Saturday, November 22, 2008

Monday, October 20, 2008

گروپی كامكاران موزیك و گۆرانی كوردیان له‌ تاران پێشكه‌ش كرد


Peyamner PNA- مه‌نسوور جیهانی/ تاران ـ كۆنسێرتی گروپی موزیكی كامكاران به‌ سه‌رپه‌رشتیاری هوشه‌نگ كامكار و به‌ ده‌نگی هونه‌رمه‌ندی گۆرانیبێژ ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، به‌ زمانی كوردی و فارسی له‌ شه‌وه‌ی یه‌كه‌می نۆیه‌مین جه‌ژنی ماڵی موزیكی ئێران له‌ ته‌لاری گه‌وره‌ی وه‌زاره‌تی كیشوه‌ر له‌ شاری تاران به‌ڕێوه‌چوو.

به‌ پێی راپۆڕتی تایبه‌تی به‌شی هونه‌ری ئاژانسی هه‌واڵی په‌یامنێر له‌ شاری تاران، كۆنسێرتی گروپی موزیكی كامكاران به‌ سه‌رپه‌رشتیاری هونه‌رمه‌ندی موزیكزانی كورد هوشه‌نگ كامكار و به‌ گۆرانیبێژ هونه‌رمه‌ند ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار و به‌ هاوخوانی هونه‌رمه‌ندان سه‌با كامكار و مریه‌م ئیبراهیم پوور به‌ زمانی كوردی و فارسی له‌ شه‌وه‌ی یه‌كه‌می نۆیه‌مین جه‌ژنی ماڵی موزیكی ئێران له‌ ته‌لاری گه‌وره‌ی وه‌زاره‌تی كیشوه‌ر له‌ شاری تاران به‌ڕێوه‌چوو.

گروپی موزیكی كامكاران له‌ كۆنسێرتی جه‌ژنی ماڵی موزیكی ئێران به‌ بێ به‌شداری هونه‌رمه‌ندی گۆرانیبێژی كورد بیژه‌ن كامكار به‌رنامه‌كه‌یان پێشكه‌ش كرد، بیژه‌ن كامكار ماوه‌یه‌ك پێش ئێستا به‌هۆی خوێن به‌ربوون له‌ گه‌ده‌ی له‌ نه‌خۆشخانه‌ی پاریسی تاران خه‌وێندراو پاشان له‌ لایه‌ن دكتۆر ساڵح نه‌شته‌رگه‌ریه‌كی سه‌ركه‌وتووی بۆ ئه‌نجامدرا و ئێستا دوایین قۆناغی چاكبوونه‌وه‌ی تێپه‌ڕ ده‌كات. هه‌رو وه‌كوو خاتوو سه‌با كامكار له‌ سه‌ره‌تای كۆنسێرته‌كه‌یاندا ئاماژه‌ی پێدا مامه‌ بیژه‌ن كامكار به‌ ده‌نگی به‌سۆزی خۆی و هه‌روه‌ها ژه‌نینی ئامێری ده‌ف و روباب له‌ كۆنسێرتی دوو مانگی داهاتوودا گروپی كامكاران له‌ فیستیڤاڵی نه‌ته‌وه‌كان، گروپه‌كه‌ هاوڕێیه‌تی ده‌كات.

له‌ به‌شی یه‌كه‌می كۆنسێرتی جه‌ژنی موزیكی ئێران، گروپی كامكاران جلوبه‌رگی سپییان له‌ به‌ر دابوو به‌ زمانی فارسی به‌رنامه‌كه‌یان پێشكه‌ش كرد و له‌ به‌شی دووه‌میشدا به‌ جلوبه‌رگی رازاوه‌ی كوردی، چه‌ندین گۆرانی كوردیان پێشكه‌ش كرد.

له‌ به‌شی یه‌كه‌مدا، گروپی كامكاران چه‌ندین گۆرانی فارسیان له‌ ده‌زگای شووردا پێشكه‌ش كرد، له‌وانه‌:
ـ "بیابان بیكران" واته‌ "بیابانی بێكۆتایی"، ئاوازدانه‌ر: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، شێعر:
مه‌ولانا، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، هاوخوان: سه‌با كامكار.

