ID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=610&FID=385&PID= 0&IID=1500
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Published July 2009
SPECIAL ISSUE
No. 84, 16 August 2009 / 26 Av 5769
Present-Day Anti-Semitism in Turkey
Rýfat N. Bali
Turkish intellectuals have always taken a pro-Palestinian and
anti-Israeli stance. Islamists associate the "Palestine question" with
alleged Jewish involvement in the rise of Turkish secularism. Leftists
see Israel as an imperialist state and an extension of American
hegemony in the Middle East. Comparable themes are found among
nationalist intellectuals.
Turkish reactions to Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon and 2009 war in Gaza
often spilled over into anti-Semitism. Newspaper columnists, some of
them academics, belonging to the various ideological streams helped
fan popular sentiment against Israel and Jews. Israel was said to be
exploiting Holocaust guilt and the services of the "American Jewish
lobby" to further its own nefarious aims.
Turkish approaches to the "Palestine question" rarely venture outside
the clichés of Turkish popular culture. Turkish publishing houses
providing translated works on the issue are careful not to run afoul
of popular sentiment. The net result is that both Turkish columnists
and their readers utilize only limited sources on the conflict that
are preponderantly anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic.
Any attempt by the Turkish Jewish leadership to confront Turkish
society on combating anti-Semitism is likely to backfire and even
further exacerbate the problem. Given the reality, the only options
left for Turkey’s Jewish community are to either continue living in
Turkey amid widespread anti-Semitism or to emigrate.
Introduction
One of the most illuminating methods of explaining and accurately
describing present-day Turkish anti-Semitism and the reasons for its
widespread nature is to examine the reactions among Turkish
intellectuals and the Turkish press to various Israeli military
actions in recent years. Surveying articles by Turkish columnists
during Israel’s most recent military operations, the summer 2006 war
with Hizballah in Lebanon and the more recent Operation Cast Lead
against Hamas in Gaza, will shed light in this regard.[1] Particularly
significant are those columnists who are considered opinion leaders,
some of whom are academics as well. Understanding the reactions of
these opinion makers, however, requires an overview of the attitudes
of much of the Turkish intelligentsia toward what is known as the
"Palestine question."
The Influence of Islamist, Leftist, and Nationalist Intellectuals In Turkey
The Islamist Community
Turkish intellectuals holding either Islamist or leftist positions
have always taken a pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli stance.
For much of the Islamist intelligentsia, references to Palestine, a
former Ottoman province, bring to mind events from the last-and in
their minds, darkest-years of the empire. These include Zionist leader
Theodor Herzl’s request in 1901 from Sultan Abdülhamid II for
permission to settle Jewish immigrants in this territory and the
Sultan’s refusal; and, about a decade later, the presence of the
Salonician Jew Emmanuel Carasso, a member of the Committee of Union
and Progress (CUP),[2] in the delegation notifying the Sultan of his
removal and exile to Salonica, where he would live out his remaining
years in the villa of the Jewish family Allatini.[3]
Although these might appear unrelated events, the Islamists see a
direct causative line from Abdülhamid II’s rejection of Herzl’s
request to his later removal from the throne. In this view, the Young
Turk Revolution-and more specifically, Abdülhamid’s forced
abdication after the failed counterrevolution of April 1909-were
payback, delivered at the hands of Jewish and crypto-Jewish cabals
secretly manipulating the CUP.[4] Nor, from the Islamist perspective,
does the revenge-taking end with the Sultan’s abdication. They believe
that the final stages of the retribution were the abolition of the
Ottoman Caliphate in 1924 at the hands of Turkish nationalist leader
Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), who originated in the "cursed city" of
Salonica and is widely thought among Islamists to have been a
Dönme, a descendant of the Jewish devotees of Sabbatai Sevi who
followed him into a nominal conversion to Islam but continued to
practice their own heretical brand of Judaism in secret, and the
"placing of the Turkish people in the straightjacket of secularism
with the intent of debasing it."
Indeed, because of this widespread conviction a book by Soner
Yalçýn, a journalist for the mainstream Hürriyet newspaper,
claiming in short that the Turkish Republic has always been dominated
and governed by Dönmes has become a bestseller and sold close to
two hundred thousand copies.[5]
The Islamist mindset views Israel as a "robber state," which divested
the Palestinians of their homeland. For the Islamists, Israel was born
of a revolution that they see as Jewish-directed and carried out for
Jewish aims,[6] and both the secular Turkish Republic and Israel were
established by the Dönme Mustafa Kemal. More broadly, the Islamists
see Zionism and its political manifestation, Israel, as merely one
branch of the overarching plan for world domination set forth in The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the classical anti-Semitic work that
has become a bestseller in Turkey among various conspiracy books whose
main theme is Zionist domination of the world.[7] Zionism, from this
standpoint, is a satanic and expansionist ideology that threatens not
only the Arab world but Turkey itself.[8]
There are several other complementary themes as well. One of these is
the abiding belief that during the Conference of Lausanne following
Turkey’s successful War of Independence, Haim Nahum Efendi, the last
Ottoman chief rabbi[9] and an adviser to Turkey’s delegation to the
talks, somehow persuaded Ismet Paþa, the head of the Turkish
delegation and future Prime Minister to promise the Great Powers that,
in exchange for granting the new Turkish state’s demands, the
Caliphate would be abolished and a secular regime would be imposed on
Turkish society.[10]
Another Islamist claim centers on Moiz Kohen, a Turkish Jew and
fervent advocate of Kemalism, Turkish nationalism, and the Kemalist
regime’s policy of "Turkification," which called for all non-Muslims
and non-Turkish speakers to abjure their particular ethnoreligious
identities and become part of the greater Turkish nation. Kohen
himself Turkified his name to Tekin Alp and in 1936 published a
treatise, Kemalizm, under this new name. Islamists believe that like
Mustafa Kemal and Haim Nahum Efendi, Kohen was a "Shari’a-hating Jew."
As evidence they often cite the title of one of the chapters of
Kemalizm, "To Hell with the Shari’a" (Kahrolsun Þeriat).[11] The
Islamists also hates Turkish nationalism which in essence is a secular
ideology as they believe that nationalism is an ideology not
compatible with Islamism the later perceiving all Muslims as one
people (ümmet). For this reason they believe that Turkish
nationalism with its secular character is dividing the Muslim
ümmet. Again since Moiz Kohen was also an ideologue of nationalism
Islamists thought that Kohen has "planted the virus of nationalism"
within Turkish society in the hope of destroying the unity of the
Islamic nation.
In the same line of thinking Islamists points to another Jew as
another actor who promoted nationalism with the aim of destroying the
Muslim ümmet. This widespread view-utterly without foundation-is
that an Italian Jew named Lazzaro Franko, who as one of the period’s
leading furnishing suppliers was a supplier to the Sultan’s Palace of
Yýldýz, donated $200,000 to the nationalist Turkish Hearths
(Türk Ocaklarý) organization[12] in the 1920s for the
construction of their headquarters building in Ankara, in return for
which his photograph was hung in this building.[13] The connecting
thread is that all of the actors involved were or are believed to have
been Jewish. The Islamists use this as ostensible evidence that the
sole obstacle to transforming the Turkish Republic into a Turkish
Islamic Republic is the Jews, and particularly the crypto-Jewish
Dönme who are believed to control Turkey behind the scenes.[14]
The Left
Turkey’s leftist intelligentsia tends to see Israel as an "imperialist
and expansionist state" and "an extension of American hegemony in the
Middle East." Hence, it views the Arab-Israeli conflict through the
prism of "solidarity with those oppressed by the imperialists"-namely,
the Palestinians.[15]
This view has its origins in the political and ideological struggles
of the 1970s. During those years leftist militants who dreamed of
carrying out a Marxist revolution in Turkey often joined the PLO so as
to receive training in armed struggle, even taking part in attacks
against Israel. Some lost their lives in the process or in Israeli
counterstrikes against PLO camps,[16] while others returned to Turkey.
