Tweet
Should Israel Arm Kurdish Terrorists?
Jon Wiener
http://www.thenation.com/blog/163464/should-israel-arm-kurdish-terrorists
Jon Wiener on Saturday, September 17, 2011 - 18:03
First came the news that advisors to Israel's foreign minister had
recommended that Israel provide arms for the Kurdish terrorist group
PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party which has been fighting an armed
struggle against Turkey for an autonomous Kurdistan.The idea was for
Israel to punish Turkey for expelling the Israeli ambassador, after
Israel refused to apologize for its raid on the Gaza flotilla, in
which nine Turkish citizens were killed.That news was first revealed
a week ago in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth and then by the
widely-read Haaretz(but never published in the New York Times.)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu `did not deny or confirm the
plan,' according to Haaretz.His office said that Foreign Minister
Avidgor Lieberman was considering only a `theoretical option in case
of an escalation' and that `a decision will be made only and if
necessary.'Netanyahu added that his goal was to improve relations
with Turkey.
Now the head of the PKK has announced the group would not accept
Israeli arms until Israel apologizes for helping the Turkish
government capture the PKK's leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999.
Of course if Israel did arm the PKK, it could be designated a `State
Sponsor of Terrorism' by the US State Department.State Sponsors of
Terrorism, which include Syria, Iran, and Cuba, are subject to
sanctions by the US, including a ban on arms-related exports and
sales, and prohibition of economic assistance by the US.That would
certainly constitute a change in US-Israeli relations.
The same Israeli advisors who recommended arming the PKK suggested a
second way to punish Turkey for expelling the Israeli ambassador:
`offer assistance to the Armenians and file UN reports against Turkey
for violating human rights of Turkey's minorities.'The issue here is
that, to date, Israel has refused to recognize the Armenian genocide -
in deference to the Turkish government, once its closest ally in the
Muslim world.That refusal has been especially galling since Hitler
himself considered the Turks' genocide of the Armenians to provide a
model of sorts for the Third Reich's campaign against the Jews.In
1939, a month before Germany invaded Poland, beginning WWII, Hitler
famously said `Who today speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?'
In conclusion, I offer two modest suggestions: (1) Israel would be
wise not to arm the PKK; (2) truth and justice would be served by
Israel finally recognizing the Turks' genocide of the Armenians.
From: A. Papazian
Jon Wiener
http://www.thenation.com/blog/163464/should-israel-arm-kurdish-terrorists
Jon Wiener on Saturday, September 17, 2011 - 18:03
First came the news that advisors to Israel's foreign minister had
recommended that Israel provide arms for the Kurdish terrorist group
PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party which has been fighting an armed
struggle against Turkey for an autonomous Kurdistan.The idea was for
Israel to punish Turkey for expelling the Israeli ambassador, after
Israel refused to apologize for its raid on the Gaza flotilla, in
which nine Turkish citizens were killed.That news was first revealed
a week ago in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth and then by the
widely-read Haaretz(but never published in the New York Times.)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu `did not deny or confirm the
plan,' according to Haaretz.His office said that Foreign Minister
Avidgor Lieberman was considering only a `theoretical option in case
of an escalation' and that `a decision will be made only and if
necessary.'Netanyahu added that his goal was to improve relations
with Turkey.
Now the head of the PKK has announced the group would not accept
Israeli arms until Israel apologizes for helping the Turkish
government capture the PKK's leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999.
Of course if Israel did arm the PKK, it could be designated a `State
Sponsor of Terrorism' by the US State Department.State Sponsors of
Terrorism, which include Syria, Iran, and Cuba, are subject to
sanctions by the US, including a ban on arms-related exports and
sales, and prohibition of economic assistance by the US.That would
certainly constitute a change in US-Israeli relations.
The same Israeli advisors who recommended arming the PKK suggested a
second way to punish Turkey for expelling the Israeli ambassador:
`offer assistance to the Armenians and file UN reports against Turkey
for violating human rights of Turkey's minorities.'The issue here is
that, to date, Israel has refused to recognize the Armenian genocide -
in deference to the Turkish government, once its closest ally in the
Muslim world.That refusal has been especially galling since Hitler
himself considered the Turks' genocide of the Armenians to provide a
model of sorts for the Third Reich's campaign against the Jews.In
1939, a month before Germany invaded Poland, beginning WWII, Hitler
famously said `Who today speaks of the annihilation of the Armenians?'
In conclusion, I offer two modest suggestions: (1) Israel would be
wise not to arm the PKK; (2) truth and justice would be served by
Israel finally recognizing the Turks' genocide of the Armenians.
From: A. Papazian