ـ له‌م به‌شه‌دا هونه‌رمه‌ندی موزیكزانی كورد ئه‌رده‌وان كامكار به‌ ئامێری سه‌نتوور به‌ شێوه‌یه‌كی پسپۆڕانه‌ و شاره‌زایانه‌ و به‌ لێهاتووییه‌كی ته‌واوه‌وه‌ تاكژه‌نی كرد و سه‌رنجی بینه‌رانی بۆلای خۆی راكێشا كه‌ ماوه‌یه‌كی زۆر به‌ چه‌پڵه‌ پێشوازیان لێكرد.

ـ "خانه‌ام ابری است" "واته‌ "ماڵه‌كه‌م هه‌ورییه‌"، ئاوازدانه‌ر: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، شێعر: "نیما یوشیج"، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، هاوخوان: مریه‌م ئیبراهیم پوور.
له‌م پارچه‌ موزیكه‌شدا هه‌ر وه‌كوو به‌شه‌كانی دیكه‌ ته‌واوی گروپ له‌ میانه‌ی ئاوازه‌كه‌دا به‌یه‌كه‌وه‌ هاوخوانیان ده‌كرد.

ـ له‌م به‌شه‌دا هونه‌رمه‌ند ئه‌رده‌شیر كامكار به‌ ئامێری كه‌مانچه‌ تاكژه‌نی كرد و مێلۆدییه‌كی حه‌زینی پێشكه‌ش كرد و له‌ درێژه‌دا ئه‌رژه‌نگ كامكار به‌ ئامێری زه‌رب هاوڕێیه‌تی كرد و پێكه‌وه‌ ژه‌نینی دوو قۆڵیان به‌ جوانی پێشكه‌ش كرد كه‌ سه‌رنجی دانیشتوانی ناو ته‌لاره‌كه‌ی بۆ لای خۆی راكێشا.

ـ "در فراق" واته‌ "له‌ هێجران"دا، ئاوازدانه‌ر: هووشه‌نگ كامكار، شێعر: په‌یام به‌كتاش، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، هاوخوان: سه‌با كامكار.

ـ "به‌ یاد مادر" واته‌ "به‌ یادی دایك" (به‌ یادی خاتوو زه‌مانه‌ به‌هرامیان ـ دایكی كامكاران)، ئاوازدانه‌ر: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، شێعر: عه‌مه‌ری خه‌یام، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، هاوخوان: مریه‌م ئیبراهیم پوور.

له‌ كۆتایی به‌شی فارسی كۆنسێرته‌كه‌ ته‌واوی ئه‌ندامانی گروپی كامكاران سه‌حنه‌ی كۆنسێرته‌كه‌یان به‌ جێی هێشت و پاش پشوودانێكی 30 خوله‌كی، ئه‌ندامانی گروپی موزیكی كامكاران به‌ جلوبه‌رگی رازاوه‌ی كوردی، بۆ پێشكه‌ش كردنی به‌شی كوردی كۆنسێرته‌كه‌ هاتنه‌ سه‌ر سه‌حنه‌ی تالاری گه‌وره‌ی وه‌زاره‌تی كیشوه‌ر.

له‌ به‌شی دووه‌می ئه‌م كۆنسێرته‌دا كه‌ تایبه‌ت بوو به‌ موزیكی كوردی، چه‌ندین گۆرانی و پارچه‌ موزیكی كوردی پێشكه‌ش كرا، له‌وانه‌:

ـ "هه‌ی مه‌رۆ مه‌رۆ"، ئاوازدانه‌ر: هوشه‌نگ كامكار، شێعر: فۆلكلۆر، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، له‌م به‌شه‌دا ئه‌ندامانی گروپ له‌ هه‌ندێك شوێن ده‌ستیان له‌ ئامێره‌كانیان به‌ر ده‌داو به‌ چه‌پڵه‌ ریتمی ئاوازه‌كه‌یان راده‌گرت و دانیشتوانی ناو هۆڵه‌كه‌ش هه‌ر به‌م شێوه‌یه‌ ئه‌وانیان هاوڕێیه‌تی ده‌كرد.

ـ "هۆی سیا ماڵه‌"، ئاوازدانه‌ر: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار.

ـ "ئازیزم تۆ گوڵه‌كه‌می"، دابه‌شكردنی موزیك: هووشه‌نگ كامكار، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار.