Some of those erstwhile militants are now opinion leaders in
Turkey.[17] Just as for the Islamist community, for the Turkish Left
Zionism is an aggressive ideology that fosters anti-Semitism. An
illuminating example of the anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli sentiment is
a special 2004 edition of the Turkish leftist journal Birikim that was
devoted to anti-Semitism; it described Zionism and anti-Semitism as
"two sides of the same coin."[18] In the same issue Ümit
Kývanç, previously a columnist for the liberal-leftist daily
Radikal and nowadays for Taraf of the same tendency, wrote in an
article that "the people who actually govern Israel are a band of
rogues" and emphasized that "everybody who wants to be a member of
humanity must work for the abolition of the state of Israel in its
present form. Because the state of Israel has also captured the Jewish
identity."[19]
The Nationalists and Neonationalists
Anti-Semitism in Turkey is encountered not only among the Islamists
and leftists but also among the nationalist and neonationalist[20]
streams, which in recent years have declared their hostility to the
European Union, the United States, and Israel. The anti-Semitism in
this camp stems mainly from the popularity that Mein Kampf enjoys
among its members as an "ideological handbook."[21] The Turkish
translation of Mein Kampf has indeed become a bestseller in the
country and can be purchased in some of the largest supermarket chains
and bookstores.[22]
Attitudes in Turkish Society as a Whole
Various Turkish opinion surveys in recent years indicate a rise in
xenophobia. This hostility is directed at the United States and the
West in general, but also at everyone who does not resemble the
"average Turk" in appearance or behavior (blacks, immigrants, gays and
lesbians, non-Muslims, etc.).[23] A popular saying is "The Turk has no
friends other than the Turk."
Both Israel and Jews in general are also targets of this sentiment. A
Pew Research Center survey of Turkish opinion, published in September
2008, found that 76 percent of Turks viewed Jews negatively while only
7 percent expressed favorable opinions.[24] A similar survey by
Istanbul’s Bahçeþehir University in April-May 2009, funded by
the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, showed that 64 percent of
Turks did not want Jewish neighbors.[25] In a 2003 poll by a group of
Turkish academics in twelve different provinces, 63 percent of the
2,183 respondents held negative views toward Israel.[26]
Turkish Intellectuals’ Reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War
The reactions of Turkish leftist, Islamist, and nationalist opinion
leaders to the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hizballah can be
divided into four main categories.
1. "Israel is not a legitimate state" and/or "Israel’s legitimacy as a
nation-state is disputable." This view is shared by a broad sector of
Turkish society, and dozens of newspaper columnists express it. Each
of the following three examples represents a different ideology.
Murat Belge, a liberal, left-leaning professor of English language and
literature, a much respected pundit described the Israeli leadership
in one of his columns in the left-wing Radikal as follows: "They are
no different than any other racist-facist regime. But the
international community is more tolerant in this case, and the extreme
American support plays a very large role here. Naturally, we must not
forget the very strong influence of the Jewish presence in Western
societies."[27]
For his part, Toktamýþ Ateþ a professor of political science
at Istanbul and Istanbul Bilgi universities, columnist for the
right-wing Bugün newspaper, and a prominent public intellectual
regulary invited to television debates, wrote that "although my
antipathy for Israel weighs greatly, I also possess conflicting
feelings and thoughts." He then described Israel as an inherently
immoral phenomenon:
There is no member of creation who can explain who promised these
lands to whom, and why "they were promised," or more correctly who
could explain this convincingly. But people have renewed this dream
again and again, and were able to exploit the Western world’s
complexes or the world that felt no shame toward those who lived there
before and during World War II to establish a state…. I have
followed and experienced Israeli history at every step of the way. In
part through the extraordinary assistance that they have received from
the United States and sometimes through the influence of the Jewish
lobby and from the states of Europe, as well as-and here we must
admit-through their own efforts, they have "clung" to these lands. But
to kick out those living on this land and to say that "this is the
land that has been promised to me," how human[e] is that? But when the
first and most racist people in history says this and secretly
receives its capital from [the world of] international finance, it
sees everything as "justified." And we cannot do a thing about it.[28]
For Yasin Aktay, a professor of sociology of Selçuk University
(Konya), a columnist for the influential Islamist daily Yeni Þafak,
and a popular figure in television debates, Israel’s legitimacy is the
issue:
The insistence to return to places from which their ancestors had been
evicted 2,500 years ago, is being transformed into a "right" in the
name of the humanitarianism of the European peoples, as [their]
atonement to the Jews. On this basis, the very existence of Israel is
illegal, because there is nothing in any law today giving someone the
right to acquire a land from 2,500 years before. Israel is opposed to
secularism, because the reason for its very existence is founded on
religious principles. Israel is contrary to history, because it is
attempting to establish an anarchronistic life experience that is
contrary to the course of history. It is attempting to return to the
place from which it left, that is, to do something that won’t be
[possible]. The establishment of the state of Israel is not the
completion of this transformation, it simply shows that it overly
forced the path to return, and in the end at the price of annihilating
itself. Because of all these things, Israel is contrary to logic, to
human rights and to democracy.[29]
2. "Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people is no different than
Nazi Germany’s treatment of the Jewish people." Turkey’s publicists
and public intellectuals often claim that the state of Israel, which
was established by an oppressed people who were subjected to genocide,
has itself turned into the oppressor and is implementing a genocide
and state terror against another oppressed people. Another variant is
that "Even Hitler didn’t treat the Jews as badly as Israel is treating
the Palestinian people." These comparisons are frequently found among
leftists,[30] Islamists and nationalists, including politicians.[31]
Nuh Gönültaþ, well-known columnist and conspiracy theorist
for Bugün, goes even further to view Hitler as justified in his
treatment of the Jews, since "the state of Israel is an even greater
tyrant than Hitler."[32]
Similarly, Abdullah Kýlýç is a writer for the
ultranationalist Önce Vatan and director of the Avrasya Bir
Foundation, whose mission is "to research the economic, social and
cultural values of Turkish society from a material and spiritual
direction." Kýlýç noted "a gradual transformation of the
antipathy toward Hitler that had taken shape within [him]," and called
for "a renewed study of the reasons that this man went mad and a
reevaluation [of Hitler] on this basis." In conclusion, he calls for
Turkey’s Jewish population to leave the country.[33]
A similar call was made by a Millî Gazete writer and poet, the
Islamist Ýbrahim Tenekeci. Millî Gazete is the official organ of
the National View (Millî Görüþ) movement, founded in 1969
by the doyen of Turkish political Islam, Necmettin Erbakan. At
anti-Israeli demonstrations in Istanbul, Tenekeci criticized the
protestors’ posters that placed photos of Hitler next to photos of
then-U.S. President George W. Bush and then-Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon with the slogan "Hitler then, now them." Tenekeci claimed
that "We can fairly say that Hitler was more human[e] than the others
[i.e., Bush and Sharon]."[34]
3. "Israel uses the accusation of anti-Semitism as a shield against
its critics." Those making this claim-and they are numerous in
Turkey[35] -argue that "Israel gains its strength through
anti-Semitism."[36] A Muslim, it is alleged, can be anti-Zionist
without ever being anti-Semitic, yet Israel accuses all opponents of
Zionism of anti-Semitism.[37]
For example, Nuray Mert, professor of political science at Istanbul
University, contributor to Radikal, and a well-known public
intellectual, criticized the Turkish Islamist press’s anti-Semitic
reactions to the war in Lebanon. Yet, she asserted, Israel "tries to
pressure everyone who opposes Israel’s policies, whether in the Muslim
world or in general [by accusing them of being anti-Semites]." In
other words, even a Turkish commentator who was critical of
anti-Semitism leveled the stock accusation against Israel.[38]
4. "The Jews control the American media and Hollywood, and constantly
feature the Holocaust to stir up sympathy for Israel." Turkish public
opinion believes in a Jewish lobby in the United States that engages
in closed-door intrigues, and the term "Jewish lobby" is widely used
in the Turkish media. Just as in The Protocols of the Elders of
Zion-which has had great ideological influence on several sectors of
Turkish society-the term is understood to mean "Jews who control the
media, the film industry, and the world of finance, and who work to
secure Israel’s interests."[39] It is assumed that all reports on the
Arab-Israeli conflict in the U.S. media are biased in Israel’s favor,
reflecting the influence of this lobby.
