TRAVEL

D

ig a hole in Kurdistan,
” our local guide said, “and 
you will find a mass grave, oil or antiquities.
” 
My previous associations with Iraq were Saddam 
Hussein and war, but I landed in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi 
Kurdistan, with an open mind. The Kurds are a nation of 
30 million without a state, straddling the mod-
ern-day borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. 
They are also the fourth largest ethnic group 
in the Middle East, most similar to Persians, 
and speak Kurdish, not Arabic. In fact, I do not 
think I heard Arabic spoken once during my 
entire weeklong visit.
Approximately 5 million Kurds live in an 
autonomous region of Iraq governed by the 
Kurdistan Regional Government, which has been rec-
ognized in the Iraqi Constitution since 2005, following 
Saddam Hussein’s downfall. Although they hold Iraqi pass-
ports and use Iraqi money, the Kurds have their own mil-
itary, known as the Peshmergas, which means “those who 
face death.
”
Unlike their compatriots in southern Iraq, the Kurds gen-
erally hold favorable views toward both the U.S. and Israel, 
albeit complicated. They are grateful to the Americans for 
liberating them from their arch oppressor, Saddam Hussein, 
and to Israel for being the sole country to recognize their 
2017 independence referendum. Last September, more than 
300 prominent Iraqis from across the country gathered at a 
conference in Erbil, calling for the normalization of relations 
with Israel.

A COMPLICATED HISTORY
I was reminded of the Kurds’ complex relationship with 
the U.S. when we visited the Red Prison in Sulaymaniyah. 
Operational from 1979 until 1991, it was the location used 
ABOVE: In the ancient Jewish city of Amadiya. TOP RIGHT: U.S.-supplied 
tanks used against the Kurds on display at the Red Prison in Sulaymaniyah.

A trip to Iraqi Kurdistan.

Digging 
Deep into 
a Troubled 
Past

continued on page 74

Dan 
Brotman

DAN BROTMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

72 | APRIL 14 • 2022 

DAN BROTMAN