ـ "كابوكێ و شلێره‌"، ئاواز: "فۆلكلۆر"، دابه‌شكردنی موزیك: هووشه‌نگ كامكار، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار.

ـ "دڵ شكاو"، شێعر: "نالی"، ئاوازدانه‌ر: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار.

ـ "تارای گوڵ"، "، ئاوازدانه‌ر: "ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار"، شێعر: مه‌وله‌وی، به‌ ده‌نگی: ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار، ئه‌م ئاوازه‌ به‌ هاوخوانی و پێكه‌وه‌ژه‌نینی گروپ و به‌ منداڵه‌ چكۆله‌كه‌ی ئه‌رده‌شیر كامكار خاتوو "تارا كامكار" پێشكه‌ش كرا.

له‌م به‌شه‌دا كۆنسێرتی گروپی موزیكی كامكاران كۆتایی پێهات و ئاماده‌بووانی ناو هۆڵی گه‌وره‌ی وه‌زاره‌تی كیشوه‌ر به‌ چه‌پڵه‌ و پێشكه‌ش كردنی چه‌پكه‌ گوڵ پێشوازییان له‌ گروپه‌كه‌ كرد و كامكاران له‌ نێوان چه‌پڵه‌لێدانی ئاماده‌بوواندا هۆڵه‌كه‌یان به‌ جێی هێشت و دیسان خه‌ڵكی به‌ چه‌پڵه‌ هه‌ر پێشوازیان لێكردن تاكوو گروپه‌كه‌ هاته‌وه‌ سه‌ر سه‌حنه‌ و به‌ ده‌نگی به‌ سۆزی ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار گۆرانی "خۆشه‌ هه‌ورامان"یان پێشكه‌ش كرد و به‌م شێوه‌یه‌ كۆنسێرتی موزیكی كامكاران له‌ نۆیه‌مین جه‌ژنی ماڵی موزیكی ئێران كۆتایی پێهات.

ئه‌ندامانی گروپی موزیكی كامكاران له‌ كۆنسێرتی جه‌ژنی ماڵی موزیكی ئێران بریتی بوون له‌: هوشه‌نگ كامكار ـ سه‌رپه‌رشتی گروپ و ئاوازدانه‌ر، په‌شه‌نگ كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی سه‌نتوور، ئه‌رسه‌لان كامكار ـ ئاوازدانه‌ر، گۆرانیبێژ و ئامێرژه‌نی عود، قه‌شه‌نگ كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی سێ تار، ئه‌رژه‌نگ كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی زه‌رب، ئه‌رده‌شیر كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی كه‌مانچه‌، ئه‌رده‌وان كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی سه‌نتوور، هانا كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی ده‌ف، نه‌یریز كامكار ـ ئامێرژه‌نی تار، سه‌با كامكار ـ هاوخوان، ئه‌میر حه‌قیری ـ ئامێرژه‌نی ده‌ف و مریه‌م ئیبراهیم پوور ـ هاوخوان.

فڕۆکه‌یه‌کی ئه‌رته‌شی تورک له‌ کاتی هێرش و بۆمباران له‌ لایه‌ن گه‌ریلاکانی ئازادیخواز که‌وته‌ خواره‌وه‌ / تازه‌ کراوه‌ته‌وه‌


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ئه‌رته‌شی داگیرکه‌ری تورک، جارێکی دیکه‌ له‌ ئه‌نجامی شه‌ڕخوازی و هێرشکه‌ری و ئۆپێڕاسیۆنه‌کانی خۆی دا، زه‌ربه‌ی گرانی پێ ده‌که‌وێت.

فرۆکه‌یه‌کی جه‌نگی ئه‌رته‌شی تورک له‌جۆری ئیف 16 دوینێ له‌کاتی بۆردومان کردنی هه‌رێمی خاکۆرکیی باشوری کوردستان دا ، له‌لایه‌ن هێزه ‌فرۆکه‌شکێنه‌کانی گه‌ریلاکانی HPG ‌خرایه خواره‌وه‌.


