Mossadnik wants to become first Kurdish consul

Mossad's retired general Eliezer Jeffrey gives this remarkable interview to the Israel-Kurd magazine. He hopes to become Israel's first consul in Kurdistan.

Mossad‌'s retired general ( Aliayzar (Eliezer) Jeffery ),who is known as ( Jayzi-Ghazi ) among the Kurds talks in a special interview to the Israel-Kurd magazine about a number of important issues including the relations between the Kurds and Israel during and after the ( Aylul - September ) revolution.

Aliayzar, who is now busy with writing his memoirs about the Aylul revolution and the years he spent with the Peshmerga in the mountains of Kurdistan, He had a strong relation with Malla Mustafa Barzani. He was amazed by Barzani‌'s character. Aliayzar has published his memoirs in a book entitled I am a Kurd)that traces the Kurdish revolutionary movement from the beginning until the downfall of the revolution in 1975. This book will be translated by the Israel-Kurd staff into Kurdish and will be published soon in Kurdistan.

Israel-Kurd: Who is Aliayzar ( Jayzi-Ghazi ) ? Aliayzar: as I was born, I named (Aliayzar Jeffrey). All of my colleagues call me by this name. When I attended school in ( Tiberias ), I had a friend whose name was also ( Aliayzar ), so my friends decided to call me ( Jayzi ) and call him ( Leski ) to distinguish between us.
When I started working for Mossad, I had to pick a pseudonym. So I chose (Jayzi). When I was in Kurdistan, they were calling me by (Ghazi).

Israel-Kurd: (Ghazi) is an Arabic name, why did you choose it?
Aliayzar: we are closed to Arabs and our work is mostly with them, so I chose it to avoid being recognized or identified.
I hope that Israel opens a consulate in Erbil and that I become the first consul.

Israel-Kurd: What ranks did you achieve in Mossad?
Aliayzar: We weren't working for ranks at the beginning. We were like government civil officials. Later, everyone was ranked according to ability and courage. I held the (Tat-Aluf) rank in the Israeli military which is level-1 general. I held this position until retirement.

Israel-Kurd: Who appointed you as Israel‌s emissary to Kurdistan, did you want it yourself or did the state of Israel send you?
Aliayzar: Firstly, I have to say that there is no such thing as “your own desire”. This is military command, and it must be obeyed. We could only ask a few questions. Actually, I was delighted to be sent to Kurdistan and I was lucky in this mission. My father was a Kurd, form the Iraqi Kurdistan. My mother was a Moroccan. I, with most of my colleagues at Mossad, were willing to come to Kurdistan. At the end, we came and I became the head of the Israeli envoy to Kurdistan.

Israel-Kurd: How long did the Israeli envoy stay in Kurdistan and until when were you the leader of this envoy?
Aliayzar: The Israeli envoy stayed for 1 year in Kurdistan. In this period, it achieved many things for Kurds. The Israeli aid included arm and financial supplies. Through Israel, Kurds could make their voice be heard to the world, especially Europe and America. I started work in Kurdistan in the fall of 1974. I stayed there until the downfall of the revolution and I did what I could to do. I, as a Kurdish descendant, love Kurds very much. The Kurd people are very brave. They are similar to Jews in these attributes.

Israel-Kurd: How many times did you see Barzani while in Kurdistan?
Aliayzar: I used to see Barzani twice a week. We would talk and discuss war and I reminded him of the Israel support for Kurds all the time. I had to inform Barzani about anything I received that concerned the Kurds so that he could express his views about these issues. I used to see Massoud and Idris Barzani everyday. I also exchanged views and ideas with Abdul wahab Atrushi, Sami Abdulrahman, Dr. Mahmud Othman and others.

Barzani became a general three times, In Mahabad , another in the military academy in Russia, and once in Israel.

Israel-Kurd: Why did you want to be in Kurdistan and not any other country?
Aliayzar: In Mossad, we didn‌t have ability to choose to where we could go. Sometimes, we would go to countries which we were against and we would go to their homes and they didn‌t like to see us. You read their letters and listen to their talks without their consent. Sometimes you would face dictatorships. Anyway, you have no choice and you must obey. However, we were all happy to work in Kurdistan, because we knew that they were an oppressed nation.

Israel-Kurd: You have helped the Peshmarga in using anti-plane rockets and tanks, it is said
that you have once hit an Iraqi military plane with a rocket, to what extent is this true?
Aliayzar: I just helped as an interpreter with the instructors in the courses. I also learned like the peshmerga to shoot rockets and my hope was to strike an Iraqi plane. I recall once when a plane came and I shot a rocket, but didn‌t hit it.

Israel-Kurd: When you were in Kurdistan, how far did you go? Could you pass through Gali ali Bag and reach Khalifan , Harir and Shaqlawa?

Aliayzar: I went as far as Gali Ali Bag, however before reaching Gali, I went to Badinan through the Bapshtian and Barzan route. I also went to Betwata through Rania. But I never went to Khalifan and Shaqlawa through Gali because the orders prevented us and it was risky. On that side of Gali, the enemy had more power than the Peshmarga.

Israel-Kurd: You have helped the Peshmerga against the enemy tanks when they entered the Rawanduz valley, how did your help benefit the peshmerga?

Aliayzar: (Ghazi Atrushi ) who is a close relative of ( Abdulwahab Atrushi ) was formerly in the Iraqi army. They were fearful; they didn‌t know how to fight the tanks. They had anti-tank weapons like RBJ and Israeli ( Stinger ) rockets which is Russian. I helped them and told them that they don‌t have a choice and they must fight the enemy, otherwise the enemy would reach Haji Omaran. They were very brave in the mountains. However, they were afraid of the tanks because they hadn‌t fought them before. My friend ( lieutenant Anwar Majid Sultan) , who was previously in the Iraqi artillery and had run away , joined the revolution. In this battle , he won over the enemy because of the ( Stinger rockets ) which were directed at the tanks by controllers. They would hit the tanks even if they were moving. These rockets overwhelmed the enemy.

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