Prominent Israeli journalists, lawmakers and public figures are outraged by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent statement, according to which Zionism is similar to fascism and Israel is responsible for 'crimes against humanity'. It's still not clear whether Israel will respond to these remarks or not.
The remarks were made by Prime Minister Erdogan at a UN forum on Wednesday. Talking about Islamophobia, the Turkish leader said that Zionism is a violent ideology similar to fascism.
In Israel many people note that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was present at the meeting and did nothing to stop Erdogan's speech.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has not responded yet, maybe because of the political tensions continuing in the country. No official has agreed to comment on the incident, however one representative of the ministry said that Erdogan could have been mistaken. He could have thought that UN Resolution No. 3379, which was adopted in 1975 under pressure from the Soviet Union and Arab states and condemned Zionism, had not been repealed, the official believes. In fact the resolution was repealed in 1991.
Nowadays, many Israeli officials believe that it's high time to reconsider the 1915 Armenian genocide and announce it a tragedy similar to the Holocaust. It's also possible to discuss the violence committed by the Turkish authorities against Kurds, the official says.
Pyotr Lyukimson reporting from Israel. Exclusively to VK