له‌ دوای ئه‌وه‌ که‌ ماوه‌ی چه‌ند روژێکه‌ فڕوکه‌ جه‌نگیه‌کانی ئه‌رته‌شی تورکیه‌ هه‌رێمه‌کانی پاراستنی مه‌دیا بۆمباران ده‌که‌ن، دوێنێ کاتژمێر 3ی نیوه‌ڕۆ ، فرۆکه‌یه‌کی جه‌نگی ئه‌رته‌شی تورک له‌جۆری ئیف 16 له‌ کاتی بۆمباران کردنی هه‌رێمی خواکورکی باشوری کوردستان ، له‌لایه‌ن هێزه‌کانی ‌فرۆکه‌شکێنی گه‌ریلاکانی هێزه‌کانی پاراستنی گه‌ل، HPG، ‌خرایه خواره‌وه‌.

زانرا که ‌فرۆکه‌که ‌له‌ده‌شتی حه‌یات که‌وتۆته‌خواره‌وه‌.
جی ئاماژه‌یه‌ که‌ حه‌فته‌ی ڕابردووش هه‌لیکۆپته‌رێکی جوری سکورسکی له‌ لایه‌ن گه‌ریلاکانی HPG‌وه‌ له‌ باکووری کوردستان به‌ردرابووه‌ خواره‌وه‌.

جێ ئاماژه‌یه‌ که‌ هه‌واڵی که‌وتنه‌ خواره‌وه‌ی فڕوکه‌ تورکیه‌که‌ له‌ لایه‌ن ئاژانسی ئه‌نادوڵی تورکه‌وه‌
پشت راست کرایه‌وه‌.

له‌ هه‌مانکات دا ناوه‌ندی ڕاگه‌یاند و چاپه‌مه‌نی هیزه‌کانی پاراستنی گه‌ل ڕایگه‌یاند، ژووماره‌یه‌ک له‌ فڕۆکه‌کانی ئه‌رته‌شی تورک، له‌ دوێنێ به‌یانییه‌وه‌ هاتوونه‌ته‌ سه‌ر هه‌رێمه‌کانی پاراستنی میدیا.
فڕۆکه‌کانی تورک کاتژمێر 3 هه‌وڵیان داوه‌ چیاکانی خنێره‌ بۆمباران بکه‌ن، به‌ڵام له‌ کاتی وڵامدانه‌وه‌ و به‌ره‌نگاری هێزه‌کانی فڕۆکه‌شکێنی گه‌ریلا، یه‌کێک له‌ فڕۆکه‌کانی تورک له‌ جۆری ئێف شازده‌، لێی دراوه‌ و به‌ردراوه‌ته‌وه‌.

زاندراوه‌ فڕۆکه‌که‌ دوای ئه‌وه‌ی که‌ فیشه‌کی فڕۆکه‌شکێنه‌کانی گه‌ریلای به‌ر ده‌که‌وێت، ئاگری تێبه‌ر ده‌بێت و به‌ره‌و باکوری کوردستان ده‌گه‌ڕیته‌وه‌ و له‌ ئه‌نجام دا له‌ سه‌ر چیاکانی شه‌مزینان ده‌که‌وێته‌ خوار و ده‌ته‌قێته‌وه‌.

هه‌په‌گه‌ هه‌روه‌ها باس له‌وه‌ش ده‌کات که‌ له‌ ئه‌نجامی هێرشه‌کان و بۆمبارانی فڕۆکه‌کانی تورکیا له‌ هه‌رێمه‌که‌، گه‌ریلاکانی ئه‌وان هیچ زیانێکی گیانیان به‌ر نه‌که‌وتووه‌، به‌ڵام له‌ هه‌مان کات دا زیانیکی به‌رچاوی ماددی و سرووشتی له‌ زه‌وی و زاری گوندنشینه‌کانی هه‌رێمه‌که‌ که‌وتووه‌ و زیادتر له‌ 50 سه‌ر مه‌ڕ و ماڵاتی گوندیه‌کان له‌ ناو چوون.

