A historical inquiry into early Kurdish-Israeli contacts: The antecedents of an alliance

Scott Abramson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This study traces the progress of the contacts between Israelis and Kurds-two non-Arab regional minorities intent on selfgovernment and encircled by enemies-in their earliest stage of development, from the two peoples’ first flirtations to the preliminaries of the Israeli-Kurdish entente against Baghdad in the 1960s and 1970s. Irregular in occurrence and anticlimactic in outcome, these early contacts unfolded over three decades in the form of unrequited overtures, dud proposals for cooperation, and stillborn bids for an alliance. Yet for all of these dead-ends, the path along which these early contacts proceeded was, as this article establishes, pursued by the very same Israelis and Kurds, impelled, in turn, by the very same strategic logic, that would lead the two peoples in due course into an alliance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)379-399
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of the Middle East and Africa
Volume9
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Iraq
  • Israel
  • Israeli-Kurdish relations
  • Kamuran Badr Khan
  • Kurds
  • Minorities
  • Morris fisher
  • Reuven Shiloah

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • History
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Political Science and International Relations

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