A female veteran of the Israel Defense Forces who immigrated to Israel from Canada is on her way to join Kurdish fighters training in an Iraqi camp on the border with Syria.
The 31-year-old woman did not identify herself in her conversation with Israel Radio, other than to say she contacted Kurdish fighters via the Internet and decided to help.
“They are our brothers. They are good people,” she told the interviewer. “They love life, a lot like us, really.”
Many Kurdish fighters – especially in the northern Syrian city of Kobani – are women. This IDF veteran told Israel Radio she felt she could contribute to the Kurdish effort. But she did not provide any details other than to say she planned to travel to the combat zones in northern Syria.
Israel bans its citizens from traveling to enemy nations, including Syria and Iraq. However, Israel has maintained quiet ties with the Kurds since the 1960s; the unique ethnic population stands apart as a group of its own in four countries – Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.
If and when the traveling military “consultant” returns to Israel from helping the Kurds, it is not yet clear what will happen to her.