هه‌مێستاکه‌ش گه‌ریلاکانی ئازادیخوازی کورد، له‌ هه‌وڵی ده‌ستنیشان کردنی ڕاده‌ی ئه‌و زیانه‌نه‌ن که‌ به‌ هۆی هێرش و بۆمبارانه‌کانی فڕۆکه‌کانی تورک، له‌ خه‌ڵکی گونده‌کانی باشووری کوردستان که‌وتووه‌


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Monday, October 13, 2008

Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel


Kurdish Jewish Community in Israel

An ancient (and not completly agreed upon) tradition relates that the Jews of Kurdistan are the descendants of the Ten Tribes from the time of the Assyrian exile (6th century BCE). The first to mention this was Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, the 12the century traveler who visited Kurdistan in about 1170 and found more than 100 Jewish communities who still spoke Aramaic. The traveler Benjamin the Second, who visited Kurdistan in 1848, also mentioned this tradition and added that the Nestorian (Assyrian) tribes were also descendants of the Ten Tribes and that they practiced some Jewish customs. During the Second Temple era, the kingdom of Abiabene was situated in this region; its inhabitants, together with their king, Monobaz, and his mother Helena, converted to Judaism in the middle of the first century, and it is likely that some Kurdish Jews today are descendants of these proselytes.

In recent centuries, the economic situation of Jews in Kurdistan was difficult and their living conditions highly instable. They were largely cut off from the outside world, but were known for their strength and sturdiness. Those living in cities engaged in commerce and crafts, while those dwelling in the mountains engaged in farming. Their religious life was centered around the synagogue and talmud torah (religious school). Like the Nestorians in the area, they spoke an Aramaic spiced with Turkish, Persian, Kurdish, Arabic and Hebrew words, which they called “the language of the Targum” (the Aramaic translation of the Bible) and which the Arabs call jabali, or “the language of the mountains.” In the 20th century, the urban Jews of Kurdistan adopted Arabic as their principle language, but those in the mountains continued to use Aramaic.

Immigration to the Land of Israel began as early as the 16th century, with the first immigrants from Kurdistan settling in Safed. In the 20th century, Kurdish immigrants arrived in the 1920s and 30s and by 1948 there were some 8,000 Kurds in the country. After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, almost all the Jews of the Iraqi Persian and Turkish parts of historic Kurdistan were airlifted to the new state in 1950-51 in an operation known as “Magic Carpet.” They settled in many towns and villages, with the largest number living in and around Jerusalem. Few had any formal education; many continued to engage in agriculture. Initially they had a rather low public image and there were the brunt of many jokes.

Today, the Kurdish Jewish population in Israel is over 150,000, with the largest concentration in and around Jerusalem. The immigrants in the early days of the state were largely traditional, as there had been no process of secularization in Kurdistan. Today, the majority of young Kurdish Jews are educated and secular, define themselves as “Israeli” rather than Kurdish, and have abandoned many traditional Kurdish customs. Only the elderly still speak Aramaic and/or Arabic, while the younger generations have adopted Hebrew as their principal language. Fifty years ago most of the Kurdish Jews in Israel married within their community; today most young Kurds marry members of other ethnic Jewish communities. In recent years, many Kurdish Jews have achieved high positions in the army and civil service, among them the former Minister of Defense, Yitzhak Mordechai.

One tradition that many Kurds, including many young people, still maintain is the celebration of the Saharana. Although the central focus of this uniquely Kurdish festival is the transition from winter to spring, only the Iranian Kurds hold their Sharana celebrations in the spring during the intermediate week of Passover. All the others celebrate in the intermediate week of Sukkoth, which is in the fall. Kurds from all over the country gather in one village and spend an entire day in nature, dancing, singing, drinking and consuming great quantities of traditional Kurdish dishes, including kubah, chicken stuffed with minced meat, grape leaves and lentils
http://israeli-kurdish-friendship-league.blogspot.com/2008/07/kurdish-jewish-community-in-israel.html

Iraq's Kurdish Jews visit their Kurdish hometowns

Iraq's Kurdish Jews visit their Kurdish hometowns


[An old brick house in Jewlakan, the old Jewish quarter of the Kurdish city of Suleymaniyah. ]



[Haji Abdullah Salah has run a small shop with his wife, Ameen Abdullah Kadr, out of the ground floor of an old brick house in Suleymaniyah's "Jewlakan" neighborhood ]

Iraq's Kurdish Jews Cautiously Return to Homeland
by
Ivan Watson


Ivan Watson, NPR
Haji Abdullah Salah has run a small shop with his wife, Ameen Abdullah Kadr, out of the ground floor of an old brick house in Suleymaniyah's "Jewlakan" neighborhood since 1951.

