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Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan under fire for Zionism remarks
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, is facing a chorus of
international criticism after branding Zionism `a crime against
humanity' akin to Fascism and anti-Semitism.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Photo: AP
By Robert Tait, Jerusalem
11:26AM GMT 01 Mar 2013
The comments, made at a United Nations conference on tolerance, were
denounced as `dark and mendacious' by the Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and condemned the US and the UN secretary general,
Ban Ki-moon, who was present and heard them in simultaneous
translation.
They also threatened to cause diplomatic embarrassment for the US
secretary of state, John Kerry, as he arrived in the Turkish capital
Ankara on Friday for talks on Syria.
`As is the case for Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is
inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity,'
Mr Erdogan said in a speech to the fifth global forum of the Alliance
of Civilizations in Vienna on Wednesday.
After the remark circulated widely on Israeli media, Mr Netanyahu
issued an official response, calling it `a dark and mendacious
statement the likes of which we thought had passed from the world'.
The Obama administration, which has sought to maintain close ties with
Turkey, a NATO ally called Mr Erdogan's comments `offensive and
wrong'.
`We encourage people of all faiths, cultures, and ideas to denounce
hateful actions and to overcome the differences of our times,' a
spokesman for the National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, said.
Mr Ban, who was criticised by a Geneva-based website, UN Watch which
proclaims itself as being "affiliated to the American-Jewish
community", for initially staying silent about Mr Erdogan's comments,
said they breached the spirit of the Alliance of Civilisations, which
was formed in 2005 to promote east-west understanding and combat
extremism.
"The Secretary-General believes is it is unfortunate that such hurtful
and divisive comments were uttered at a meeting being held under the
theme of responsible leadership,' a statement from his office said.
Relations between Israel and Turkey - once close allies - have been in
the doldrums since 2010, when nine Turkish activists were killed after
Israeli commandoes stormed a flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip. Mr
Netanyahu has resisted Turkish pressure to apologise and pay
compensation for the incident. Ties between the two nations were
recently said to be undergoing a quiet revival, amid reports that
Israel had resumed selling armament equipment to Turkey.
Mr Erdogan, a former Islamist, has sharply criticised Israel in the
past. In 2009 he stormed out of a debate with the Israeli president,
Shimon Peres, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, after telling him
`you Israelis know how to kill'.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/9902255/Turkeys-Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-under-fire-for-Zionism-remarks.html
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, is facing a chorus of
international criticism after branding Zionism `a crime against
humanity' akin to Fascism and anti-Semitism.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Photo: AP
By Robert Tait, Jerusalem
11:26AM GMT 01 Mar 2013
The comments, made at a United Nations conference on tolerance, were
denounced as `dark and mendacious' by the Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and condemned the US and the UN secretary general,
Ban Ki-moon, who was present and heard them in simultaneous
translation.
They also threatened to cause diplomatic embarrassment for the US
secretary of state, John Kerry, as he arrived in the Turkish capital
Ankara on Friday for talks on Syria.
`As is the case for Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is
inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity,'
Mr Erdogan said in a speech to the fifth global forum of the Alliance
of Civilizations in Vienna on Wednesday.
After the remark circulated widely on Israeli media, Mr Netanyahu
issued an official response, calling it `a dark and mendacious
statement the likes of which we thought had passed from the world'.
The Obama administration, which has sought to maintain close ties with
Turkey, a NATO ally called Mr Erdogan's comments `offensive and
wrong'.
`We encourage people of all faiths, cultures, and ideas to denounce
hateful actions and to overcome the differences of our times,' a
spokesman for the National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, said.
Mr Ban, who was criticised by a Geneva-based website, UN Watch which
proclaims itself as being "affiliated to the American-Jewish
community", for initially staying silent about Mr Erdogan's comments,
said they breached the spirit of the Alliance of Civilisations, which
was formed in 2005 to promote east-west understanding and combat
extremism.
"The Secretary-General believes is it is unfortunate that such hurtful
and divisive comments were uttered at a meeting being held under the
theme of responsible leadership,' a statement from his office said.
Relations between Israel and Turkey - once close allies - have been in
the doldrums since 2010, when nine Turkish activists were killed after
Israeli commandoes stormed a flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip. Mr
Netanyahu has resisted Turkish pressure to apologise and pay
compensation for the incident. Ties between the two nations were
recently said to be undergoing a quiet revival, amid reports that
Israel had resumed selling armament equipment to Turkey.
Mr Erdogan, a former Islamist, has sharply criticised Israel in the
past. In 2009 he stormed out of a debate with the Israeli president,
Shimon Peres, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, after telling him
`you Israelis know how to kill'.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/9902255/Turkeys-Recep-Tayyip-Erdogan-under-fire-for-Zionism-remarks.html