Jews and Kurds have a long history together, with Jewish communities in the region dating back to the forced exile of Israelites by the Assyrian King Sanherib, destroyer of the independent Israelite Kingdom about 2700 years ago. There is a large and proud Jewish Kurdish community in Israel which continues to celebrate Kurdish culture and support Kurdish independence aspirations. Many Israelis sympathise with the Kurdish opposition groups in Syria and have deep respect for the Kurdish fighters, especially the women, who did so much to defeat ISIS in the region, looking on with despair in recent days as the US and other Western governments seem to abandon their Kurish allies to be crushed by the nascent Syrian government with its dubious jihadi connections.