Against the background of presidential elections where Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the front-runner, the antisemitic climate in Turkey is worsening. The pro- Turkish government daily Milat has picked up a social media campaign questioning a law allowing dual-nationals to serve in the military of a country Turkey recognises: Israeli citizens who have served in the national army, it alleges, 'have blood on their hands and are responsible for the killings of civilians in Gaza'.
Milat, a staunch pro-government paper that uses political Islamist rhetoric, used English in its headline, stating “Go home killer” in reference to Turkish Jews who allegedly serve in the Israeli army. The article stated that after Israel announced its recent military campaign, Turkish Jews who hold dual citizenship rushed to “massacre” Palestinians. The paper also commented that Jewish Turkish citizens involved in fighting against innocent Palestinians come back to Turkey and “resume their lives as if nothing happened.”
Milat based its report on a social media campaign launched by a number of journalists and activists with the hashtag #israilaskeriistemiyoruz (We do not want Israeli soldiers). A website under the same name urges citizens to sign a petition and send it to Parliament so as to revoke the Turkish citizenship of anyone who fights in the Israeli army on the grounds that they have committed premeditated murder. The petition also requests that the Ministry of Defense abolish an existing legal exemption regarding military service for people who carry dual citizenship and have served in the Israeli army. According to a 1993 law, citizens with more than one nationality are exempt from military service in Turkey if they have served in the military of a county that Turkey recognizes.
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Meanwhile, anger at 'Israel's behaviour in Gaza' is spilling over into racist insults against Turkish Jews 'for political benefit'. This surprisingly sympathetic article comes from Al-Jazeera (America):
Necmettin Erbakan, the Islamist political mentor to Erdogan in the 1980s and ’90s, was known for his anti-Semitic views. In early 2005, a wave of anti-Israeli sentiment pushed Hitler’s Mein Kampf and theProtocols of the Elders of Zion to the bestseller list in Turkey. And just last year, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay blamed the “Jewish diaspora” for the nationwide Gezi Park protests.Milat, a staunch pro-government paper that uses political Islamist rhetoric, used English in its headline, stating “Go home killer” in reference to Turkish Jews who allegedly serve in the Israeli army. The article stated that after Israel announced its recent military campaign, Turkish Jews who hold dual citizenship rushed to “massacre” Palestinians. The paper also commented that Jewish Turkish citizens involved in fighting against innocent Palestinians come back to Turkey and “resume their lives as if nothing happened.”
Milat based its report on a social media campaign launched by a number of journalists and activists with the hashtag #israilaskeriistemiyoruz (We do not want Israeli soldiers). A website under the same name urges citizens to sign a petition and send it to Parliament so as to revoke the Turkish citizenship of anyone who fights in the Israeli army on the grounds that they have committed premeditated murder. The petition also requests that the Ministry of Defense abolish an existing legal exemption regarding military service for people who carry dual citizenship and have served in the Israeli army. According to a 1993 law, citizens with more than one nationality are exempt from military service in Turkey if they have served in the military of a county that Turkey recognizes.
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Meanwhile, anger at 'Israel's behaviour in Gaza' is spilling over into racist insults against Turkish Jews 'for political benefit'. This surprisingly sympathetic article comes from Al-Jazeera (America):
On July 18, the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League expressed alarm at the increasingly hostile environment in Turkey, calling on Erdogan to reject the targeting of Turkish Jews. To his credit, the prime minister has done just that. “I don't approve of any attitude against Jews in Turkey, who are our citizens,” he said at a recent campaign rally. “They are under our guarantee.”
But this is similar to a dinner party host releasing a pack of Dobermans on his arriving guests, and then chastising his four-legged minions as they sink their teeth into the visitors’ necks. Erdogan and his party believe this rhetoric resonates with their base and, possibly, boosts their standing in the Arab world.
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The silence of Turkish Jewry (Jerusalem Post)
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