A monthly magazine published in the Kurdish autonomous region of Northern Iraq caused a major stir recently when it called on Jews to return to their native land.
The region was once home to over 150,000 Jews who made an important contribution to regional prosperity, said the magazine, which is published in Kurdish and English.
If they were aware of the improved state of security, claims the monthly, they would come flocking back. The publisher, Dawood Baghestani, said the idea occurred to him when he noticed the high-ranking posts many Kurdish Jews have reached in Israel.
The Jews of Kurdistan made aliya en masse after the founding of the state of Israel. Unlike with successive Iraqi governments, Israel maintains very warm and friendly ties with Kurdish leaders, most notably Mullah Mustafa Barzani.
Baghestani, 62, served in the mullah's army, fought against the Iraqi army and even spent ten years of his life locked away in the infamous Abu Ghraib prison. He has visited Israel four times. Baghestani, who headed the human rights commission in the autonomous region, claims the "unjust" conduct of Arab nations caused the Jews to leave Kurdistan and argues that their return would hasten a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"If every Arab country allowed the Jews to return, ensured their safety and gave them back their land," he said, "Palestinian refugees would be able to return to their territory because Israel would not need so much land."
