n recent days, the situation in Syria—where the authorities are attempting to reassert control by force over territories that effectively became autonomous in the early 2010s—has caused profound concern worldwide, and particularly in Israel. There, growing alarm is being expressed over the rapidly deteriorating situation of the Kurdish community in Syria. In light of these developments, the President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC), Dr. Michael Mirilashvili, has called on the Government of Israel and the international community to take action regarding the situation in Kobani, a Syrian-Kurdish city on the Syrian–Turkish border, which is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. According to the EAJC, what is currently unfolding in Kobani constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental norms of international humanitarian law and cannot be ignored.

Statement by the President of the EAJC, Dr. Michael Mirilashvili:

“The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress is receiving, with deep concern, information about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Syrian-Kurdish city of Kobani, which is presently under blockade and subjected to armed pressure.

According to media reports, the city is encircled on all sides; water and electricity supplies have been cut off; regular food deliveries have ceased; and communications and internet access are intermittently blocked. Civilians remain trapped under siege in Kobani—children, the elderly, and families deprived of the most basic conditions necessary for survival.

We regard what is taking place as a severe humanitarian catastrophe and a gross violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Collective punishment of the civilian population, deprivation of essential life-sustaining resources, and attempts at violent suppression cannot be justified by any political or military considerations.

Kobani already became a symbol of resistance to barbarism and extremism in 2014. Today, the city’s Kurdish community is once again appealing to the world for help.

The Euro-Asian Jewish Congress calls upon the international community, the institutions of the United Nations, as well as human rights and humanitarian organizations, to immediately demand an end to the blockade of Kobani, to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access to the city, and to take urgent measures to protect the civilian population.

We address a separate and special appeal to the Government of the State of Israel. Israel is a state born out of the tragic experience of systematic annihilation and decades of global silence. For this very reason, Israel cannot and must not remain indifferent to the fate of people who today are facing the threat of destruction.

We are convinced that Israel’s historical memory, moral responsibility, and international standing both enable and oblige it to employ all available political, diplomatic, and humanitarian instruments to protect the civilian population of Kobani and to prevent further escalation of the conflict.

The historical experience of the Jewish people teaches us clearly: silence in the face of darkness and systematic violence is unacceptable. We consider it our moral duty to speak out in defense of those who find themselves in mortal danger.

Kobani must not be left in darkness—physical, political, or moral.”