Hürriyet, Turkey
Jan 31 2009
US Jewish group says PM actions fuel hatred
WASHINGTON – Despite the importance of Israeli-Turkish ties, Jews will
not remain silent over attacks on Israel, a Jewish leader says. ‘Prime
Minister ErdoÄ?an’s tantrum at Davos throws gasoline on the fire
of surging anti-Semitism,’ says the AJC’s Executive Director David
Harris in a statement.
A major U.S. Jewish group has accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
ErdoÄ?an of launching a "vicious verbal attack" on Israeli
President Shimon Peres at Davos on Thursday, and that "this public
disgrace may well encourage further outrages against Israel and Jews."
ErdoÄ?an and Peres exchanged heated words during a panel on the
Gaza conflict held as part of the annual World Economic Forum meetings
in the town of Davos in Switzerland earlier Thursday.
Toward the end of the event, ErdoÄ?an stormed off the podium
complaining that the moderator would not allow him to complete his
remarks during the discussion.
The American Jewish Committee, or AJC, denounced ErdoÄ?an in a
written statement, saying: "’when it comes to killing, you know well
how to kill,’" ErdoÄ?an yelled at Peres, a recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize.
"Prime Minister ErdoÄ?an’s tantrum at Davos throws gasoline on
the fire of surging anti-Semitism," said AJC Executive Director David
Harris, according to the statement. "ErdoÄ?an’s unjustified
remarks and disrespect of Israel’s president are yet another
demonstration of how criticism of Israel is becoming increasingly
virulent."
Rising anti-Semitism
Harris said the relationship between Turkey and Israel was a vital one
that has enjoyed the support of American Jews."But we cannot remain
silent in the face of such appalling rhetorical denunciations of
Israel, particularly when there has been a worrying surge of
anti-Semitism in Turkey in recent weeks," he said.
The leaders of five major U.S. Jewish groups, including the AJC’s
Harris, sent a letter to ErdoÄ?an last week, warning about what
they called rising anti-Semitism in Turkey and criticizing Ankara’s
policies on the Gaza crisis.
Israel’s military campaign targeting the radical Palestinian group
Hamas, ruling Gaza, took place between late December and mid-January
and killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians. About half of the those killed
were children and other civilians. Three Israeli civilians also died
in Hamas’ rocket attacks and 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in
action. Throughout the offensive Turkey strongly condemned the Israeli
action.Analysts say that in addition to rapidly worsening
Turkish-Israeli ties, Ankara’s relationship with the U.S. Jewish
groups, allies in a number of previous matters, has hit an all-time
low.
Consequence of worsening ties
As a result, U.S. Jewish groups, who mostly backed Turkey in the past,
are expected to sit out when a new "Armenian genocide" bill comes to
Congress, they say.
U.S. Armenians hope that this year they will obtain a formal
U.S. recognition of World War I-era killings of Armenians in the
Ottoman empire as genocide. President Barack Obama strongly backed the
Armenian position during the election campaign.
"There are serious indications that Israel and American-Jewish
organizations are no longer willing to support Turkey’s lobbying
efforts in Washington," said Harut Sassounian, a leading U.S. Armenian
figure and publisher of the California Courier, a bi-weekly Armenian
newspaper, in an article in the popular news site Huffington Post
Thursday.
Turkey is among the few countries with a majority Muslim population to
have ties with Israel. The two coutries have enjoyed a warm strategic
relationship that extends to almost every field, ranging from defense
to tourism.