There were other notable cases of fierce criticism of Israel by
liberal and leftist intellectuals. At an Istanbul protest rally during
the Lebanon war that was attended by artists, intellectuals, and
political activists, the leftist Global Coalition for Peace and
Justice,[40] an antiglobalization and antiwar movement, used the
slogan "Murderer Israel, Out of Palestine!"[41] In their press
releases, both leftist and Islamist human rights advocates declared
that Israel "committed a crime against humanity."[42]
This sector’s most noteworthy reaction to the war, however, was the
front-page announcement in Radikal entitled "We Accuse!" (Ýtham
Ediyoruz)-a conscious allusion to Émile Zola’s famous open letter
regarding the Dreyfus trial, "J’accuse…!" Radikal’s statement was
directed at "G. W. Bush, T. Blair and E. Olmert, who are responsible
for the imperialist, colonialist and aggressive policies of the
coalition of the U.S., Great Britain and Israel."[43] The announcement
was signed by 1,800 people within a very short time.[44]
The Turkish Public’s Reaction to the Lebanon War
During the war in Lebanon in summer 2006, Israeli tourists traveling
in Turkey’s southeastern region sometimes met hostile reactions from
locals. A shop window in Alanya displayed the awkwardly-worded
placard, "For Children Killers, Israelis No Sale, No Entry."[45] One
Israeli family was actually assaulted by an individual in the same
town.[46] Yeni Þafak took the Turkish Radio and Television
Association (TRT) to task for including in its programming the Roman
Polanski movie The Pianist, which deals with a Polish Jewish pianist
during World War II.[47] In response, the TRT removed the program.[48]
In turn, Ahmet Hakan, a columnist for the leading daily Hürriyet
and moderator of a popular debate program at the CNN Türk
television channel, criticized TRT’s decision. Yet he claimed the
decision, while perhaps necessary, meant "missing the opportunity to
show the Turkish people how those who are often `oppressed’ can today
become `the oppressors.’"[49] The well-known museum curator Vasýf
Kortun resigned from his advisory position in the Israel Museum in
protest of the war, and refused a similar offer from the Bezalel
Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.[50]
Turkish Intellectuals’ Reactions to Operation Cast Lead
During Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in the winter of
2008-2009, Turkish opinion leaders reacted similarly to the way they
had to the war in Lebanon. Again, these reactions can be divided into
four categories.
1. "Israel’s legitimacy is questionable." Ahmet Turan Alkan, a retired
academic and contributor to the Islamist daily Zaman and the journal
Aksiyon, described Israel in these terms:
When Israel emerged as a state after World War II, there was an aspect
to it that had the air of a science fiction novel, or a very ancient
epic.
Israel is the product of a fantasy: a fantasy that is unparalleled,
that leaves one speechless and boggles the mind; it’s the product of
an illusion.
Perhaps the most fantastic story of the 20th century is the
establishment of an Israeli state in Palestine: Israel reminds one of
a sort of Disneyland. An imaginary nation that lived [only] in the
minds of Zionist Jews, now resurrected on the territories of
Palestine; it’s a cartoon….
A maquette country: a film studio.[51]
For Ayhan Demir, a writer for the Islamist Millî Gazete, the only
possible solution to the problem was Israel’s disappearance:
The first thing to be done to achieve the security of Istanbul and
Jerusalem is to get rid, in as short a time as possible, of this
"shanty town" that has begun to harm humanity on the entire face of
the earth, and which is as offensive to the heart as to the eye. To
send the occupiers to the garbage heap of history, together with their
bloody charlatanism would be one of the most noble acts that could be
realized in the name of humanity. A world without Israel would be,
without a doubt, a much more peaceful and secure world.[52]
2. "Israel is comparable to Hitler and the Nazis." Such parallels are
made frequently in Turkish newspaper columns. Likewise, Gaza is
likened to Auschwitz[53] and Israel is claimed to "have turned the
Holocaust into an industry to act as a cover for all of Israel’s
atrocities."[54] In one instance, after alluding to the theme of "Jews
saved from the Holocaust" in Schindler’s List, the columnist Haþmet
Babaoðlu of the mainstream Sabah newspaper demanded that some
Western institution compile a similar list of "Gazan children saved
from Israeli fire."[55] The leftist daily Birgün led with the
headline "Israel Is a Prisoner of the Nazi Spirit" (Ýsrail Nazi
Ruhuna Esir).[56] Nuh Gönültaþ of Bugün recounted how a
fellow citizen he met on the street exclaimed to him that "Hitler was
justified [in annihilating the Jews]!"[57]
The Islamist sociologist Ali Bulaç, a columnist for Zaman and
well-known public intellectual, in one of his articles described Gaza
as "a concentration camp that in reality surpass the Nazis camps" and
also wrote that "Israel neither wants peace nor will it give up the
lands between the Nile and the Euphrates since it is the LORD who gave
them to it!"[58]
3. "The American Jewish lobby controls Hollywood and the media."
Similar to the reactions to the Lebanon war, during Operation Cast
Lead numerous Turkish columnists claimed the "American Jewish lobby"
was directing the White House’s Middle East policy in the service of
Israeli interests. The New York correspondent for the liberal-leftist
daily Taraf described this lobby as "a second Israel within
America."[59] Oray Eðin, a writer for the mainstream daily Akþam
and an admirer of the United States, claimed that the lobby was
concentrated in the communications field and highly successful
especially in the media and film sectors. Hence, the message of
American films was one of "always embracing and protecting the Jews."
