Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Israel must help the Yazidis



by David Baron


It seems there is no one who has not seen the footage of Iraqi parliament member Vian Dakhil's tearful breakdown.

Addressing the Iraqi parliament, Dakhil, a member of the Yazidi ethnic group, pleaded: "Mr. Speaker, under the slogan of 'there is no god but Allah' … We are being slaughtered, annihilated."

She continued: "Five hundred Yazidi boys and men have been slaughtered up to now. ... Our women are being taken captive and sold on the slave-market. ... Please, brothers. ... Please, brothers. ... A genocide campaign is taking place right now against the Yazidis. ... Brothers, despite all the political disagreements, we want human solidarity. I speak in the name of humanity. Save us!" Dakhil cried until collapsing. 

Even though her words received attention in Israel, it seems that until now only one aspect of the methodical extermination of the Yazidi ethnic group by Islamic State group (ISIS) barbarians has been of interest here: putting the crimes of Islamic terror on display, from Iraq to Gaza. But the annihilation of the Yazidis -- ethnic Kurds who adhere to a particular, ancient religion -- requires a different approach. 

Why, for example, should we not grant a tiny handful asylum, even temporarily? A few days ago Australia announced it would grant 4,000 refugee visas to Iraqi Yazidis. Israel can offer less. After all, this is not a dubious instance of illegal migrants from Sudan, rather a clear and documented case of genocide. Incidentally, there have been precedents: In the late 1970s Israel granted asylum to hundreds of Vietnamese refugees, and in the late 90s to those who sought refuge from the bloodshed in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Moreover, The United States has already bombed ISIS positions. It is reasonable to assume it will be joined by others. It is fitting and appropriate that the Israeli air force also play a role. People will likely argue that Israeli military aid will jeopardize the Yazidis and lead to increased violence against them -- indeed, in the Middle East Israel is not seen as a desirable ally, at least not openly.

However, according to reports from the field, the Yazidis are in such dire straits that it is doubtful they can refuse any offers of help. Their situation cannot get worse. Additionally, we are not talking about a Muslim faction that can suffer from being identified with Israel. 

Beyond all this, there should be no concern that helping the Yazidis will open a front against ISIS, because even if a front does not exist directly it already exists in theory: Anyone who does not adhere to the ideology eschewed by ISIS is a target regardless -- Yazidis, Jews, Christians, Shiites or Sunnis. By taking action to help the Yazidis and against ISIS, even if it is only symbolic in nature, Israel will join the most worthy of coalitions: The fight against barbarism, which sentences to death all that are different. These are horrific deaths as well, by beheadings, crucifixions and stoning. To paraphrase the documentary film by Haim Hecht: This is a rare opportunity for just one flight -- for their sake. 

This is not merely a humane measure. Israel, as we know, does not have an abundance of friends in the region. Perhaps, as recently alluded to by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that new alliances are taking shape behind the scenes of Operation Protective Edge, we have an opportunity to exhibit a sense of neighborliness, lend our hand, and who knows, maybe make new allies as well. In the same breath Israel would add another important page to its impressive humanitarian record. This is the time to act, and the sooner the better.


David Baron

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=9689

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

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