Do Kurdish people support Israel or Palestine?
Executive summary
Kurds do not speak with one voice on Israel and Palestine; opinions range from pro-Palestinian solidarity to cautious neutrality and even sympathetic ties toward Israel rooted in historical and strategic interactions [1] [2]. Major Kurdish parties often attempt official neutrality while internal ideological divides—between Islamists, leftists, nationalists, and diaspora communities—produce divergent positions [1] [3].
1. Historical ties and diplomatic threads complicate a simple answer
Kurdish history contains meaningful links to both Jews and Palestinians: large numbers of Iraqi Kurdish Jews migrated to Israel after 1948 and that diaspora shaped early Israeli Kurdish policy, while Kurdish and Palestinian narratives of statelessness and resistance have long been compared by commentators and activists [2] [4]. Those historical connections have translated into diplomatic and political interactions—Israel has historically cultivated ties with Kurdish actors, and Kurdish leaders have at times declared sympathy for Palestinian self-determination—so blanket labels like “pro-Israel” or “pro-Palestine” erase important nuance [2] [5].
2. Official Kurdish party positions tend toward neutrality, but not uniformity
Reporting finds that major Kurdish parties across “greater Kurdistan” publicly adopt neutral stances on the Israel–Palestine conflict even as regional anti-Israel sentiment influences public opinion; parties seek to avoid destabilizing relations with neighboring Arab or Turkish states and to protect Kurdish national projects, which incentivizes official caution [1] [6]. At the same time, individual Kurdish politicians—e.g., figures in the Kurdistan Region—have publicly voiced support for Palestine in certain crises, illustrating that party neutrality coexists with episodic expressions of solidarity [5].
3. Ideology splits Kurdish opinion: Islamists, leftists, and nationalists differ
Religious-identifying Kurds sometimes express Islamist solidarity with Palestinians and support for groups like Hamas, while secular and leftist Kurdish currents often critique both Islamist politics and Zionism and instead emphasize democratic, multi-ethnic solutions in the region [1] [3]. The PKK and its affiliates show this complexity: some PKK founders have declared support for Palestinians, but other PKK statements endorse the right of both peoples to statehood and welcome Arab–Israeli peace efforts, reflecting tactical and ideological divergences within the Kurdish left [6] [7].
4. Geopolitics drives pragmatic alignments and accusations of "Kurd-washing"
Israel’s outreach to Kurds—framed by some analysts as a strategic bid to undermine Turkey or other regional rivals—generates internal debate and external accusations that Israel is cynically leveraging Kurdish suffering for propaganda, a dynamic described as “Kurd-washing” by critics [8] [9]. Conversely, some Arab and Palestinian officials insist Kurds broadly support Palestine and call claims of Kurdish sympathy for Israel “propaganda,” demonstrating competing political narratives about Kurdish loyalties [5] [8].
5. On the ground and in the diaspora: mixed personal views and polarized conversations
Personal testimonies from Kurdish individuals, including diaspora communities, reveal sharply polarized reactions to the Gaza war—some Kurds condemn Palestinian violence and back Israeli actions, while many others denounce Israeli military campaigns and express heartfelt solidarity with Palestinians; journalists and analysts note that these debates can become emotionally charged and mirror broader regional polarization [10] [3]. Observers caution that Kurdish public opinion is shaped by local demographics, proximity to Arab majorities, and the immediate political pressures of living inside Iraq, Syria, Turkey, or Iran, limiting any single answer about “the Kurds” [6] [4].