The Huffington Post
January 30, 2009
Harut Sassounian
Posted January 29, 2009 | 03:54 PM (EST)
Major American-Jewish Organizations may no Longer Back Turkey in Congress
CommentsThere are serious indications that Israel and American-Jewish
organizations are no longer willing to support Turkey’s lobbying efforts in
Washington.
The dispute between the two strategic allies began with Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Erdogan harshly denouncing Israel’s incursion into Gaza and
accusing the Jewish state of committing crimes against humanity. He
suggested that Israel be barred from the United Nations as mass
demonstrations were held throughout Turkey with banners that read: "Gaza
will be a grave for Israel" and "Put Israel on trial for war crimes."
Israel’s Consul General in Istanbul, Mordehai Amihai, told Milliyet that the
consulate received hundreds of anti-Semitic e-mails every day during the
fighting in Gaza.
Initially, Israeli officials expressed their displeasure through diplomatic
channels. But as the anti-Israel rhetoric intensified, Israel’s Deputy
Foreign Minister publicly warned Turkey that Tel Aviv might retaliate by
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. Last week, Israel’s Prime Minister
Olmert invited the leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain and the
Czech Republic to dinner in Jerusalem after their summit meeting in nearby
Egypt. Significantly, Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul, who also had attended
the summit, was excluded from the dinner.
American-Jewish organizations, which had for years supported Turkey’s
denialist agenda on the Armenian Genocide in the U.S. Congress, were highly
incensed by the Turkish condemnations of Israel. The American Jewish
Committee sent a letter to Erdogan on January 8, to express its "grave
concern over recent official statements" by Turkey’s Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister. On January 21, a second letter was sent to Erdogan, this
time signed by five leading American-Jewish organizations, expressing their
"profound concern over the current wave of anti-Semitic manifestations in
Turkey."
In their joint letter, the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation
League, B’nai B’rith International, Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, and Jewish Institute for National Security
Affairs complained about "gravely distressing" recent incidents: "Protestors
besieging the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul have expressed their hatred of
Jews. Billboards around Istanbul are full of anti-Jewish propaganda posters.
The door of a Jewish-owned shop near Istanbul University was covered with a
poster that said, ‘Do not buy from here, since this shop is owned by a Jew.’
The defacing of an Izmir synagogue has brought about the temporary closure
of all but one of that city’s synagogues." The American-Jewish groups also
stated that the Jewish community in Turkey feels "besieged and threatened. A
connection is clearly perceived between the inflammatory denunciation of
Israel by Turkish officials and the rise of anti-Semitism."
Ironically, Abraham Foxman, ADL’s National Director, who is now complaining
to Prime Minister Erdogan about anti-Semitism in Turkey, had presented a
prestigious award to him in 2005. Foxman conveniently overlooked the fact
that four days before he gave that award to Erdogan, the Middle East Media
Research Institute, based on a report from Hurriyet, revealed that Erdogan
in 1974 had written, directed and played the lead role in a play called
"Maskomya," an acronym for the triple "evils" of Masons, Komunists
(Communists), and Yahudis (Jews).
Having given Erdogan one of ADL’s highest awards, Foxman must have been
shocked by the Turkish Prime Minister’s recent criticisms of Israel. Foxman
told Milliyet last week: "Turkey was our friend. We were friends. I still
can’t believe it. I am very sad and confused. The Jews in Turkey are
threatened…. They feel encircled…. The Prime Minister spoke very
harshly. We were friends. How did we come to this situation?" Jacob
Isaacson, an official of the American Jewish Committee, was also unhappy
with the Turkish reaction. "Once you start poisoning the well, you do not
know where it leads," he said. Moreover, an unnamed American-Jewish leader
was quoted as saying: "This time, we are going to face great difficulty. In
the past, we defended the Turkish position, not only because Turkey was
right, but also because we were friends." Yet another American-Jewish
official, washing his hands from further involvement in Turkey’s lobbying
efforts on the Armenian Genocide, told Milliyet: "Count us completely out of
this problem. We don’t believe Congress should deal with it. Let Armenia and
Turkey resolve it between them."
In another indication of diminishing support for Turkey among Jewish
circles, Prof. Benjamin Yafet advised this writer that he had "very reliable
information that all major American Jewish organizations are now fed up with
Turkey and are ready to support the Armenian Genocide resolution."
It appears that this time around Israel and American-Jewish organizations
will not be as forgiving as they have been in the past, in the face of
persistent and vicious anti-Semitic attacks emanating from Turkey. After the
loss of lobbying support from American-Jews, Pres. Obama’s election, and
Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress, Turkey is expected to have
great difficulty in the coming months to block a renewed attempt to pass a
congressional resolution on the Armenian Genocide. Faruk Logoglu, Turkey’s
former Ambassador to Washington, should know! He told Milliyet: "The Jewish
lobby is the strongest in the United States and the only one supporting
Turkey. Therefore, the letter of disappointment sent to Erdogan [by 5 Jewish
groups] is of great importance."
To listen to this writer’s hour-long interview with radio KZSU Stanford on
this subject, please go to: radio4all.net.