Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has “great sympathy” for Kurdish aspirations and that the world should concern itself with their wellbeing.
Netanyahu speaks at a memorial ceremony for far-right Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi, assassinated by Palestinians in Jerusalem in 2001.
Ze’evi, he says, went on a secret mission in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region in the 1960s and supervised the setting up of an Israeli army field hospital there.
“The visit made a deep impression on him,” Netanyahu’s office quotes him as saying. “He came face to face with warm expressions of support for Israel which continue to this day.
“The Kurds demonstrate national maturity and international maturity,” he adds.
“We have very great sympathy for their desires and the world needs to concern itself with their safety and with their future.”
Israel has been the only country to openly support Kurdish independence, with Netanyahu last month backing “the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own.”
— AFP
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
