Seeing self in Hamas

In the jointly signed letter, leaders of prominent Jewish organizations listed a series of anti-Semitic protests in Turkey in the last few weeks, including anti-Jewish propaganda posters in Istanbul, the defacing of a synagogue in Izmir and protesters outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul expressing anti-Jewish sentiments, the letter calls on Erdoğan "to urgently address these disturbing developments." The letter further stressed that "Our Jewish friends in Turkey feel besieged and threatened. A connection is clearly perceived between the inflammatory denunciation of Israel by Turkish officials and the rise of anti-Semitism."

Indeed, a reflection of what was stressed in the joint letter to Erdoğan by the leading five Jewish-American establishments was seen in an article published in daily Radikal last week. The article, penned by Leyla Navaro, a writer and an academic with the Boğazici University, was explaining in some very bitter words how because of the rising anti-Semitism in the Turkish society the Turkish Jews were alienated from the rest of the country and indeed were being branded as "others" just because on the religion section of their identity document it was written as "Jewish."

At a time when Turks are remembering nowadays because of a film what had happened on Sept. 6 to 7, 1955 to the Greek Orthodox minority of Istanbul Ñ a shameful period of recent Turkish history when the small Greek minority of Istanbul was attacked by a mob, allegedly incited to violence by some deep-state elements, and eventually most members of the minority felt compelled to move to Greece Ñ it was natural, of course, for the remaining tiny Jewish minority of the country to be alarmed with what appears to be an anti-Semitic sentiment in the country after Erdoğan described Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip as a "humanitarian disgrace".

Turks are condemning Israeli aggression, not Jews
While there has never been anti-Semitism in Turkey like that in the United States or in continental Europe, it is a fact that though small, particularly among the conservative sections of the Turkish society there has been a deprecation of the Israeli state, very much like the same attitude among Muslim Arab masses. For the vast majority of Turks, our Jewish citizens are an integrated and loyal element. Turks taking to the streets to protest the atrocities committed by the Israeli state, not the Jewish people as part of an anti-Semitic campaign. What we have nowadays, however, is neither anti-Semitism or a deprecation of the Israeli state but rather a reflection of the prime minister developing a sense based on drawing parallels between his political background and that of the Hamas and coming up with pro-Hamas statements; ignoring how Hamas provoked Israel but instead focusing on the "right of Hamas" to have a say because of the high electoral support it received in the last Palestinian elections.

According to Erdoğan he was denied of his political rights in 2002 when his party came to power with an overwhelming electoral success. At the time it took months and only after the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, collaborated with the ruling party Erdoğan’s political rights were restored, he was elected to Parliament through a disputable election and became the prime minister. Now, the premier believes that the right of Hamas to govern Palestinians must be recognized; Israel, the European Union and the United States should abide with the norms of democracy and recognize the right of Hamas to govern Palestinians as an elected government. That is, the prime minister has mixed up the immense suffering of Palestinian people in Gaza with the "denial" of Hamas "right to govern" as an elected government. He cares less the fact that Hamas did not renounce violence; did not recognize the Oslo process under the terms of which elections were held and has been refusing to recognize the existence of the Israeli state Ñ a reality which along with the Palestinian right to statehood must be acknowledged if peace will ever come to the Mideast.