US Jewish group says PM actions fuel hatred
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 31, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - Despite the importance of Israeli-Turkish ties, Jews will not remain silent over attacks on Israel, a Jewish leader says. ’Prime Minister Erdoğan’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 Erdoğan 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."
Erdoğan 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, Erdoğan 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 Erdoğan in a written statement, saying: "'when it comes to killing, you know well how to kill,'" Erdoğan yelled at Peres, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
"Prime Minister Erdoğan’s tantrum at Davos throws gasoline on the fire of surging anti-Semitism," said AJC Executive Director David Harris, according to the statement. "Erdoğan’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 Erdoğan 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.
Erdoğan 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, Erdoğan 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 Erdoğan in a written statement, saying: "'when it comes to killing, you know well how to kill,'" Erdoğan yelled at Peres, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
"Prime Minister Erdoğan’s tantrum at Davos throws gasoline on the fire of surging anti-Semitism," said AJC Executive Director David Harris, according to the statement. "Erdoğan’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 Erdoğan 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.