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Arutz Sheva, Israel
Jan 2 2013
Op-Ed: Turkey's Attitude to the Holocaust is Revealing
Published: Wednesday, January 01, 2014 11:29 PM
Rifat N. Bali, expert on Turkish Jewry: " It is often repeated that
the Jews who suffered from genocide themselves, are now subjecting the
Palestinians to one."
`The Turkish attitude toward the Holocaust differs from that of other
countries on many points. The word `Holocaust' is not used in public
discourse. Yet the Turkish media, politicians and civil elites
frequently refer to the genocide of the Jews.
`One major aspect concerns the Turkish Holocaust instrumentation and
abuse in the international public debate on the Armenian genocide. The
first accusations against Turkey claiming its responsibility for this
mass murder during World War I started around 1965, fifty years after
the massive deportation of Armenians in 1915. These accusations - made
mainly by Armenian organizations in the Western world - have
intensified.'
Rifat N. Bali is an independent scholar and a Research Fellow of the
Alberto Benveniste Center for Sephardic Studies and Culture in Paris.
He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of
Turkish Jewry.
`In Turkish Social Science literature, the Holocaust is called `Nazi
genocide.' A major argument made by Turkey's leaders against the
accusations of the country's responsibility for the Armenian genocide,
is that Turkey's First World War actions against the Armenians were
radically different from the systematic extermination of the Jews by
Nazi Germany.
`The Turkish Jewish community's leadership, the Israeli government and
several Jewish American organizations claim that the Holocaust is
unique. They have been backing Turkey on the Armenian genocide issue,
but have come under attack in the Western world about this.
`There is yet another issue concerning the Armenian genocide where
Jews are being used as a Turkish defense argument. Jews with Turkish
passports in Nazi-occupied countries were partly saved by some Turkish
diplomats. Other officials, however, didn't care. Yad Vashem has only
recognized one Turkish diplomat - Selahattin Ülkümen, Consul General
on Rhodes during the war - as a Righteous Gentile.
"The Turkish Foreign Ministry falsely claims that rescuing Jews was
the country's policy rather than the result of actions by some
individuals. By misrepresenting this issue, Turkey claims that a
country with a `humanitarian attitude toward the Jews during such a
horrible period,' could not have possibly committed the genocide of
Armenians.
`There are other widespread false Turkish statements concerning the
Holocaust. It is often repeated that the Jews who suffered from
genocide themselves, are now subjecting the Palestinians to one. The
major conservative Islamist newspaper Zaman published an article on
the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in
1995, wherein the author wondered how persecuted Jews could act like
Nazis in the Lebanese Palestinian camps of Sabra and Shatilla. It was
also conveniently forgotten that the murderers there were Lebanese
Christians.
`Then-Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit reacted to the Israeli
Defense Forces' action in 2002 in the refugee camp of Jenin after a
major Palestinian suicide bombing in the Park Hotel in Netanya. He
said that `Israel is carrying out genocide before the world's eyes.'
Approximately 55 Palestinians were killed in Jenin, mainly armed
fighters.
"In 2009, at the beginning of Israel's `Operation Cast Lead' action in
Gaza, a writer in the conservative nationalist daily Bugün claimed
that `after viewing the IDF's actions, the average person in the
street is thinking that Hitler [i.e. mass murder against the Jews] was
justified.'
`When Holocaust-related movies were screened in Turkey, one could
again find references to the `Palestinian genocide' in the media.
These articles were not limited to Islamist papers.
Ali Hakan, film critic of the mainstream Sabah daily, wrote about
Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" saying: `Is there really that
much difference between the Nazi commander who torments Jews in the
[concentration camp] and kills them for pleasure, and the Israeli
soldiers who crush the arm of a Palestinian boy with a stone?'
`A number of books by Holocaust deniers have been published. Roger
Garaudy's "The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics" was forbidden in
France under the Gayssot Law, which outlaws questioning the existence
of crimes against humanity. When Garaudy was convicted in France, the
Islamist press in Turkey wrote that this was due to pressure by Israel
and the Jewish lobby.
During the 2006 Conference of Holocaust Deniers in Tehran, Zaman
called some deniers such as Garaudy, David Irving, Paul Rassinier and
Fred Leuchter `intellectuals.' Another Holocaust-denying author is
Adnan Oktar, who often uses his pen name Harun Yahya. His book
pretends to be scientific and scholarly with footnotes and
bibliographies, using the work of Western Holocaust deniers. Oktar
concluded that the Holocaust was invented. In recent years, Oktar has
been hosting various Israelis, including senior religious figures, in
Turkey.
