Jews of Kurdistan in Jerusalem
Last Wednesday, I attended an event in the House of Commons, entitled Jews of Kurdistan in Jerusalem. Prior to receiving the invitation, I didn’t know there were Kurdish Jews and my interest was piqued. I did know, however, that Kurds are not affiliated with The Muslim Brotherhood, are generally peaceful, and have been persecuted by ISIS alongside the Yazidis in Iraq. I was also aware that just recently the Kurds of Syria had reached out to Israel asking for protection from the Turkish backed Syrian militias.
It was the first time I had stepped inside the House of Commons, through its grand entrance halls to ascend its majestic staircases, and then along a corridor to a relatively small conference room that was packed to the hilt. The meeting was delayed because there was another twenty-five people waiting outside who could not be squeezed in, but luckily a larger chamber was soon found that was more fitting to the unexpected large attendance.
There were five eminent speakers hosted by the chair Lyn Julius. They were Yehuda Ben Yosef (President of the Jewish Community of Kurdistan in Israel, Dr Weysi Dag, Prof. Ofra Bengio and Edwin Shuker.
Each speaker addressed the audience with their unique experience of working with the Kurdish community and the Jewish Kurdish community in Israel. Although each speaker’s discourse was interesting and informative, the relationship between Jews and Kurds came alive for me during Edwin Shuker’s narration about his own experience, as a boy, when he and his family had to flee Iraq and it was a Kurdish man who could relate to their predicament and risked his own life to drive them to safety.
However, although there is relatable affection between Jews and Kurds - both victims of Islamist persecution - it is not always possible for one to help the other as was highlighted when the discussion was thrown open to questions from the audience. A woman stood up and vented her frustration and upset as to the fact that the Kurds in Syria had recently reached out to Israel. She wanted to know why Israel isn’t helping them. It was Yehuda Ben Yosef who answered her question, letting her know that Israel is fighting a war for its own survival on seven/eight fronts right now and it is simply not feasible for them to come to the rescue of anyone else. He advised that Kurds start building a network of charitable organisations around the world, so that when Kurds are in trouble in the future they can reach out to them.
Another memorable question was asked by a young man about the important preservation of Aramaic; someone answered that Hebrew is Aramaic.
To finish the evening Ilan Eliya, an Israeli singer of Kurdish descent sang a song to the rhythm of the audience clapping.
As I left the room, there was a big buzz of people crowding around the speakers and elsewhere strangers only moments before, were talking excitedly to each other. Such a memorable and informative evening. I do hope the positive seeds sewn will grow into productive roots, then flowers in bloom.
You can read more about Kurdistan and the Jews of Kurdistan here.
Thank you for reading.
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