The New York Times, Eðin claimed, was always biased in Israel’s
favor and so was called a "Jewish paper." [60]
The film critic for Millî Gazete, Seyid Çolak, similarly claimed
that as a result of "the preponderantly Jewish filmmakers who dominate
Hollywood…the Jews can comfortably conduct their own genocide, by
using the credit of an `oppressed people’ that these films have given
them among world opinion."[61]
The belief that the international media favors Israel is so widespread
in Turkey that it was even expressed publicly by Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan. He asserted that world opinion remained mute in
the face of Israel’s assaults, reflecting "an international media that
is under Israel’s control" and does not publish objective reports.[62]
In response, the abovementioned sociologist and Yeni Þafak
contributor Yasin Aktay averred that he shared Erdoðan’s view and
that Israel had extraordinary success in the propaganda field.[63] The
previously mentioned Islamist sociologist Ali Bulaç wrote that
"Israel sees itself in a privileged position in the international
community and considers that international regulations and customs do
not bind it."[64]
4. "Israel exploits the Holocaust and accuses its critics of
anti-Semitism." Another frequently encountered theme during and after
Operation Cast Lead was that Israel exploits the Holocaust to portray
itself as oppressed and mobilizes the Jewish lobby to accuse anyone
who criticizes it of anti-Semitism. The source most often cited to
buttress this claim was Norman Finkelstein’s The Holocaust Industry:
Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering.[65] The
Islamist-minded Solidarity Foundation (Dayanýþma Vakfý),
known for its pro-Palestinian stance, set off a debate when it placed
two notices on billboards belonging to the Istanbul Metropolitan
Municipality criticizing Israel’s military actions with reference to
the "Old Testament."[66] Israel’s consul general in Istanbul, Amikam
Mordechai, protested that the posters were "fanning the flames of
anti-Semitism" and called on the city’s mayor, Kadir Topbaþ, to
have them removed.[67] When this demand was reported in the press,
Aktay responded in Yeni Þafak:
Israel owes its very existence to a [piece of] propaganda, and its
existence in this world, its legitimacy and its ability to appear
victimized and justified-even innocent in all of these actions it
takes are only possible as a result of this propaganda. What’s more,
Israel’s power and the fact that it has not been defeated also derive
from a [piece of] propaganda.
This propaganda machine is very successful at having everything
interpreted and evaluated in [Israel’s] favor. For example, they are
able to both conduct massacres, oppressions and racism that would
rival those of the Nazis and also to suppress any comparison of their
deeds with those of the Nazis, any relating of them to the concept of
genocide, or even in a way to Judaism itself by insinuating [that
those making such claims] are "anti-Semites."… In this sense, the
silencing of every criticism of Israel that alludes to Judaism through
an automatic and expected accusation of anti-Semitism ultimately
provides an extraordinary service for Zionist propaganda, and this
policy of Israel has produced blood, oppression and diaspora for other
people. Because just as Israel has exploited and colonized everything
it also exploits the oppression of the Jews, genocide, Nazi oppression
and even Judaism itself.[68]
Reactions in Daily Life
In reaction to the war, the Turkish Consumers Union (Tüketiciler
Birliði) called for a boycott of Israeli products.[69] The Pera
Museum in Istanbul postponed the opening of an exhibition of works by
Marc Chagall on loan from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The
abovementioned leading curator Vasýf Kortun called on the art
community to boycott Israeli artists.[70]
The famous female vocalist Yýldýz Tilbe invoked curses on Israel
during a television program, saying, "May God bring down one disaster
after another upon Israel." The studio audience answered, "Amen."[71]
At a press conference to condemn Israel’s actions and also to
criticize the "Apologize to the Armenians" signature campaign started
by a group of leftist and liberal intellectuals apologizing for the
1915 massacres,[72] Niyazi Çapa, chairman of the Eskiþehir-based
Osmangazi Federation of Cultural Associations, declared that "Dogs are
free to enter but not Jews and Armenians."[73]
Despite the presence of 1,500 Turkish police officers, a Eurocup
basketball game in Ankara between Türk Telekom and the Israeli team
Bnei Hasharon had to be called off because of attacks against the
Israeli players by Turkish spectators.[74] But the most disturbing
incident during the war was the general directive issued by the
National Education Ministry that all school staff and students were to
stand for a minute of silence in honor of the children killed in
Palestine.[75]
Conclusion
Regardless of ideological outlook, the Turkish intellectual elite has
little interest in broader international developments. The areas of
concern are Turkey’s relations with its immediate neighbors, the
European Union, the United States, and the various Turkic
republics. Turkish intellectuals tend to view anti-Semitism as a
problem that is not encountered in Turkey, and as a much-exaggerated,
particularist phenomenon that only occupies Turkish Jews. As a result,
they do not research or even read in this area, preferring instead to
repeat the pat phrases of their respective ideological positions.
Hence, their approaches to the "Palestine question" rarely venture
outside the clichés of Turkish popular culture. The average Turkish
newspaper reader, columnist, or editor has no proficiency in any
foreign language that would allow acces to scholarly or even popular
discourse outside the Turkish context. Therefore, the one avenue
available to them is translated works from Western and other
sources. Yet Turkish publishing houses providing translated works on
the Israeli-Palestinian issue are careful not to run afoul of popular
sentiment, and they avoid works that might be seen as pro-Israeli or
"Israeli propaganda." The net result is that the typical Turkish
columnist-and hence, his or her readers-utilizes only limited sources
on the conflict that are preponderantly anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, or
conspiracy theories, or some combination of those.
The traditional response of Turkey’s Jewish leaders is to make a clear
distinction between Turkish Jewry and the state of Israel and to
repeatedly declare that they are "Turks," while studiously refraining
from expressing any view on the conflict. Nevertheless, during
Operation Cast Lead the Islamist press exerted constant pressure on
the chief rabbi and the community president, including frequent calls
on them to condemn Israel, accusing Turkish Jews of being "Zionists"
if they did not do so, and implying that failure to condemn Israeli
actions indicated support for "Jewish terror."[76] Nor were such
sentiments limited to the Islamist press. At one point Serdar Turgut,
a writer for the mainstream Akþam, issued a similar call.[77]
There is, indeed, little that the Turkish Jewish leaders can do in the
face of such a situation. The opinion leaders and intellectual elites
remain largely oblivious to the question of whether anti-Semitism is
only or should remain a "Jewish problem." Although the Turkish Penal
Code contains clear articles prohibiting incitement or discrimination
on the basis of language, religion, or race, prosecutors have largely
failed to initiate legal action against anti-Semitic publications. In
the face of such judicial passivity, Jewish community president Silvyo
Ovadya called on President Abdullah Gül to have the Turkish Penal
Code include a regulation outlawing anti-Semitism.[78] But even were
such a prohibition to be officially introduced, it is hardly likely
that it would spur the state prosecutor to action or function
effectively as a deterrent.
Moreover, any attempt by the Jewish leadership to confront Turkish
society on combating anti-Semitism is likely to backfire and even
further exacerbate the problem. For instance, upon reading of Ovadya’s
demand in the Turkish press, radical Islamist writer Nurettin Þirin
addressed a message to the community president on the Turkish Islamist
website The Road to Jerusalem (Kudüs Yolu): "Well, since you have
demanded that the prosecutors initiate action [against anti-Semitic
publications], please, take your case to one of the prosecutors and
let’s meet in court. Don’t send your attorneys, but come yourself, so
that we’ll have the opportunity to spit in your ugly face. Let’s
express it to you in diplomatic terminology: Silvyo Ovadya: persona
non grata."[79]
On the subject of anti-Semitism, the attitude of the Islamist and
nationalist intellectuals and publicists is very simple. For them a
Muslim cannot be an anti-Semite. As Ali Bulaç stated it in his
column in Zaman:
Anti-Semitism is haram [forbidden] in our religion. One cannot have
enmity against the Jew because of his religion/race. The Koran when
speaking of Jews and Christians states clearly that "not all of them
are alike" (3/Al Imran, 113-115) and praises the good ones. As a
matter of fact, we have seen in all parts of the world "good Jews" who
reacted to the murders [committed by] Israel.[80]
Selçuk Gültaþlý, Washington correspondent of the Islamist,
English-language Today’s Zaman daily, expressed this as follows:
Being against racism of all sorts is a distinctive characteristic and
is an integral part of any Muslim. If one refuses Islamophobia, but at
the same time pours petrol on the fire of anti-Semitism, it will make
one racist and discredit the cause that one is defending. However, we
must never allow the difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism
to be blurred. A person who fights against anti-Semitism may
consistently condemn a Zionist Israel. But one needs to be in the
position of Ariel Sharon when accusing hundreds of Jewish
intellectuals who condemn Israel of anti-Semitism.[81]
>From a leftist standpoint as well, no leftist can be an anti-Semite
since leftists oppose racism and discrimination. Therefore even the
most virulently anti-Semitic publicist in Turkey, whether Islamist,
nationalist, or leftist, will always claim that his criticism should
not be interpreted as anti-Semitism. He will state that he is an
anti-Zionist and not an anti-Semite and that the Zionists always
accuse those who make legitimate criticisms of Israel of anti-Semitism
and thus make the state of Israel immune to criticism.