`In view of the above, it is not surprising that only Jews take part
in International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies in Turkey. The
press and officials show no interest. Similarly, only Jews attend the
annual commemorative Film Festival of Holocaust-related films
organized by the Jewish community since 2006. Turkish authorities do
not involve themselves in countering Holocaust deniers either.'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14324#.UsXHVJvxvIU
Jan 2 2013
Op-Ed: Turkey's Attitude to the Holocaust is Revealing
Published: Wednesday, January 01, 2014 11:29 PM
Rifat N. Bali, expert on Turkish Jewry: " It is often repeated that
the Jews who suffered from genocide themselves, are now subjecting the
Palestinians to one."
`The Turkish attitude toward the Holocaust differs from that of other
countries on many points. The word `Holocaust' is not used in public
discourse. Yet the Turkish media, politicians and civil elites
frequently refer to the genocide of the Jews.
`One major aspect concerns the Turkish Holocaust instrumentation and
abuse in the international public debate on the Armenian genocide. The
first accusations against Turkey claiming its responsibility for this
mass murder during World War I started around 1965, fifty years after
the massive deportation of Armenians in 1915. These accusations - made
mainly by Armenian organizations in the Western world - have
intensified.'
Rifat N. Bali is an independent scholar and a Research Fellow of the
Alberto Benveniste Center for Sephardic Studies and Culture in Paris.
He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of
Turkish Jewry.
`In Turkish Social Science literature, the Holocaust is called `Nazi
genocide.' A major argument made by Turkey's leaders against the
accusations of the country's responsibility for the Armenian genocide,
is that Turkey's First World War actions against the Armenians were
radically different from the systematic extermination of the Jews by
Nazi Germany.
`The Turkish Jewish community's leadership, the Israeli government and
several Jewish American organizations claim that the Holocaust is
unique. They have been backing Turkey on the Armenian genocide issue,
but have come under attack in the Western world about this.
`There is yet another issue concerning the Armenian genocide where
Jews are being used as a Turkish defense argument. Jews with Turkish
passports in Nazi-occupied countries were partly saved by some Turkish
diplomats. Other officials, however, didn't care. Yad Vashem has only
recognized one Turkish diplomat - Selahattin Ülkümen, Consul General
on Rhodes during the war - as a Righteous Gentile.
"The Turkish Foreign Ministry falsely claims that rescuing Jews was
the country's policy rather than the result of actions by some
individuals. By misrepresenting this issue, Turkey claims that a
country with a `humanitarian attitude toward the Jews during such a
horrible period,' could not have possibly committed the genocide of
Armenians.
`There are other widespread false Turkish statements concerning the
Holocaust. It is often repeated that the Jews who suffered from
genocide themselves, are now subjecting the Palestinians to one. The
major conservative Islamist newspaper Zaman published an article on
the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in
1995, wherein the author wondered how persecuted Jews could act like
Nazis in the Lebanese Palestinian camps of Sabra and Shatilla. It was
also conveniently forgotten that the murderers there were Lebanese
Christians.
`Then-Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit reacted to the Israeli
Defense Forces' action in 2002 in the refugee camp of Jenin after a
major Palestinian suicide bombing in the Park Hotel in Netanya. He
said that `Israel is carrying out genocide before the world's eyes.'
Approximately 55 Palestinians were killed in Jenin, mainly armed
fighters.
"In 2009, at the beginning of Israel's `Operation Cast Lead' action in
Gaza, a writer in the conservative nationalist daily Bugün claimed
that `after viewing the IDF's actions, the average person in the
street is thinking that Hitler [i.e. mass murder against the Jews] was
justified.'
`When Holocaust-related movies were screened in Turkey, one could
again find references to the `Palestinian genocide' in the media.
These articles were not limited to Islamist papers.
Ali Hakan, film critic of the mainstream Sabah daily, wrote about
Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" saying: `Is there really that
much difference between the Nazi commander who torments Jews in the
[concentration camp] and kills them for pleasure, and the Israeli
soldiers who crush the arm of a Palestinian boy with a stone?'
`A number of books by Holocaust deniers have been published. Roger
Garaudy's "The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics" was forbidden in
France under the Gayssot Law, which outlaws questioning the existence
of crimes against humanity. When Garaudy was convicted in France, the
Islamist press in Turkey wrote that this was due to pressure by Israel
and the Jewish lobby.
During the 2006 Conference of Holocaust Deniers in Tehran, Zaman
called some deniers such as Garaudy, David Irving, Paul Rassinier and
Fred Leuchter `intellectuals.' Another Holocaust-denying author is
Adnan Oktar, who often uses his pen name Harun Yahya. His book
pretends to be scientific and scholarly with footnotes and
bibliographies, using the work of Western Holocaust deniers. Oktar
concluded that the Holocaust was invented. In recent years, Oktar has
been hosting various Israelis, including senior religious figures, in
Turkey.
`In view of the above, it is not surprising that only Jews take part
in International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremonies in Turkey. The
press and officials show no interest. Similarly, only Jews attend the
annual commemorative Film Festival of Holocaust-related films
organized by the Jewish community since 2006. Turkish authorities do
not involve themselves in countering Holocaust deniers either.'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14324#.UsXHVJvxvIU