Happy (or not ?) like a Kabyle in France
It was impossible not to notice: Kabyle people were present at the demonstrations in support of Israel that took place after the 7-October massacre perpetrated by Hamas terrorists and Gaza civilians. Their flag was waved proudly alongside Israeli flags.[1]
Who are the Kabyle people? Ten to twelve million souls who have been struggling for its independence in Algeria for decades. Part of the Berber people, populations who resisted Islamic invasions, the Kabyles are today the only ones claiming today a territory (in Algeria) and the right to self-determination.
On December 14th, 2025, they will declare the independence of Kabylia, in Paris.
This declaration of independence will turn Algeria into the occupying power of Kabylia and Kabylia into an occupied territory.
For the MAK-the Movement for Self-Determination of Kabylia, this is the only possible solution after more than 20 years of peaceful struggle and dialogue with the Algerian government.
Boualem Sansal, recently freed from an Algerian jail after one year of arbitrary imprisonment, confirmed what many suspected: Algerian prisons hold hundreds of Kabyle political prisoners.
Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist was just sentenced to seven years in prison by an Algerian court. His only “wrongdoing”: having spoken to a Kabyle who is alleged to have links with the MAK.
Three reasons can be identified to explain why the MAK supports Israel. This support is even more courageous given the worldwide hatred to which Israel has been subjected since October 8th, 2023. This hatred which has become the norm among sheeplike crowds throughout the world, makes the MAK’s support even more meaningful.
1st reason: Kabyle people know what homecoming means, when you are a people with a culture, a language, an identity who longs for its ancestral country by forcing independence out of a strong power. Modern zionism, against all odds, and by opposing western “sensible” opinions succeeded to create an independent state, in the span of 70 years. Ottoman Empire first, British Empire later on, abandoned the control they had on biblical Israel. Modern zionists were not taken seriously at first. But they ended up eventually reaching their goal as Israel, today, is the shelter for more than half of the world’s Jewish population.
2nd reason: Self-determination consists of freeing oneself from any physical or spiritual slavery, like the one the Jews endured in Ancient Egypt. That liberation became the core of Jewish national identity. Remembered daily, as a founding event that touched each of the Bnei Israel, the Children of Israel, this longing for freedom sustains the Jewish people even today 3,000 years later. This spiritual force becomes a survival force and serves as example for all peoples driven by the quest for freedom.
However, for this example to work, Jew-hatred must be rejected. As a form of submission, antisemitism prevents freedom. The Kabyle people, against all trends, do not succumb to this temptation of hatred for Jews. They know how to draw inspiration from the Jewish struggle for freedom, both modern and ancient.
3rd reason: The fight against Islamism. Islam, – whether authentically or falsely invoked as the basis for totalitarian conquest, – refuses any self-determination for a people who would not remain under its authority. Algeria, considered a Muslim land, cannot accept independence for a nation that would create a democratic and free society on its soil. Ferhat Mehenni, the President of Kabylia in exile, opposed the Algerian view in an interview published here:
Kabyle Islam is syncretic—it has adapted to ancient traditions. It values tolerance. Not fasting during Ramadan, not praying, or drinking alcohol is tolerated. We are immune to the politicization of religion. Our independence movement is secular and based on freedom of conscience, which contrasts with Algeria’s use of religion for political ends [2].
The State of Israel knows – especially since the October-7th massacre – that radical political Islam which reigns in almost all Muslim countries, embodies the refusal of its existence. Countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran, Qatar and others, demonstrate through words and sometimes through action, their rejection of an open, pluralist and democratic Jewish presence at the heart of what they consider their absolute domain. Algeria’s refusal of Kabylia is similar: how could a pluralist, democratic state be tolerated in the middle of a military-Islamic dictatorship?
Could Kabylia become an issue in the French elections?
December 14th 2025, will surely be remembered as a major milestone in Kabylia’s struggle for independence. Yes, official supporters will likely be fewer than unofficial ones. There is no shortage of bad reasons to avoid “upsetting Algeria even more”, even in the absence of diplomatic relations with this military regime.
But this declaration of independence will have the merit of placing Kabylia among just causes and forcing world leaders to take a position. Kabylia may even become an issue in the French elections. Just as the imprisonment that French Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in Algeria without strong reaction from French diplomacy caused many criticisms, Kabylia’s independence could become a political issue in France.
Kabylia, part of the Abraham Accords?
Laura Roberts former executive director of the UK Abraham Accords Group spoke during the MAK’s visit to the UK Parliament at the end of November 2025. She expressed her hope for Kabylia to become part of the Abraham Accords[3]. Diplomatically unorthodox as it may seem, this request is in fact fully consistent with the spirit of the Abraham Accords which reflect North African and Middle Eastern countries’ acceptance of Israel’s existence. Some of these countries, did not rush to condemn the October-7th massacres, unlike the MAK. Yes, we can and should remain cautious regarding the sincerity and durability of Arab countries within these Accords.
But Kabylia, a nation seeking of self-determination in the middle of an Arab-Muslim country and recognizing and even supporting Israel as a Jewish state, fits perfectly within the spirit of the Abraham Accords.
Happy like a Jew in France?
Until recently, the happiness of Jews around the world was measured according to their situation in France, as an old Yiddish saying suggested. This view is increasingly challenged, especially since October-7th despite history showing that blaming Jews for everything rarely pays, and conversely, that supporting them usually places one on the right side of history.
The fact that Kabyle people support Jews at this moment, the harshest one since the Holocaust, should earn them some positive developments.
This declaration of independence in Paris on December 14th, 2025, may not make Jews as happy as they once were, but it may make Kabyle people happy in France, before being happy in a free Kabylia.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLASD1GDNB4
[2] https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/interview-of-ferhat-mehenni-president-of-kabylie/
[3] https://x.com/ABellabbaci/status/1995115767063343315?s=20
