Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman described Iraqi Kurdish independence as a fait accompli on Monday but said his country was taking no action to help the Kurds achieve formal statehood. The remarks appeared aimed at heading off potential confrontation with the United States, which wants to keep Iraq united, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced support for Kurdish statehood on Sunday, taking a position that appeared to clash with the U.S. preference to keep sectarian war-torn Iraq united. Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s, seeing in the minority ethnic group a buffer against shared Arab…
Israel told the United States on Thursday Kurdish independence in northern Iraq was a “foregone conclusion” and Israeli experts predicted the Jewish state would be quick to recognize a Kurdish state, should it emerge. Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds since the 1960s, seeing in the minority ethnic group…
Israel voiced concern on Monday at the prospect of its closest ally, Washington, cooperating with its what it considers its deadliest foe, Iran, to stave off a sectarian break-up of Iraq. But, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz told Reuters, the United States and other major powers have pledged that any such cooperation would not…
Yeshiva students pray for safe return of three kidnapped youths With the terrorist kidnapping of three teenagers dominating the news cycle and nearly every private conversation for the past two days, Israelis have had little attention to spare for America’s national agony in Iraq. It’s hard to think of a time when the two nations’…
The Iraqi government is extending the stay of the Iraqi Jewish Archive in the United States. “In order to continue this important work and to allow the exhibit to be displayed in other cities in the United States, the Government of Iraq has authorized me to extend the period which the exhibit may remain in…
School massacres have become so commonplace that they scarcely shock us anymore. And yet, occasionally mayhem invades the sanctity of the classroom in a way that can still puncture our complacency. At these moments we’re reminded how fragile is this thing we call civilization. Such was the case February 10 in a rural schoolroom outside…
Prominent Jewish organizations and a number of senators are calling on the government to renegotiate the return of a trove of Jewish archives that shed light on the once thriving Jewish community in Iraq. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations released a statement earlier today commending the efforts of senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Richard…
