Turks, Kurds, and the PKK

By Shoshana Bryen

WASHINGTON, D.C. —The immediate threat of military action may have lessened, but it is still a slow-motion train wreck. If the Kurds of northern Iraq do not quash the PKK, Turkey will and Turkey will be justified. But the fact that Turkey will be justified will in no way lessen the damage to long-term Turkish or Kurdish interests.

JINSA has a long history with both the Kurds of northern Iraq and with Turkey - and we were not surprised to discover that in the period of American protection for the Kurds, Turkey emerged as the primary economic and social interlocutor for the autonomous region of Iraq. The Kurds and the Turks are both open to consensual government and rule of law. Both are entrepreneurial traders. Both are friends of the United States and both have benefited from their association with America.

But we are concerned by the Kurdish attitude toward the activities of the PKK, and the unwillingness to acknowledge that the PKK is a terrorist organization. Kurdish claims that the PKK is comprised of only a few hundred ragtag fighters are untrue, and their proposition for a Turkish amnesty for terrorists is unacceptable. Defenders of the PKK sound like Palestinians who don't want to be associated with Hamas or Fatah or the PIJ, but won't do anything about them. The Kurds vehemently protest is that they are NOT like the Palestinians. But, sadly, now they are.

There are people - Palestinians, Kurds and others - who are terrorists because terrorism advances their goal, whether that goal is the eradication of Israel or the carving out of a Kurdish state in the Republic of Turkey. There are people who kill and maim because whatever they could get from a peaceful modus vivendi between Palestinians and Israelis or Iraqi Kurds and Turkey is not enough for them. They can't be bought off. They can't be bribed out of their belief that violence will either bring them earthly success or heavenly reward. They have to be eradicated. The "other" Palestinians and the "other" Kurds have to accept that as the price of their more reasonable aspirations.

This is bad for Turkey. Having endured PKK terrorism for years and fought an ugly war to win control of their borders, the Turkish government has to consider doing it again.

It is bad for the Kurds. Having endured horrific violence at the hands of Saddam and the fallout from Turkey's war against the PKK, they are facing violence again because they were unable to rein in their terrorists.

And it is really bad for the United States The Kurds of northern Iraq are claiming that the U.S. military has to protect them in the event of Turkish intervention. But our troops cannot be in the position of protecting the PKK. The best we will be able to do is hope Turkey will do it fast, do it with as little collateral damage as possible, but do it for the benefit of all concerned.

It is unfortunate that the Kurds didn't/couldn't control this when it started instead of minimizing it, justifying it and pretending their terrorists were different from anyone else's terrorists. But we may be past the point where that is possible, and none of the remaining options look good.

Bryen is director of special projects for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs.

The Jews 'Down Under'                  By Garry Fabian

●Neo-Nazi concert too close for comfort

MELBOURNE—Members of the Melbourne Jewish community feared for their safety last weekend following warnings from the Community Security Group (CSG) about a skinhead concert "in proximity to areas with a high
Jewish population"

The warnings, which turned out to be unfounded, saw members of the community scared into staying off the streets, with many opting to cancel plans in favour of a night at home.
The concert, organised by the neo-nazi group Blood and Honour did go ahead, but was held at the Melbourne Nights' Soccer club in Sunshine (an outer western suburb). The group's name is derived from the Hitler Youth motto.

B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation executive director Manny Waks said his office was inundated with calls from concerned members of the community. "I can assure you that we had a large number of callers; members of the Jewish community who were anxious and fearful about what might happen over the weekend. I do a number of cases where individuals cancelled plans. On Friday night I know people didn't go
to certain places because they thought they should take greater
caution. We also has a Holocaust survivor phoning the office on Friday afternoon extremely anxious and concerned about what might happen".

The CSG statement was sent to school principals, shul presidents and other community groups advising people to exercise caution: "Walk in groups on Shabbat, keep to well lit, busy roads, walk facing oncoming traffic and avoid walking past cars that have their engines running and people sitting in them".

CSG director Gavin Queit sad he was satisfied with the handling of the event and that the level of risk was sufficient to warrant the warning.