Ivan Watson, NPR
All Things Considered, December 8, 2007 ·
ANDREA SEABROOK, host:
For the last 50 years, Iraq and Israel have been sworn enemies - part of the broader Arab-Israeli conflict; one of the casualties of this conflict - the ancient Jewish community in Iraq, which emigrated en masse in 1951. This exodus included most of the Jews who were natives of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. Unlike their Arab counterparts, Iraqi Kurds tend to be less suspicious of their former Jewish neighbors.
As NPR's Ivan Watson reports, Jewish Kurds have begun making discreet return visits to Kurdistan.
IVAN WATSON: Lana was a teenager when her family emigrated from Kurdistan. It was 1994, Saddam Hussein had recently lost control of northern Iraq, and rival Kurdish militias were battling each other to fill the power vacuum. Lana's family traveled over land to neighboring Turkey with a dozen other Kurdish families of Jewish origin. Lana says the voyage was a closely guarded secret, organized and financed by Israel, which was soon to become her new home.
LANA: (Through translator) They told us not to tell anyone we were leaving. To avoid giving away our plans, they even warned us not to sell off our property.
WATSON: Until their departure, Lana's family survived in Iraq by telling people they were Muslim converts. Today, Lana is 28 years old. She has long, red-tinted hair and a small nose ring, and she's a citizen of Israel who speaks Hebrew and Kurdish fluently. Last year, Lana returned for the first time in more than a decade to live here in Kurdistan with her new husband, an Iraqi Muslim Kurd named Hano. He says the two met in Europe and fell in love.
HANO: (Foreign language spoken)
WATSON: I didn't think twice about marrying a Jewish woman, Hano says. My parents always told me stories about how much they liked their old Jewish neighbors.
Unlike the Arab majority in central and southern Iraq, the Kurds of northern Iraq don't tend to see Jews or Israel as sworn enemies. In the 1960s, Israel's Mossad intelligence agency provided equipment and training to Kurdish rebels who were battling the government in Baghdad. To this day, locals call a neighborhood of old sagging brick houses in the Kurdish city of Suleymaniyah, Jewlakan.
This used to be the Jewish quarter of the city. An old Kurdish shopkeeper named Haji Abdullah Salah says it was a sad day when almost all the Jews left town.
Mr. HAJI ABDULLAH SALAH (Shopkeeper): (Through translator) The government ordered them to leave at that time and they shouldn't take anything except their own clothes.
WATSON: Before locking up his shop to go answer the Muslim call to prayer, Haji Abdullah added that the last Jew in Jewlakan was a man they called Shalomo who stayed behind long after the others had left. Locals say Shalomo died here in Suleymaniyah a few years ago.
(Soundbite of chanting)
WATSON: Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, there has been a trickle of Kurdish Jews making discreet return visits from Israel to the land of their birth. Seventy-one-year-old Kak Ziad Aga says a Jewish classmate from his childhood recently got a warm welcome during a return visit to the Kurdish town of Koya Sinjak.
Mr. KAK ZIAD AGA: (Through translator) It was a really exciting moment after 50 years to see my classmate again.
WATSON: Ziad Aga says he doesn't see any problem in allowing Kurdish Jews to come back to Kurdistan, but the subject is extremely sensitive for the Kurdish authorities. They are frequently accused by Arab media and Iraqi insurgent groups of collaborating with Israel, charges the Kurdistan leadership denies.
As for Lana and Hano, the young Israeli Kurdish couple, they asked that their full names not be broadcast for fear of becoming targets, but the young bride is clearly proud of her mixed heritage.
LANA: (Foreign language spoken)
WATSON: Above all, Lana says, I consider myself a Kurd - an Israeli Kurd.
Ivan Watson, NPR News

A trip to Kurdistan of a Jew originally from Zakho

A trip to Kurdistan of a Jew originally from Zakho

This is a short video describing the visit to Zakho, Iraqi Kurdistan, after 58 years, of Mr. Saleh Zaken, a resident of Jerusalem and a native of Zakho. The Jews of Zakho as all the Jews of Kurdistan, have left Iraqi Kurditan in 1951-52 and migrated to Israel. Recently, some of them thave been taking trips to their old country to see the land and meet friends.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7W6Bt2Hynlc&eurl=http://israeli-kurdish-friendship-league.blogspot.com/2008/07/2007.html

The Genetic Bonds Between Kurds and Jews"

