The KJK Coordination proposes the concept of a democratic nation as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the importance of mutual recognition rather than the eradication of existence.
The Coordination of the Kurdistan Women’s Communities (KJK) issued a written statement on the Israel-Palestine conflict. In view of the increasingly intractable confrontation, the KJK sees the establishment of a democratic nation, rather than the creation of a state based on the annihilation of the other, as a possible solution.
The KJK statement reads as follows:
“Before the eyes of the world, we are witnessing how historical problems and incorrect policies open the door for new genocides. Just as that base their existence on the destruction of their opponents have historically led to massacres, today, in the same way, they are the cause of pain, loss, and tragedies. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is progressing towards genocide and intractability. The cause of this is their insistence on ending each other’s existence.
Israel responded to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack with a war of occupation that has intensified with every passing day and continues to this moment. The Israel-Hamas war became an operation against the entire Palestinian people. This has led to an irreparable human tragedy. According to official sources, 62,700 people have lost their lives and 160,000 have been injured.
The embargo that has been imposed has starved the Palestinian people to death and destroyed the health system. 250 journalists who have reported on the events have been killed in military attacks. The Palestinian people living in Gaza are surrounded by death. Death, starvation, thirst, and occupation are unacceptable for the people. As in all wars of occupation and colonialism, civilians are paying the highest price. According to UNICEF data, an average of 28 children in Gaza die every day due to bombardment or starvation.
Around the world, communities, civil society organizations, and international institutions are taking action to stop military operations and lift the siege. But the Israeli government, instead of listening to those calls, insists on its policies. Despite all the reactions, Israel decided to occupy all of Gaza. The Jewish people, who have faced genocides throughout history, cannot defend themselves with occupation and genocidal methods. The most effective security measure for both sides is a solution based on living together. Palestinian political forces should also base the existence of the Palestinian people on the recognition of the existence of the Jewish people. The Israeli government should search for a solution on this basis, take efforts to end the war into account, and not criminalize those efforts as antisemitic. However, it should also recognize that occupation and siege will only fuel antisemitism.
As Kurdish people, the profound pain and empathy we have gained from the wars of denial and annihilation we have endured for nearly 100 years show us that to be ignored, destroyed, and rejected is an indescribable pain that should not be the fate of peoples. Policies based on the nation-state and nationalism are not only incapable of solving problems – they are, themselves, the cause of the problem. Nationalism, religious fundamentalism and sexism first destroy truth and morality, then humanity, nature, women and life itself. Looking at historical, political and social problems, overcoming nationalism, religious fundamentalism and sexism will lead us to develop peaceful and lasting solutions to many problems.
The Middle East is a multi-ethnic region. It is called the cradle of civilization because many ‘firsts’ were created on this land. The search for meaning in humanity finds its source in the beliefs and religions of this geography. However, dominant power was established over religions and societies and through conflict, war, and ultimately, with the capitalistic nation-state model a mechanism of genocide was developed. The land that could have sufficed for everyone became everyone’s grave.
Our leader, Abdullah Öcalan, developed the solution of the democratic nation to overcome this genocide mechanism, which all peoples, such as Kurds, Arabs, Jews, Armenians, and Syriacs, have endured, even becoming its captives, and to oppose the monism of the nation state. In contrast to Kill-Be-Killed and Lose-Make-Lose, the Democratic Nation’s solution philosophy is to Live-Let-Live and take a win-win approach. A confederal system that guarantees the autonomy of all peoples within the framework of a Democratic Society and a Democratic Republic can put an end to all our suffering and avert the dangers of genocide. The Democratic Nation solution is the most appropriate solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is not power imposition based on religious fundamentalism and nationalism, the pursuit of superiority, the mindset of mutual destruction, and the “2-state solution” that produce solutions, but rather policies based on the democratic unity and partnership of peoples. Our leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has focused on the problems and solutions of the Jewish and Palestinian peoples as much as the Kurdish problem. Because the fate of all peoples is shared; what one experiences is also the fate of the other. On this basis, while developing the Democratic Nation model, he has taken as his foundation a search for a common Middle East solution to the Kurdish question, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and all existing problems. This is not a utopia, but the solution model closest to realisation. The Democratic Nation model has been successful in North and East Syria. The North and East Syria Administration model is a prototype for the Middle East and a political system in which peoples can develop a life together. The solution offered by this administration model can be developed in the Middle East.
The state is the fundamental tool of the system of exploitation and plunder developed by murderers throughout human history and is therefore patriarchal. The Rojava Revolution was able to develop a democratic nation solution because is based on women’s freedom. As long as we are not the subject of a solution based on women’s freedom, we cannot build a peaceful, just and free future. All women must know that women’s freedom is the most fundamental power that can develop the democratic nation to solve national-religious problems and conflicts. Women’s freedom is the only power that can solve the male domination, sexism and dominant power’s conflicts developed on the basis of nation and religion.
On this basis, we appeal to the Israeli government: it must lift the embargo imposed on the Palestinian people and allow humanitarian aid to pass. For a lasting solution, military operations against Gaza must cease and a peaceful resolution process must be put in place. The legitimate rights of existence of the Jewish people and the Palestinian people cannot be ensured through bloodshed and mutual destruction. The pursuit of solutions based on war and conflict by both peoples is the fundamental obstacle to peace in the Middle East and also affects the fate of all Middle Eastern peoples. A Middle East that has resolved the Kurdish and Palestinian issues on the basis of a democratic nation will bring this peace to the world. All humanity and all peoples deserve this peace.