In such a situation, the Jewish leadership have no allies whatsoever
who might publicly support them in their fight against anti-Semitism
since no public intellectual or journalist would want to be labeled a
"Zionist" or "Israel lover" by the Islamist press. They will neither
show support for Israel nor condemn anti-Semitism. In past cases where
anti-Semitism skyrocketed in the Turkish press, the only reaction was
from leftist and liberal-minded human rights activists who, in turn,
were severely criticized as "pro-Israeli" by other leftists.[82]
Given the reality, the only options left for Turkey’s Jewish community
are to either continue living in Turkey amid widespread anti-Semitism
or to emigrate. Turkey’s present political and social conditions offer
no other choice.
Appendix: Profile of Newspapers Cited
The overall daily circulation figure of all newspapers is 4,654,299 as
of June 2009.
Akþam: Daily. Secular and Kemalist. Belongs to the Türkmedya
group. Circulation 143,000.
Aksiyon: Weekly journal similar to Time or Newsweek. Belongs to the
same group that owns Zaman. Circulation 26,000.
Anadolu’da Vakit: Daily. Radical Islamist. Circulation 52,000.
Birgün: Daily. Leftist. Circulation 5,000.
Birikim: Monthly journal, leftist. Small circulation of probably 1,000
copies. It is, however, highly regarded by the leftist and liberal
intellectuals as some of its writers are also columnists for Taraf and
Radikal Ýki, Radikal’s Sunday edition.
Bugün: Daily. Belongs to Koza Ýpek Holding Inc., which also owns
also the Kanaltürk television channel. Bugün has columnists of
various ideological convictions: ex-Marxist (Gülay Göktürk),
Ýslamist (Ahmet Taþgetiren, Nuh Gönültaþ and Cemal
Uþþak), Kemalist (Toktamýþ Ateþ), and nationalist
(Ömer Lütfi Mete). Circulation 56,000.
Hürriyet: Daily. Mainstream, secular. Belongs to the number-one
media group Doðan Yayýn Holding Inc.[83] Undoubtedly the most
influential of the newspapers. Circulation 465,000. It has also an
English edition, Hürriyet Daily News.
Millî Gazete: Unofficial daily organ of the National View (Millî
Görüþ) movement, founded by Necmettin Erbakan and dedicated
to political Islam. This ideology is currently represented by the
Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi). Circulation 50,000.
Milliyet: Daily. Secular. Belongs to Doðan Yayýn Holding
Inc. Circulation 170,000.
Önce Vatan: Daily. Nationalist. Circulation 6,000.
Ortadoðu: Daily. Nationalist. Circulation 6,500.
Radikal: Daily. Liberal-leftist. Belongs to Doðan Yayýn Holding
Inc. Circulation 37,000, but it is a prestigious daily with a number
of influential columnists and is one of the two newspapers (the other
is Taraf) commonly read by the leftist and liberal intellectuals.
Sabah: Daily. Pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Islamist
party that now governs Turkey. Belongs to the Turkuvaz Medya group,
whose vice-president is the brother of Prime Minister Erdoðan’s
son-in-law. Circulation 333,000.
Star: Daily. Features Islamist and libertarian columnists. Belongs to
businessman Ethem Sancak, who also owns the Kanal 24 television
channel. Circulation 101,000.
Taraf: Daily. Liberal-leftist. Belongs to the Alkim company, publisher
and owner of bookstores. Circulation 58,000, and very influential
among the leftist and liberal intellectuals.
Today’s Zaman: Daily. English version of Zaman. Circulation
4.700. Addresses exclusively the foreign diplomatic community and
expatriates living in Turkey.
Yeni Þafak: Daily. Belongs to the Islamist Albayrak
group. Circulation 102,000.
Zaman: Daily. Belongs to Feza Yayýncýlýk, closely connected
to the Islamist religious leader Fethullah Gülen, who is honorary
president of the Journalists and Writers Foundation ()
and currently resides in New Jersey for "health reasons." Circulation
767,000. It has also an English edition, Today’s Zaman.
* * *
Notes
[1] The wave of anti-Semitism that erupted in Turkey during Operation
Cast Lead was also noted in the world press. See Yigal Schleifer,
"Turkey’s Harsh Criticism of Israel Raises Questions," Jewish
Telegraphic Agency, 12 January 2009; Ben Cohen, "Anti-Semitism Roars
in Turkey," , 13 January
2009; Soner Çaðaptay, "Ýs Turkey Still a Western Ally?," Wall
Street Journal, 25 January 2009; "AJC, Other Jewish Organizations
Protest Anti-Semitism to Turkish PM," AJC Press Release, 28 January
2009; "Les tensions à Gaza ravivent l’antisémitisme en Turquie,"
Le Figaro, 31 January 2009 [French]; Guillaume Perrier, "En Turquie,
la communauté Juive craint une poussée d’antisémitisme," Le
Monde, 3 February 2009 [French]; Barry Rubin, "Turkey in the Fire,"
ey-in-the-fire-guest-voice, 9
February 2009; Emre Uslu and Önder Aytaç, "Danger of
Antisemitism in Turkey," Today’s Zaman, 19 January 2009.
[2] The CUP (in Turkish, Ýttihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti) was a
coalition of middle-class organizations composed of town notables,
landlords, and petty government officials. It came to power in the
1908 Young Turk Revolution and held power until 1918. At the end of
World War I, most of its members were court-martialed by Sultan Mehmed
VI and imprisoned. "Committee of Union and Progress,"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comittee_of_ Union_and_Progress.
[3] For historical background on the Allatini family, see
Today, Villa Allatini houses the
Prefecture of Thessaloniki offices.
[4] The idea that the Jews were actually the puppetmasters behind the
CUP has been repeated ad nauseam, both in Turkish literature and
elsewhere. A recent example came during Operation Cast Lead from the
pen of Hasan Celal Güzel, a columnist for the liberal daily Radikal
who had previously served both as a ministerial adviser and as
minister for national education, youth and sport. "Ýþte
Siyonizm!," Radikal, 30 December 2008. [Turkish]
[5] For more information, see Rýfat N. Bali, A Scapegoat for All
Seasons: The Dönmes or Crypto-Jews of Turkey (Istanbul: Isis Press,
2008).
[6] In fact, most Western scholars who have examined this issue have
concluded that neither Ottoman nor foreign Jewry either strongly
influenced or played a significant role within the Young Turk
movement. See Elie Kedourie, "Young Turks, Freemasons and Jews,"
Middle Eastern Studies, 7 (1971), 89-104; Jacob M. Landau, "The Young
Turks and Zionism: Some Comments," Jews, Arabs, Turks: Selected Essays
(Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1993), 169-177; Robert Olson, "The
Young Turks and the Jews: A Historiographical Revision," Turcica, tome
18 (1986), 219-235.
