Haaretz, English Edition
Friday, August 24 2007
Turkey expresses anger over statements by ADL leader
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
The Turkish government is pressuring Israel in an effort to reverse an
American Jewish organization’s decision to recognize Turkey’s massacre of
Armenians during World War I as genocide.
A meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Israel’s
ambassador to Ankara, Pinhas Avivi, became "shrill," according to Foreign
Ministry sources in Jerusalem. Gul expressed Ankara’s "anger and
disappointment" over the matter.
On Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it recognizes the
events in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were massacred as
"genocide." ADL’s national director Abraham Foxman, said he made the
decision after discussing the matter with historians and with Nobel Peace
Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
According to an Israeli ministry source, Gul told the Israeli ambassador
that "Turkey knows Israel was not responsible for the Anti-Defamation
League’s announcement, but is disappointed because Israel could have done
something to prevent it."
Avivi replied that Jerusalem was not involved in the ADL’s decision and
that "there is no change in Israel’s position. We are not taking sides,
and believe that the parties must hold a dialogue to clarify and
investigate the matter and determine what really happened."
A senior Foreign Ministry official told Haaretz Thursday that the main
focus now is on calming the situation.
"This is a highly sensitive issue for Turkey, and we have signaled to them
that there is no change in our position and that we do not wish to harm
the friendly ties between our countries. We believe that they have
understood our message," the official said.
The question of the Armenian genocide is being handled at the highest
levels of the Turkish leadership, and Foreign Ministry sources noted that
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are
planning to discuss the matter with their Israeli counterparts, Shimon
Peres and Ehud Olmert.
Israel is concerned that the matter may lead to a genuine diplomatic
crisis between the two countries, and it has sent quiet signals to
American Jewish organizations in an effort to lower the tone. The Foreign
Ministry is concerned that the strategic relationship between the two
countries could be harmed and that the Jewish community in Turkey could be
affected.