There are moments when history does not whisper. It screams. What is unfolding in northern Syria in recent days is one of those moments. This is not another cycle of violence in the Middle East, not another marginal item buried on the foreign news page. The horror being carried out by the Syrian regime right now is a documented, systematic and brutal persecution of the Kurdish people, a nation that fought for the free world and is now paying the price alone.
The images and testimonies coming from the ground are difficult to absorb. Public humiliation, unchecked violence against women and girls, and acts of revenge aimed not only at bodies but at identity itself. This is terror designed to erase spirit, culture and hope. The al-Joulani regime is not hiding its intentions. It displays them openly, even proudly. And the world? Once again it hesitates, once again it weighs its options, once again it remains silent, as it did before.
1 View gallery
Kurdish forces in the Hasakah area of northeastern Syria
(Photo: Ethan Swope/Getty Images)
In Israel, too, there are voices urging a low profile. That instinct is understandable. We face enough fronts, enough challenges, enough daily concerns. But precisely for that reason, we must not misread the moment. Silence in the face of what is happening to the Kurds is not neutrality. It is, in effect, a dangerous choice of sides. The Kurds are not strangers to us. For years they have been de facto allies of the West. They stood on the front lines against ISIS, suffered heavy losses and physically blocked the expansion of one of the most brutal terrorist organizations the world has known. Now, as enemies reorganize, as Kurdish-run prisons empty of terrorists and jihadist forces regain momentum, they are being abandoned.
This is where the moral dimension comes in, and it is nothing to be ashamed of. Israel is not just another state in the international system. It is a country born out of destruction, with a deep understanding of what happens when the world is busy with its own affairs. Our commitment is to the idea of moral responsibility, not because we are perfect, but because we know what abandonment looks like and how painful its cost can be.
The question is not what the world will do, but who we as the State of Israel choose to be. Silence may be convenient for us right now because of interests that may be important, but the price of silence is always revealed too late
Those who see this as a purely moral issue are missing the larger picture. The dismantling of Kurdish power in northern Syria reshapes the regional threat balance. It opens corridors for jihadist elements, strengthens Iran and its proxies, and pushes danger closer to the Golan Heights. In the Middle East there is no vacuum. When responsible and relatively moderate forces weaken, extremists fill the space. They do not hide it. Their statements are recorded, their alliances are public, and their hatred is directed outward, with a clear focus on Israel. Today it is a Kurdish village. Tomorrow it will be another target.
Israel is not being asked to embark on a military adventure. It is being asked to raise a clear and forceful diplomatic voice. We know how to do this when it matters. To speak sharply, to mobilize partners, to apply pressure and to provide humanitarian assistance wherever possible. This is not an act of weakness or softness. It is an act of responsibility and strength. In the end, the question is not what the world will do, but who we choose to be as the State of Israel. Silence may feel convenient right now because of interests that may well be important. But the price of silence is always revealed too late. History, as we know all too well, does not forgive those who choose to look away.
From a strategic and security perspective as well, standing with the Kurds is not merely a moral gesture. It is a clear national interest. Diplomatic, intelligence and informational support for the Kurds strengthens the moderate axis in the region, signals credibility to potential partners, and makes clear that those who fight terrorism alongside the West will not be abandoned by Israel when the moment of truth arrives. In a Middle East where the memory of abandonment is as powerful as fear of the enemy, that message matters.