Ayoon Wa Azan (In defense of Erdogan)

For two weeks or so, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been coming under attack from Israel, its advocates and lobby, and the Likudniks of America, after comparing Zionism to fascism. The same campaign did not spare President Mohamed Morsi, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, or “Islamist extremists” either. I want to state in the clearest possible terms that I know Erdogan, Morsi and Meshaal, and I know the practices of the fascist government of Israel, and therefore refuse to compare the Israeli war criminals with those Muslim leaders and others. Indeed, the only valid comparison would be between the shoe-sole of any of those leaders, and Benjamin Netanyahu or other members of his previous and upcoming fascist government. Speaking at the UN Alliance of Civilizations conference in Vienna in late February, Erdogan said, “As with Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it is inevitable that Islamophobia be considered a crime against humanity.” I would have expressed the same idea by stating that Zionist actions, both in the Israeli government and Israel as a whole, are crimes against humanity. Indeed, the Zionists use myths of the Torah to justify the occupation of Palestine, and the murder or displacement of the Palestinians, which is a crime against humanity. The United Nations itself issued a resolution in 1975 equating Zionism with racism, which was abolished at a later time under U.S. pressure. In Durban in 2009, the UN World Conference against Racism issued a famous resolution condemning Zionism, with a clear international majority. Then a few months ago, at the UN General Assembly, a clear majority voted in favor of Palestinian membership of the UN as an observer member, which can also be seen as condemnation of European Ashkenazi Zionists who wanted to protect Jews from the massacres of the Christian West in Europe – by occupying and depopulating Palestine. Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not say anything odd or new. The whole world is against the crimes of the Israeli government, whose extremism is the first and foremost cause of resurgent anti-Semitism around the globe. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry criticized the remarks made by the prime minister of Turkey in their meeting in Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, when asked about Kerry’s comments, said that if Israel wanted to hear positive talk from the Turkish government, then it should change its attitude toward Turkey and the West Bank. Davutoglu also reminded his interviewer that Israel had attacked a Turkish peace ship in international waters in 2010, while carrying humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza strip, killing nine Turkish peace activists. For his part, top war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu found Ergodan’s remarks “dark and mendacious.” In other words, the man whose name has become synonymous with lying is accusing others of dishonesty. To choose one example of the wickedness of Israel and its supporters, Michael Rubin of the Likud-leaning Commentary magazine attacked Erdogan almost immediately after his remarks in Vienna. He claimed that Erdogan was trying to criminalize criticism of radical Islam, and spoke about the murder of Kurdish women in Turkey, as though these issues justify the systematic killing of an entire people in Palestine. In another article, Rubin asked, “Is Turkish nationalism a crime against humanity?” My answer is this: No, but Zionism as practiced in Israel is a crime against humanity. Earlier this year, Rubin accused Turkey of covering up on the funding of terrorists, and attacked the relationship it maintains with President Mohamed Morsi and Khaled Meshaal. Here, I repeat what I said in the beginning about the shoe-soles of each of those Muslim leaders and the war criminal and racist members of the Israeli government. To be sure, comparing the two sides is shameful and unacceptable, because Netanyahu and any member of his government belong to Guantanamo, if there was any justice and humanity in this world. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.