Destroyed Iraqi tanks in the field
Destroyed Iraqi tanks in the fieldUS Dept of Defense

On Tuesday, Jewish groups commemorated the seventh anniversary of the genocide of the Yazidis of northern Iraq committed by ISIS.

On August 3, 2014, members of ISIS attacked Sinjar, Iraq, which is predominantly Yazidi, an Iraqi religious minority. The terrorist group went on to kidnap and murder thousands of Yazidis. On August 4, Prince Tahseen Said, Emir of the Yazidis, called on world leaders to help the Yazidis being attacked by ISIS. Three days later, President Barack Obama began airstrikes against ISIS targets and dropped emergency supplies for the Yazidis.

The American Jewish Committee marked the anniversary of the Yazidi genocide on Twitter, calling it “one of the most horrific atrocities in recent history.”

“Thousands of Yazidis were killed and taken into sexual slavery by the Islamic State. Thousands more remain missing to this day. We will never forget,” they said.

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) shared footage of an interview with a survivor of the Sinjar massacre.

“August 3rd marks the anniversary of the 2014 Sinjar massacre, when [ISIS] began the killing and abduction of thousands of Yazidis. Israel's Bar-Ilan University gave trainings in 2019 to Yazidi women so that they can go back home with the skills for treating PTSD in their community,” said the WJC.

The European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) released a statement noting that the “genocide led to the expulsion, flight and effective exile of the Yazidis from their ancestral land. Five thousand Yazidis were killed, why countless others were forced into sexual slavery.”

The added that “this genocide is part of a sad tradition of exclusion, persecution and genocides against the Yazidi minority in the Middle East. While the men and boys were murdered, the jihadists enslaved and raped Yazidi women and girls. All this was happening right before our eyes.”

The EUJS remarked that the West initially did not intervene to help the Yazidis. “While the West looked away initially, the Kurdish self-defence forces fought bravely against [ISIS], created humanitarian corridors and were able to save thousands of lives as a result.”

Noting that “the consequences of this heinous crime and the associated trauma for the people are not yet over” they said that many people are still missing.

“We stand together in solidarity with the Yazidi people. Against Islamism and Jihadism,” said the EUJS.