[7] The Protocols have been translated and published in Turkey 102
times from 1923 to 2008. For a listing of these editions, see Rýfat
N. Bali, Les Relations Entre Turcs et Juifs Dans la Turquie Moderne
(Istanbul: Isis Press), 61-68. [French]
[8] This belief that Turkish territory is one of the eventual
expansionist goals of Zionism has been endlessly repeated verbally and
in print by the Islamist movement. It is based on the claim that
Genesis 15:18 is taken literally by Jews and "Zionists": "On that day
the LORD made a covenant with Abraham and said, `To your descendants I
give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river the
Euphrates.’" The headwaters of the Euphrates are found on Turkish
soil.
[9] See Esther Benbassa, Haim Nahum: A Sephardic Chief Rabbi in
Politics 1892-1923, trans. Miriam Kochan (Tuscaloosa: University of
Alabama Press, 1995).
[10] This belief is based on a claim found in the memoirs of Rýza
Nur (1879-1942) (Hayat ve Hatýralarým), another member of the
Turkish delegation and Turkey’s first minister of national education.
[11] For the most thorough biography of Moiz Kohen/Tekin Alp, see
Jacob M. Landau, Tekinalp, Turkish Patriot, 1883-1961 (Istanbul:
Nederlands Historisch Archaelogisch Institute Istanbul), 1984.
[12] The Turkish Hearths (Türk Ocaklarý), a nationalist
organization established in 1912, was one of the main actors in
spreading Turkish nationalism.
[13] This ridiculous belief was voiced three decades ago by the
leading Islamist politician at the time, Necmettin Erbakan. See
Necmettin Erbakan, "Anarþi ve Siyonizm," Ýstanbul Bayram
Gazetesi (quoted in Millî Gazete, 16 August 1980) [Turkish]. While
it is true that a foreigner made a donation toward the construction of
the Turkish Hearths headquarters, the person was not Franko nor even
Jewish but an American Christian, Arthur Nash.
[14] See, e.g., Abdurrahman Dilipak, "Ergenekon’da yeni dönem!,"
Anadolu’da Vakit, 15 May 2009 [Turkish]. Dilipak has repeatedly made
this claim; see also Abdurrahman Dilipak, "Diyarbakýr’da birkaç
yüz Çaðlayan’da birkaç bin kiþi," Anadolu’da Vakit, 25
June 2007 [Turkish]; Abdurrahman Dilipak, "Hablemitoðlu, YÖK,
Menemen, vs.," Vakit, 28 December 2002 [Turkish]. Türk Ocaklarý
refuted these claims but to no avail. See Mustafa Bayramoðlu,
"Yalanýn Bekasý Olur mu?, Türk Ocaklarý, Ziya Gökalp ve
Gerçekler," Türk Yurdu, 188, April 2003, 31-32 [Turkish] and
open letter to Abdurrahman Dilipak entitled "Sayýn Abdurrahman
Dilipak," dated 25 June 2007, by Orhan Kavuncu, general secretary of
Türk Ocaklarý at their website
[15] For example, the Israeli consul general in Istanbul, Ephraim
Elrom, was kidnapped and eventually murdered by the Turkish Marxist
militant group THKO (Turkish People’s Liberation Army) in May 1971.
[16] Soner Yalçýn, "Ýsrail saldýrýsý’nda sekiz
Türk devrimci can verdi," Hürriyet, 4 January 2009. [Turkish]
[17] They include, for instance, the Paris correspondant for CNN
Türk and the daily Milliyet, Sabetay Varol; Afa Publications owner
Atýl Ant (one of the leading Turkish publishing houses during the
1980s); Þahin Alpay, a writer and columnist for Zaman and its
English-language edition Today’s Zaman; Faik Bulut, a writer for The
New Anatolian who was captured by the Israel Defense Forces in one of
its actions against PLO camps in Lebanon and served seven years in
prison, along with Radikal foreign affairs correspondent Cengiz
Çandar. Both Çandar and Bulut have published memoirs from this
period. See Cengiz Çandar, "A Turk in the Palestinian Resistance,"
Journal of Palestine, 30, 1 (Fall 2000), 68-82; Faik Bulut, Filistin
Rüyasý Ýsrail Zindanlarýnda 7 Yýl (Istanbul: Kaynak
Yayýnlarý, 1991). [Turkish]
[18] Birikim, 186 (October 2004). [Turkish]
[19] For a full narrative of the polemic that followed this article,
see Rýfat N. Bali, Ümit Kývanç’a Cevap Birikim Dergisinin
Yayýnlamayý Reddettiði Makalenin Öyküsü (Istanbul:
Paralel Reklam, 2005). [Turkish]
[20] Rasim Ozan Kütahyalý, "Ergenekon’un TV projesi: Kurtlar
Vadisi (2002-2006)," Taraf, 17 January 2009 [Turkish]; Ýhsan
Daðý, "Yeni anti-Semitler kimler?," Zaman, 6 February 2009
[Turkish]. For an overview of neonationalism, see Emre Uslu,
"Ulusalcýlýk: The Neo-Nationalist Resurgence in Turkey," Turkish
Studies, 9, 1 (March 2008), 73-97.
[21] For a bibliography of the translations of Mein Kampf , see Bali,
Les Relations, 70-71.
[22] The Turkish translation of Mein Kampf has always been a
bestseller among the traditional ultranationalist camp in Turkey. See
"Hitler Book Bestseller in Turkey," 18 March 2005,
m; Helena Smith, "Mein
Kampf Sales Soar in Turkey," The Guardian, 29 March 2005.
[23] In a 2007 study, some 55 percent of the respondents said they
would not want Jews as neighbors. Þahin Alpay, "Laikçiliðe
deðil laikliðe destek var," Zaman, 12 February 2008. [Turkish]
[24] Unfavorable Views of Jews and Muslims on the Increase in Europe
(Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2008), 10.
[25] "Study: 64% of Turks Don’t Want Jewish Neighbors," Haaretz, 31
May 2009; "Survey: Neighborhood Pressure Is Rare in Turkey, but
Intolerance Is Not," Today’s Zaman, 1 June 2009.