The Genetic Bonds Between Kurds and Jews"
by Kevin Alan Brook
Kurds are the Closest Relatives of Jews
In 2001, a team of Israeli, German, and Indian scientists discovered that the majority of Jews around the world are closely related to the Kurdish people -- more closely than they are to the Semitic-speaking Arabs or any other population that was tested. The researchers sampled a total of 526 Y-chromosomes from 6 populations (Kurdish Jews, Kurdish Muslims, Palestinian Arabs, Sephardic Jews, Ashkenazic Jews, and Bedouin from southern Israel) and added extra data on 1321 persons from 12 populations (including Russians, Belarusians, Poles, Berbers, Portuguese, Spaniards, Arabs, Armenians, and Anatolian Turks). Most of the 95 Kurdish Muslim test subjects came from northern Iraq. Ashkenazic Jews have ancestors who lived in central and eastern Europe, while Sephardic Jews have ancestors from southwestern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. The Kurdish Jews and Sephardic Jews were found to be very close to each other. Both of these Jewish populations differed somewhat from Ashkenazic Jews, who mixed with European peoples during their diaspora. The researchers suggested that the approximately 12.7 percent of Ashkenazic Jews who have the Eu 19 chromosomes -- which are found among between 54 and 60 percent of Eastern European Christians -- descend paternally from eastern Europeans (such as Slavs) or Khazars. But the majority of Ashkenazic Jews, who possess Eu 9 and other chromosomes, descend paternally from Judeans who lived in Israel two thousand years ago. In the article in the November 2001 issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics, Ariella Oppenheim of the Hebrew University of Israel wrote that this new study revealed that Jews have a closer genetic relationship to populations in the northern Mediterranean (Kurds, Anatolian Turks, and Armenians) than to populations in the southern Mediterranean (Arabs and Bedouins).
A previous study by Ariella Oppenheim and her colleagues, published in Human Genetics in December 2000, showed that about 70 percent of Jewish paternal ancestries and about 82 percent of Palestinian Arabs share the same chromosomal pool. The geneticists asserted that this might support the claim that Palestinian Arabs descend in part from Judeans who converted to Islam. With their closer relationship to Jews, the Palestinian Arabs are distinctive from other Arab groups, such as Syrians, Lebanese, Saudis, and Iraqis, who have less of a connection to Jews.
A study by Michael Hammer et al., published in PNAS in June 2000, had identified a genetic connection between Arabs (especially Syrians and Palestinians) and Jews, but had not tested Kurds, so it was less complete.
Many Kurds have the "Jewish" Cohen Modal Haplotype
In the 1990s, a team of scientists (including the geneticist Michael Hammer, the nephrologist Karl Skorecki, and their colleagues in England) discovered the existence of a haplotype which they termed the "Cohen modal haplotype" (abbreviated as CMH). Cohen is the Hebrew word for "priest", and designates descendants of Judean priests from two thousand years ago. Initial research indicated that while only about 3 percent of general Jews have this haplotype, 45 percent of Ashkenazic Cohens have it, while 56 percent of Sephardic Cohens have it. David Goldstein, an evolutionary geneticist at Oxford University, said: "It looks like this chromosomal type was a constituent of the ancestral Hebrew population." Some Jewish rabbis used the Cohen study to argue that all Cohens with the CMH had descended from Aaron, a High Priest who lived about 3500 years ago, as the Torah claimed. Shortly after, it was determined that 53 percent of the Buba clan of the Lemba people of southern Africa have the CMH, compared to 9 percent of non-Buba Lembas. The Lembas claim descent from ancient Israelites, and they follow certain Jewish practices such as circumcision and refraining from eating pork, and for many geneticists and historians the genetic evidence seemed to verify their claim.
However, it soon became apparent that the CMH is not specific to Jews or descendants of Jews. In a 1998 article in Science News, Dr. Skorecki indicated (in an interview) that some non-Jews also possess the Cohen markers, and that the markers are therefore not "unique or special". The CMH is very common among Iraqi Kurds, according to a 1999 study by C. Brinkmann et al. And in her 2001 article, Oppenheim wrote: "The dominant haplotype of the Muslim Kurds (haplotype 114) was only one microsatellite-mutation step apart from the CMH..." (Oppenheim 2001, page 1100). Furthermore, the CMH is also found among some Armenians, according to Dr. Levon Yepiskoposyan (Head of the Institute of Man in Yerevan, Armenia), who has studied genetics for many years. Dr. Avshalom Zoossmann-Diskin wrote: "The suggestion that the 'Cohen modal haplotype' is a signature haplotype for the ancient Hebrew population is also not supported by data from other populations." (Zoossmann-Diskin 2000, page 156).
