The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 8 2007

Tuzmen seeks Israeli support

Oznur Cevik – The New Anatolian / Jerusalem
08 March 2007

State Minister Kursad Tuzmen, who went to Israel for the
Turkey-Israel third Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting and to
boost bilateral trade and economic relations, yesterday visited the
Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa.

Tuzmen, accompanied by Turkish businessmen, was welcomed by Abdulazim
El Azim Selhab, who complained about the restrictions on mosque
visits for Palestinians and Muslims saying, "You can visit the mosque
coming from Turkey but those who live out of Jerusalem face
difficulties."

Selhab thanked the Turkish government for their efforts regarding the
mosque and praised Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attitude
towards the excavations during Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s
visit last month.

Some 40 Turkish companies are taking part in the business delegation.
Sectors represented include food, furniture, logistics, jewelry,
software, packaging, building materials, giftware, leather, textiles
and clothing.

Tuzmen praised the efforts of Turkish businessmen working in Israel,
describing them as "envoys that have built a bridge between two
countries."

On the current claims about anti-Jewish sentiment in Turkey, Tuzmen
said, "There might be some shallow anti-Semitic ideas, but there are
180 Israeli firms working in Turkey. There hasn’t been any attitude
change against Jewish people in Turkey. We are the grandsons of
Ottomans and 48 countries were born from the Ottomans. We have lived
in peace for hundreds of years."

Armenian genocide resolution

On his request from Israeli businessmen for support against the
Armenian genocide resolution, Tuzmen said, "The Jewish lobby in the
U.S. is strong and we sought their support. They promised to support
our case." Tuzmen said, "We are doing our best to prevent the world
from accepting a lie which has been repeated over and over again."