[26] Ýhsan D. Daðý and Metin Toprak, "Dýþ politika ve
kamuoyu," Radikal, 1 December 2003. [Turkish]
[27] Murat Belge, "Ýsrail ve dünya kamuoyu," Radikal, 25 July
2006. [Turkish]
[28] Toktamýþ Ateþ, "Ýsrail’in hakký," Bugün, 20
July 2006. [Turkish]
[29] Yasin Aktay, "Ýsrail istisnacýlýðý ve
antisemitizm," Yeni Þafak, 3 July 2006 [Turkish]. For more
information on Yasin Aktay, see
[30] Can Dündar, "Sessizliðe son!," Milliyet, 8 August
2006. [Turkish]
[31] Hasan Karakaya, "Hitler yapmazdý, Siyonistler’in bu
yaptýðýný!," Anadolu’da Vakit, 16 July 2006 [Turkish];
Hasan Karakaya, "Deðil Hitler, `kudurmuþ itler’ bile yapmaz bu
vahþeti!," Anadolu’da Vakit, 1 August 2006 [Turkish];
Þükrü Hüseyinoðlu, "Ýsrail, `Soykýrým
Endüstrisi’nden beslenerek soykýrým yapýyor," Yeni
Þafak, 2 August 2006 [Turkish]; Salih Tuna, "Ehud Olmert, Hitler’in
gözlerine bakýyor!," Yeni Þafak, 2 August 2006 [Turkish]. The
chairman of the Turkish parliament’s Investigative Commission on Human
Rights, Mehmet Elkatmýþ, also declared that "Israel has
exorcised the bitterness of the Holocaust committed by Hitler through
innocent persons in the region." "Elkatmýþ: Ýsrail, Hitler’in
yolunda," Anadolu’da Vakit, 4 August 2006 [Turkish]; Taha Parla,
"Ýsrail ve Nazi taktikleri," Milliyet, 17 July 2006. [Turkish]
[32] Nuh Gönültaþ, "Artýk Yahudiler’in soykýrým
iddialarýna karþý delillerimiz var!," Bugün, 1 August
2006. [Turkish]
[33] Abdullah Kýlýç, "Dikkat! Dikkat!.. Ey Devletlüler,"
Önce Vatan, 26 July 2006. [Turkish]
[34] Ýbrahim Tenekeci, "Yanlýþ adam…," Millî Gazete, 6
July 2006. [Turkish]
[35] Yasin Aktay, "Ýsrail istisnacýlýðý ve
antisemitizm," Yeni Þafak, 3 July 2006 [Turkish]; Ali Çimen,
"Anti-Semitizm suçlamasý kariyer bitiriyor: Yahudi demeden
önce iki kez yutkun," Zaman Turkuaz, 13 August 2006 [Turkish]; Ali
Bulaç, "Filistin ve antisemitizm," Zaman, 9 July 2006. [Turkish]
[36] A. Turan Alkan, "Bir ibrettir Ýsrail," Zaman, 15 July 2006
[Turkish]; Ahmet Kekeç, "Sizi kýnadýklarýnýzdan
ayýran nedir?," Yeni Þafak, 17 July 2006 [Turkish]; Hüseyin
Akýn, "Antisemitizmin kaynaðý Ýsrail’dir," Millî
Gazete, 18 July 2009. [Turkish]
[37] Ali Bulaç, "Filistin ve antisemitizm," Zaman, 9 July 2006
[Turkish]; Hüseyin Akýn, "Antisemitizmin kaynaðý
Ýsrail’dir," Millî Gazete, 18 July 2006. [Turkish]
[38] Nuray Mert, "Ýsyanýn ahlaký," Radikal, 3 August
2006. [Turkish]
[39] Örneðin Ýbrahim Tenekeci, "Yanlýþ adam…,"
Millî Gazete, 6 July 2006 [Turkish]; Umur Talu, "Etkiye tepki!,"
Sabah, 2 August 2006 [Turkish]; Cemal A. Kalyoncu, "Özgentürk:
Yahudilerden tehdit aldým," Aksiyon, 609, 7 August 2006, 34-36
[Turkish]. For a similar statement by Radikal newspaper columnist
Hasan Celal Güzel, see "Türkiye için Davos bitmiþ midir?,"
32. Gün, Kanal D, 5 February 2009 [Turkish]. See also Ramazan
Kaðan Kurt, "Wall Street Tamam da Hollywood’u Yahudiler ve
Ýsrail mi yönetiyor?," Ortadoðu Gazetesi, 29 December 2008
[Turkish]; Can Dündar, "Amerikan Gözlüðü," Sabah, 6
June 2000 [Turkish]; Can Dündar, "ABD’deki Musevi lobisi,"
Milliyet, 16 April 2002 [Turkish]; Ali Bulaç, "Bir ibrettir
Ýsrail," Zaman, 15 July 2006. [Turkish]
[40] [Turkish]
[41] Emine Özcan, "Küresel BAK’tan Ýsrail’e Resimli
Protesto," , 25 July
2006. [Turkish]
[42] Fikret Baþkaya, "Ýsrail Filistin ve Lübnan’da
"Ýnsanlýk Suçu" Ýþlemektedir," joint press release by
the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed People
(Mazlumder), Human Rights Association (ÝHD), Turkish Human Rights
Foundation (TÝHV), Contemporary Lawyers Association, and Free
University Foundation (Forum of Turkey and Middle East Foundation), 18
July 2006. [Turkish]
[43] The authors of the protest announcement were Radikal writers
Perihan Maðden and Yýldýrým Türker, Sabancý
University faculty member Asst. Prof. Dr. Ayþe Gül Altýnay,
Bosphorus University faculty members Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep
Çaðlayan Gambetti, Asst. Prof. Dr. Koray Çalýþkan, and
Prof. Taha Parla, and the novelist Latife Tekin.
[44] Laurent Mallet, "La Crise Libanaise vue de Turquie," Hérodote,
124, 1 (2007), 51-68. [French]
[45] Sadi Nergidzal, "Küfretmedik sadece savaþa tepki
gösterdik," Sabah, 16 August 2006. [Turkish]
[46] Tülay Þubatlý, "Bizi Türk esnaf kurtardý!," Vatan,
6 August 2006. [Turkish]
[47] "TRT’den kötü zamanlama," Yeni Þafak, 31 July
2006. [Turkish]
[48] "TRT `Piyanist’ filmini sansürletti," Milliyet, 3 August
2006. [Turkish]
[49] Ahmet Hakan, "Piyanist yayýnlanmalý," Hürriyet, 3 August
2006. [Turkish]
[50] Kültürazzi, "Gazze saldýrýsý Marc Chagall
sergisini vurdu," Hürriyet Pazar, 18 January 2009. [Turkish]
[51] Ahmet Turan Alkan, "Herkesin nefretini kazanan Ütopya:
Ýsrail," Aksiyon, 736, 12 January 2009. [Turkish]
[52] Ayhan Demir, "Tek çözüm; Ýsrail’i ortadan
kaldýrmak," Millî Gazete, 30 December 2008. [Turkish]
[53] Ahmet Kekeç, "Gazze deðil Auschwitz," Star, 31 December
2008 [Turkish]; Enver Gülþen, "Auschwitz’in kurbanlarý,
görüyor musunuz?," Taraf, 30 December 2008. [Turkish]
[54] Selçuk Gültaþlý, "Böyle olur Holokost’un
çocuklarý," Zaman, 12 January 2009 [Turkish]; Abdurrahman
Dilipak, "Soykýrým endüstrisi ve gizli faþizm!,"
Anadolu’da Vakit, 5 February 2009. [Turkish]
[55] Haþmet Babaoðlu, "Schindler’in Listesi’nde Gazzeli
Çocuklar!," Sabah, 5 January 2009. [Turkish]
[56] Birgün, 7 January 2009. [Turkish]
[57] Nuh Gönültaþ, "Gazze’yi Bombalayan Ýsrail
uçaklarý Konya’da eðitiliyor!," Bugün, 30 December
2008. [Turkish]
[58] Ali Bulaç, "Israil," Zaman, 29 December 2008. [Israel]
[59] Hýdýr Geviþ, "Amerika’nýn içindeki ikinci
Ýsrail," Taraf, 4 January 2009. [Turkish]
[60] Oray Eðin, "Ýsrail neden hep haklý?," Akþam, 30
December 2008 [Turkish]. Eðin’s recollection here is not exactly
correct. Among the more hostile anti-Semitic groups and individuals,
the New York Times is not referred to as a "Jewish newspaper" but as
the Jew York Times.
[61] Seyid Çolak, "Bunu da çek Hollywood!," Millî Gazete, 13
January 2009. [Turkish].