According to its web site bloodandhonouraustralia.org , the
antisemitic, white supremacy group is an "international community of white racialists, promoting the cause of white resistance trough the powerful medium of music"

The organisation's international website feature the call to arms, "Death to the ZOG (Zionist Occupation Government) and a tribute to deceased white supremacist gang leader Dmitry Botovikov, who was killed after resisting arrest  for murder of an African woman in St.Petersburg in 2006.

Melbourne Knights' Soccer Club chairman Mat Tomas expressed deep regret saying that no-one at the club had any idea that a neo-Nazi concert was going ahead. "I would like top apologise to the Jewish community on behalf of the club. They called us up and told us it would be a private function for a birthday for 80 people, and that they would bring their own band. If we had known, there's no way we would have let it go ahead,. No way in the world".



 ● Jewish pilot off to Antarctica

CANBERRA—A Jewish pilot will fly to Antarctica for four months on a scientific mission for the Australian government.

David Wakil, 39, from Sydney will spend the summer facilitating scientific research in one of the most remote areas of the world.

"I have been chasing this job for a year and a half, so I am very excited.  It is a bit difficult to be away for a long time, but it will be amazing to be in a place that most people never see".
 
From October to March Wakil will fly between Tasmania and Antarctica operating the Airbus A319. This service is part of the $46.3 million Australian government Antarctic Air Service.

"The role includes transporting equipment and scientists between bases, as well as any potential medical evacuation for around 120 people" he said.

Wakil was recently presented with a "Jewish survival kit" by Rabbi Levi Wolff of Sydney Central Synagogue.

"The Rabbi was very organised and got me whole lot of stuff to take down, including a tefilat haderech (Traveller's Prayer) that I will wear in my flight suit. He also gave me his own dollar note that he received from the Lubavicher Rebbe, and I'll bring that back with me next year," Wakil said.

Wakil has be a pilot since 1994. He has flown for regional airlines in South Queensland, worked in New Guinea and the Torres Strait, and as a contractor with the Australian Defence Force.


● Bipartisan support for security funding

CANBERRA—The Australian Government has announced tax deductibility for Jewish community security, and the Opposition (Australian Labor Party) has unveiled a $20 million security package for Jewish schools in its election promises.

The government and opposition announcements mark a consensus for providing security for kids at Jewish schools and the beginning of a general process of recognition that the government should be taking some role in supporting people who go to Jewish day schools, which should not have to carry the whole burden of providing the cost of security in these days of rising uncertainty in the community.


● Carl Bernstein tours Australia for JNF

SYDNEY—A Pulitzer Prize-winning author and one of the world's most renowned journalists will be in Australia next month to spearhead the 2007 Jewish National Fund campaign.

Carl Bernstein, who is famous for uncovering the Watergate crisis, will be the JNF's special guest following the last-minute withdrawal of Richard Dreyfuss, who is suffering from pneumonia.

The JNF campaign aims to fund new water resources in Israel's Negev Desert. Functions will take place in Sydney at Randwick Racecourse on November 18 and in Perth at the Vasto Club in Balcatta on November 15. The keynote speaker for the Melbourne event has not yet been announced.

Bernstein, author of a best-selling biography of Hilary Clinton, is expected to speak on the theme "The next American president: Will she be good for Israel?"

Ron Ferster, federal JNF president, was delighted that the
internationally-acclaimed author will be in Australia for the campaign.

"Bernstein has been read by millions, has an amazing international background and a wealth of interesting stories to tell," said Ferster.

Bernstein, who was born in Washington in 1944, became a journalist in 1966 and began working for the Washington Post.

Bernstein won a Pulitzer Prize with Bob Woodward for their Watergate coverage for the Washington Post in 1973. They also co-wrote All the President's Men and The Final Days. With Marco Politi, he wrote His Holiness John Paul II and the History of Our Time.

Bernstein's latest book, A Woman in Charge spans much of Hilary Clinton's life from childhood to the announcement of her presidential candidacy.

He has been a lifelong member of B'nai B'rith, holding various
offices over the years, including being president of its US Northern Region.