Israel Can No Longer Afford to Delay a Strategic Alliance with the Kurds
By Maaruf Ataoğlu
The Middle East is undergoing a profound geopolitical rupture.
Iran continues to expand its regional reach through a vast network of militias and proxy forces;
Turkey is openly pursuing a “Neo-Ottoman” strategy while gradually tightening its grip over Kurdish regions;
and Salafi extremism rejects the legitimacy of diverse ethnic and religious communities—most notably the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
Across the region, including Yemen, an estimated 70–75% of the population is positioned against Israel.
A Hostile Demographic Reality
• Shiites: approx. 120–130 million
• Salafi/radical Sunnis: approx. 100 million
• Arab nationalist societies: approx. 200 million
• Turkey: approx. 80 million
Of these roughly 500 million people, 350–400 million hold explicit or implicit hostility toward Israel.
In such an environment, one question demands urgent attention:
Why has a coherent, stabilizing counter-axis still not been established—
and why does it seem there is no political will to build one?
A realistic answer stands directly in front of us:
The Kurds.
If Israel were to build a sincere and strategic alliance with the Kurds, the region’s deep geopolitical imbalance could, at last, be addressed.
Yet Israel has not taken this step decisively.
Israel’s Missed Opportunities with the Kurds
Despite historical connections and declared support, Israel has not yet demonstrated sustained strategic commitment:
• During the 2017 Kurdistan independence referendum, Israel voiced encouragement but retreated at the critical moment under Turkish pressure.
• In Rojava, Israel offered symbolic statements but neither security guarantees nor political backing on the ground.
• Israel facilitated the international rehabilitation of extremist figures such as Colani—via U.S. lobbying circles—while providing barely any diplomatic recognition or support to Kurdish political entities.
• Time and again, Israel has signaled cooperation with the Kurds while simultaneously prioritizing short-term security understandings with Ankara.
This inconsistency has not gone unnoticed.
Unless Israel makes a clear and genuine choice, it may soon be too late for a meaningful partnership with the Kurds.
1. A Stateless Nation of Strategic Weight
With a population of 50–60 million, the Kurds constitute the largest stateless people in the world and the only major nation in the region naturally aligned with Israel’s values and security interests.
They hold de-facto control over northern Syria and key regions of Iraq, and they maintain large communities across Turkey, Iran, and Europe.
The Kurds possess:
• significant natural resources,
• a young demographic profile,
• and, despite internal challenges, more pluralistic social structures than many states in their neighborhood.
They also proved to be the West’s most reliable ground force in the fight against ISIS.
2. Israel: A Technological Power Under Demographic Pressure
Although Israel retains unmatched technological and defensive capabilities,
its population of 9.5 million faces a region increasingly dominated by Iranian militias, Turkish expansionism, and hostile ideological networks.
Both the Kurds and Israel confront:
• similar adversaries,
• similar threats,
• similar geopolitical constraints.
This creates not just compatibility—but necessity.
3. A Kurdish–Israeli Alliance: Strategic Logic, Not Sentiment
A partnership between Israel and the Kurds would not be emotional or symbolic.
It would be rooted in strategic interests.
Energy & Economy
• Kurdish oil and gas can diversify Israel’s energy security.
• Israel’s expertise in water technology, agriculture, and high-tech can accelerate development in Kurdish-controlled regions.
Security & Intelligence
• Israel’s intelligence and cyber capabilities,
• combined with Kurdish battlefield experience and disciplined ground forces,
would form one of the most effective security balances in the region.
Geopolitics
• Empowered Kurdish regions could significantly limit the expansion of Iran and Turkey.
• For the first time, a Western-aligned, pluralistic and democratic axis could emerge in the Middle East.
4. Benefits for the United States and Europe
A Kurdish–Israeli alignment would also serve Western interests:
• Kurdish and Israeli forces could fill the vacuum left by U.S. troop withdrawals.
• Regional conflicts could be contained before turning into refugee crises.
• Democratic actors in the region would be structurally integrated for the first time.
5. Conditions Are Already in Place — What’s Missing Is Political Courage
• Israel has previously declared support for Kurdish self-determination.
• Kurdish oil already reaches Israel indirectly.
• A historic Kurdish–Jewish community provides a natural cultural bridge.
Yet the essential ingredient is still absent:
Genuine political will.
Until now, most steps have been:
• symbolic,
• inconsistent,
• shaped by Ankara’s sensitivities,
• and marked by situations where Kurds bore the cost without receiving strategic returns.
If Israel truly seeks a long-term alliance with the Kurds,
it must abandon this ambivalent and Ankara-centric calculus.
Otherwise, the Kurdish perception of insincerity may become irreversible.
Conclusion: Israel Must Build New Alliances—Before It Is Too Late
In a region defined by authoritarian power struggles and shifting alliances, Israel cannot afford strategic hesitation.
A Kurdish–Israeli partnership:
• is realistic and secular,
• is strategically sound for the entire Middle East,
• and aligns with the long-term interests of Israel, the United States, and Europe.
But before such an alliance can take shape, one question must be answered with absolute sincerity:
**Does Israel genuinely want a strategic partnership with the Kurds
or does it intend to use the Kurds merely as a bargaining chip with Ankara?**
If the answer is not honest and decisive,
this historic opportunity may disappear forever.