[62] "Erdoðan: Ýsrail, dünya ile dalga geçiyor," Yeni
Þafak, 16 January 2009. [Turkish]
[63] Yasin Aktay, "Ýsrail bir propagandadan ibarettir," Yeni
Þafak, 16 January 2009. [Turkish]
[64] Ali Bulaç, "Perez ve Olmert ne diyordu?," Zaman, 3 January
2009. [Israel]
[65] Nihal B. Karaca, "Antisemitizmle korkutulmak," Zaman, 8 January
2009 [Turkish]; Yasin Doðan, "Erdoðan’ýn
çýký E;ý ve Ýsrail’in tutumu?," Yeni Þafak, 6
February 2009. [Turkish]. Today’s Zaman conducted a telephone
interview with Finkelstein. See Selçuk Gültaþlý, "Israel
Is Committing a Holocaust in Gaza: Norman Finkelstein," Today’s Zaman,
15 February 2009. See also Selçuk Gültaþlý, "Expect This
from the Children of Holocaust," Today’s Zaman, 13 January 2009.
[66] One of the signs, in reference to Exodus 20:13 ("Thou shalt not
murder") proclaimed, "You can’t be the children of Moses!," (Sen
Musa’nýn çocuðu olamazsýn!), while the other referenced
Isaiah 61:8 ("For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and
iniquity") in stating "This isn’t in your [Holy] Book!," (Bu senin
kitabýnda yok!). The Solidarity Foundation’s signs can be seen at
Nor was the Solidarity Foundation
alone in using biblical references to criticize Israel. In reference
to the aforementioned prohibition on murder, the liberal-leftist daily
Taraf (29 December 2008) ran the front-page headline: "The Lord cannot
have commanded you to do this."
[67] Kemal Gümüþ, "Konsolostan küsthlýk," Anadolu’da
Vakit, 9 January 2009. [Turkish]
[68] Yasin Aktay, "Ýsrail bir propagandadan ibarettir," Yeni
Þafak, 10 April 2009. [Turkish]
[69] Kemal Gümüþ, "Ýsrail mallarý depoda kaldý,"
Anadolu’da Vakit, 19 January 2009. [Turkish]
[70] Kültürazzi, "Gazze saldýrýsý Marc Chagall
sergisinin vurdu," Hürriyet Pazar, 18 January 2009. [Turkish].
[71] "Canlý yayýnda Ýsrail’e Beddua,"
d0544, 5 January 2009.
[72] As of the end of June, 29,980 had signed the petition for this
campaign. The text and the signatories can be viewed at
See also Khatchig Mouradian, "The Genie
Is Out of the Bottle," 27 December 2008,
[73] Kemal Atlan, "Köpekler girermiþ, Yahudiler ve Ermeniler
giremezmiþ!," Radikal, 7 January 2009 [Turkish]. After a public
outcry in the press, the organization was prosecuted by the Prosecutor
of the Republic, judged, and sentenced to five months in prison, which
then was translated into a fine of TL 3,000 ($2,000) on grounds of
article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code "for degrading one social class
against another." Source: "Bu pankartýn cezasý 5 ay hapis,"
Zaman, 27 May 2009. [Turkish]
[74] Allon Sinai, "Terror in Turkey for Bnei Hasharon Team," Jerusalem
Post, 7 January 2009.
[75] "Filistin için bir dakika," Hürriyet, 14 January
2009. [Turkish]
[76] Kemal Gümüþ, "Yahudi Cemaati vahþeti
kýnayamadý," Anadolu’da Vakit, 29 December 2008 [Turkish]; Aslan
Deðirmenci, "Yahudi terörüne suskunlar," Anadolu’da Vakit, 6
January 2009 [Turkish]; Serdar Arseven, "Hahambaþý’nýn
açýkl amasý," Anadolu’da Vakit, 8 January 2009 [Turkish];
Hüseyin Kulaoðlu, "Hahambaþý yeni taktik peþinde,"
Anadolu’da Vakit, 9 January 2009 [Turkish]; Munib Engin Noyan,
"Chiliye basýnýnda esen `Antisemitizm yapma suçlamalarý’
fýrtýnasý bbýnda," , 16 January
2009 [Turkish]; "Musevi cemaati katliamý kýnayamadý,"
Anadolu’da Vakit, 16 January 2009 [Turkish]; Ali Bulaç, "Yahudi
düþmanlýðý,& quot; Zaman, 19 January 2009 [Turkish]. Kenan
Çamurcu, a freelance Islamist journalist treated as a "Middle East
affairs expert" by the Turkish media, has gone even further, declaring
at one point that Turkish Jewry’s failure to condemn the events in
Gaza could be seen as approval of "these massacres" and, hence, as a
compelling reason to boycott all products and services produced by
businesses and institutions owned by Turkish Jews. Kenan Çamurcu,
"Gazze katliamýna Yahudi tepkisi, `çifte sadakat’ ve
anti-semitizm," ;yID=241 (blog), 23
January 2009 . [Turkish]
[77] Serdar Turgut, "Siyasi ve sýkýcý düþünceler,"
Akþam, 15 January 2009. [Turkish]
[78] Aydýn Hasan, "Gül `antisemitizme ceza’ talebine sýcak,"
Milliyet, 26 February 2009 [Turkish]; Bülent Aydemir, "Musevi
vatandaþlarýn Gül’den dört talebi var," Milliyet, 27
February 2009 [Turkish]. For an attorney’s opinion supporting such a
demand, see Cem Murat Sofuoðlu, "Türkiye’de Anti-Semitizm-Yahudi
Soykýrýmýn D; Yadsýma ve Anti-semitizm Suç
Sayýlabilir mi?," Güncel Hukuk, 4, 64 (April 2009),
32-33. [Turkish]
[79] Nurettin Þirin, "Ýsrail Ýþbirlikçisi Gizli
Siyonist Yahudi Cemaati Bizleri Kuþatamaz,"
il=tr&yzr=15&id=1525, 27 February
2009. [Turkish]
[80] Ali Bulaç, "Yahudi düþmanlýðý," Zaman, 19
January 2009. [Turkish]
[81] Selçuk Gültaþlý, "Expect This from the Children of
the Holocaust," Today’s Zaman, 13 January 2009.
[82] During Operation Cast Lead a petition condemning anti-Semitism in
the Turkish press was prepared by a number of human rights activisits
and posted on the internet. However, it was signed by only ninety
people (http://antisemitizmehayýr.blogspot.com/). This petition was
again criticized. See articles by a Jewish leftist poet, Roni
Margulies, "Her fýrsatta Hamas Düþmanlýðý," Taraf,
22 January 2009 [Turkish] and by an Islamist writer, Enver
Gülþen, "Her fýrsatta Siyonizm," Taraf, 13 January 2009
[Turkish]. For a reply to criticisms of this petition, see Ayþe
Günaysu’s (one of the signatories) op-ed, "Antisemitizm
bildirisinin amacý ne?," Taraf, 17 January 2009 [Turkish]. In 2004,
a similar petition was also published. See: "Antisemitizme Sýfýr
Tahammül," Birikim, 186, October 2004, 58-59 [Turkish]. This
petition was also criticized by leftist intellectuals; see Murat
Paker, "Anti-semitizme karþý bildiri üzerine," Birikim, 187,
November 2004, 88-91 [Turkish]; Roni Margulies, "Evet `sýfýr
tahammül’ ama nasýl?," Birikim, 188, December 2004,
pp. 65-68. [Turkish]
[83]
* * *
Rýfat N. Bali is an independent scholar, a graduate of Ecole
Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Religious Sciences Division, in Paris and
a research fellow of the Alberto Benveniste Center for Sephardic
Studies and Culture (Paris). He is the author of numerous books and
articles on the history of Turkish Jewry. His most recent publication
is A Scapegoat for All Seasons: The Dönmes or Crypto-Jews of Turkey
(Istanbul: Isis Press, 2008).