, numbering over 50 million, were unable to establish their own sovereign state after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Since then, they have fought tirelessly for their cultural and political rights, as well as a sovereign nation, against abusive pan-Arabist, Iranian, and Turkish regimes. Many lost their lives, and a significant number of others became refugees in various countries around the globe. While most Kurds at least nominally adhere to Sunni Islam, they have faced oppression within Islamic regimes due to their rejection of a culture of misogyny and ethnic and religious intolerance promoted by regimes above. Positively narrated memories of the Jewish community from Kurdistan in Israel demonstrate the Kurds’ rejection of antisemitism throughout history. The Kurds also continue to demonstrate their tolerance and capability by providing other religious minorities in the region, such as the Yazidis and the Assyrian Christians, with stable statehood and protection. The Kurds had their initial contact with Israel in the 1950s through the Barzani movement. In 1980, PKK activists in Syria clashed with the IDF in support of the Palestinians. However, this support was not motivated by deep-seated antisemitism but rather by the material and logistical support required for Kurdish liberation from the Turks. The Kurdish members of the PKK have ceased their actions against Israel, standing firm in their opposition to Turkish policy. Since then, the PKK’s Kurdish members have never engaged in direct hostilities against Israel or expressed antisemitism. The times have changed, and Kurdish forces are battling the antisemitic forces to create a progressive model in the Middle East. With hundreds of thousands of well-trained Peshmerga combatants, the Kurds in Iraq enjoy de facto autonomous status. In Syria, the Kurds, who possess over 100,000 well-experienced fighters in the ranks of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have de facto autonomy, controlling about 30 percent of Syria. The Kurds developed a multi-ethnic and multi-religious paradigm that encourages diversity and women’s empowerment. This model not only reflects the spirit of the Abraham Accords, but it actively promotes that vision. The Kurds, supported by Israel and the United States, will play a critical role in providing Israel with long-term security and filling Israel’s energy shortage from Syria and, potentially, Iraq. Israel’s collaboration with secular and democratic Kurdish entities that reject antisemitism will be a source of enormous optimism not only for Jews and Kurds but also for other marginalized minorities throughout the region. Forging a strategic alliance with the Kurds in Iraq and Syria will boost Israel and protect Kurds from genocide while undermining Turkey’s Sunni Axis. A sustainable and strategic alliance between Israel and the Kurds will transform the entire region, granting the Kurds freedom and stability and primarily promoting peace for the Jews. The alliance may also encompass a democratic Turkey that is devoid of political Islam and unpredictable Jihadists. This strategic and enduring alliance is the aspiration of the Kurds in the Middle East and the Diaspora. Israel, as the regional leader of the Middle East, possesses the capacity and influence to advocate for this alliance and its project. Kurdish forces, including factions affiliated with Iraqi Kurds, Syrian Kurds, and Turkish Kurds, will immediately embrace this spirit and follow discourses, agendas, and attitudes in the line of the Abraham Accords.