Pyotr Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Leading political observers, Knesset deputies, and Israeli social activists do not hide that they are indignant with a new demarche of Turkish Premier Erdogan who has compared Zionism with Nazism and accused Israel “of crimes against humanity.” It is unclear whether Israel will take retaliatory steps.
Erdogan stated this in his speech at the Alliance of Civilizations which is working under the UN. Speaking about a threat of spreading Islamophobia in Europe, Erdogan said that “just like Nazism, anti-Semitism, and Zionism, Islamophobia must be recognized as a crime against humanity.”
Israel stresses that during Erdogan’s speech the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-moon was present in the hall. However, he didn’t try to correct Turkish Prime Minister.
Despite the scandal in Israel (or maybe due to it), the Foreign Ministry of Israel didn’t present an official reaction to Erdogan’s statement. All officials of the Ministry refused to give any comments on this topic, but one of them said that probably Erdogan “made a mistake.” Perhaps he thought that the UN Resolution No3379 which was adopted under pressure of the USSR and the Arab countries in 1975 and equaled Zionism and Nazism still operated, but it was canceled by the General Assembly in 1991.
“Today many layers of Israel, including the Foreign Ministry’s employees, urge to remind Turkey that it is responsible for the Armenians’ genocide in 1915. It could be equal to the Holocaust. If we wanted, we could make steps which would be very painful for Turkey. However, we will hardly do this. Our position will be very thoughtful and balanced – we don’t need a complete break of relations with Turkey. However, Erdogan’s statement confirmed that our Premier was right to forbid our Defense Minister Ehud Barack to apologize to Turkey. We are far away from normalization of the relations,” a diplomat said.