In short, the CMH is a genetic marker from the northern Middle East which is not unique to Jews. However, its existence among many Kurds and Armenians, as well as some Italians and Hungarians, would seem to support the overall contention that Kurds and Armenians are the close relatives of modern Jews and that the majority of today's Jews have paternal ancestry from the northeastern Mediterranean region.
The Jewish Kingdom of Adiabene in Ancient Kurdistan
In ancient times, the royal house of Adiabene and some of the common people of Adiabene converted to Judaism. The capital city of Adiabene was Arbela (known today by Arabs as Irbil and by Kurds as Hawler). King Izates became closely attached to his new faith, and sent his sons to study Hebrew and Jewish customs in Jerusalem. His successor to the throne was his brother Monobazos II, who also adopted Judaism. In her 2001 study, Oppenheim references the kingdom of Adiabene, but suggests that while Adiabene's conversion to Judaism "resulted in the assimilation of non-Jews into the community... This recorded conversion does not appear to have had a considerable effect on the Y chromosome pool of the Kurdish Jews." (Oppenheim 2001, page 1103). Some of the Jewish Adiabenians may have eventually converted to Christianity.
Conclusions
Research has just begun into the ancient ties between Kurds and Jews. It would be interesting to see if the various Jewish groups have as strong a family tie to Kurds in the maternal lineages as they do in the paternal lineages. Preliminary studies indicate that Jewish populations in eastern Europe and Yemen have maternal origins that contain much more non-Israelite ancestry than their paternal origins. Despite this admixture with other groups, the Jewish Judean people ultimately began their existence in an area within or nearby Kurdistan, prior to migrating southwest to Israel. This exciting research showing that Kurds and Jews may have shared common fathers several millennia ago should, hopefully, encourage both Kurds and Jews to explore each others' cultures and to maintain the friendship that Kurds and Jews enjoyed in northern Iraq in recent times (as chronicled in Michael Rubin's recent article "The Other Iraq"). As Rubin indicates, the Kurdish leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani once visited Israel and met with Israeli government officials. Rubin refers to the Iraqi Kurds' "special affinity for Israel" and writes that "In the safe haven of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Jews and Israel are remembered fondly, if increasingly vaguely." Let us hope that this relationship can be renewed and strengthened.
Bibliography:
Brinkmann, C., et al. "Human Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in a Kurdish population sample." International Journal of Legal Medicine 112 (1999): 181-183.
Brook, Kevin A. The Jews of Khazaria. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1999.
Hammer, Michael F., et al. "Y Chromosomes of Jewish Priests." Nature 385 (January 2, 1997): 32.
Hammer, Michael F., et al. "Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish Populations Share a Common Pool of Y-chromosome Biallelic Haplotypes." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) 97:12 (June 6, 2000): 6769-6774.
Oppenheim, Ariella, et al. "High-resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of Jews." Human Genetics 107(6) (December 2000): 630-641.
Oppenheim, Ariella, et al. "The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East." The American Journal of Human Genetics 69:5 (November 2001): 1095-1112.
Rubin, Michael. "The Other Iraq." Jerusalem Report (December 31, 2001).
Siegel, Judy. "Genetic evidence links Jews to their ancient tribe." Jerusalem Post (November 20, 2001).
Thomas, Mark G., et al. "Y Chromosomes Traveling South: the Cohen Modal Haplotype and the Origins of the Lemba -- the 'Black Jews of Southern Africa'." American Journal of Human Genetics 66:2 (February 2000): 674-686.
Traubman, Tamara. "Study finds close genetic connection between Jews, Kurds." Ha'aretz (November 21, 2001).
Travis, J. "The Priests' Chromosome? DNA analysis supports the biblical story of the Jewish priesthood." Science News 154:14 (October 3, 1998): 218.
Zoossmann-Diskin, Avshalom. "Are today's Jewish priests descended from the old ones?" HOMO: Journal of Comparative Human Biology 51:2-3 (2000): 156-162

http://israeli-kurdish-friendship-league.blogspot.com/2008/07/genetic-bonds-between-kurds-and-jews.html