Mr Erdogan’s Cairo visit took place in the midst of Israel’s eight-day war on Gaza. Notwithstanding his habitual posturing over Israel’s war crimes, the focal point of his speech at the Cairo University was Syria:
“This carnage the Syrian people have been subjected to, is a disgrace not only to the Syrian Regime, but also for the international community and the entire humanity.” [1]
The fact remains that for the past 20 years, Turkey, Israel and NATO have maintained a high level of military and political cooperation against Iraq, Iran, Syria and the resistance groups in Palestine and Lebanon. Furthermore, since April 2011, Mr Erdogan’s government has been thoroughly complicit in NATO’s war crimes in Syria.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert (2006-2009), Ankara, 22 December 2008
Five days after Mr Olmert’s meeting with Mr Erdogan, Israel launched a war on Gaza. Towards the end of the three-week-long war, in a speech at his party’s parliamentary group meeting, Mr Erdogan said:
“The Greater Middle East Project was an initiative launched with a view to [bringing] peace to the Middle East as well as promoting its economic development, civil rights, women’s rights and freedom of education and carrying these rights further. Turkey was given a role in this project and we have accepted .” [3]
After the ceasefire, Mr Erdogan had a world-famous ‘outburst’ at the Israeli President Peres during the World Economic Forum. [4] Only two weeks later, he made the following remarks in an interview with the Turkish daily Sabah:
“Our relations with Israel continue based on mutual interests. Those who leave the table in fury return to it with losses. Some have suggested that we end Israeli [Air Force] training flights in Konya (*). The truth is that not just Israel but ten countries pay to receive flight training in Konya. Indeed, our General Staff also announced that relations with Israel will continue in accordance with Turkey’s interests. Military contracts and orders also remain in force. There are many agreements with Israel, old and new. These all remain in force. We have to be very careful in interstate relations. The Israeli state and the Israeli people are separate issues. I always say that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity.” [5]
(*) Mr Erdogan refers to the “Anatolian Eagle” joint air force exercises in central Turkey, which started in June 2001 with the participation of the United States, Turkey and Israel.
Israeli President Shimon Peres toasts with Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a dinner in his honour,
Cankaya presidential residence, Ankara, 12 November 2007
Cankaya presidential residence, Ankara, 12 November 2007
“I thanked Mr Peres for his efforts to defeat a bill in the US House of Representatives that defines the incidents of 1915 from an Armenian perspective. I sincerely hope that Peres’ visit to Ankara will contribute to peace in the Middle East. The speeches to be delivered by Peres and Palestinian President [sic] Mahmoud Abbas at the Turkish parliament on Tuesday will contribute to peace in the Middle East.” [2]
Two months before President Peres’ visit, in an ultimate act of war, Israeli jets used Turkey’s airspace to launch a bombing raid on the Syrian territory. To this day, Mr Erdogan has remained silent about this incident.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) ‘Courage to Care’ award from ADL’s director Abraham Foxman
at the ADL headquarters, New York, 10 June 2005
at the ADL headquarters, New York, 10 June 2005
In accepting an award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on behalf of [Turkey’s] diplomats who saved Jews during the Holocaust, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly condemned anti-Semitism and stressed his country’s close relationship with the modern State of Israel. [6]
On the same day, Mr Erdogan conducted an interview with the New York Times:
”Turkey cannot in any way approve of oppressive regimes, and at this point there is nothing Turkey can take as an example from Syria, while there is lots that Syria can take as examples from Turkey.” [7]
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (2001-2006) and Turkey’s Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jerusalem, 1 May 2005
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jerusalem, 1 May 2005
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan invited Prime Minister Sharon to visit Turkey. […] Erdogan said that the Turkish government views anti-Semitism as a crime against humanity. [8] Ahead of a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon, Erdogan held talks with President Moshe Katsav [2000-2007] [...] “We have to drain the swamp of terrorism. We have to show solidarity in our common war against terrorism,” Erdogan was quoted as saying in a statement issued by Katsav’s office. [9]
Back in October 2002, in a campaign speech delivered six month prior to his first electoral win, Mr Erdogan said:
“Sharon is unleashing state terrorism upon Palestine. Sharon must be prosecuted just like Milosevic was [at the International Criminal Court] in The Hague.” [10]
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives the ‘Profiles in Courage’ award from American Jewish Congress (AJC) President Jack Rosen, HSBC headquarters in New York, 26 January 2004. The person standing next to Mr Rosen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of HSBC USA Martin Glynn.
In his acceptance speech, Mr Erdogan echoed U.S. President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [11]:
“Today, with the presentation of the ‘Profile of Courage’ award to the Turkish Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, by the American Jewish Congress at the New York building of HSBC, there is a strong message being conveyed to archaic terrorist mentality. We will not tolerate terrorism and we will act in solidarity to wipe it from the face of the earth. Our country is against all kinds of terrorism and we support the United States in its efforts in combating international terrorism whole-heartedly.” [12]
Targeting two synagogues, HSBC bank headquarters and the British Embassy, the November 2003 bomb attacks in Istanbul bear the hallmarks of an Al Qaeda false-flag operation. Furthermore, only three months ago, two suspects and the solicitor of the alleged mastermind were killed in Aleppo whilst fighting NATO’s proxy war against the Syrian Army. [13]
A report published a month before the Istanbul bombings indicates the actual motive behind the ADL award:
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), an influential Jewish group based in Washington, praised the Turkish Parliament’s decision [on October 7th, 2003] to allow the deployment of peacekeepers [i.e. troops] in Iraq and said the move boosted U.S. confidence in Turkey. That might also give a privileged position to Turkey in garnering contracts in the reconstruction of Iraq, the institute said in a statement. [14]
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Notes:* American Jewish Congress (AJC), Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) and Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) are all prominent Zionist organisations in the United States.* The quotes from the Turkish sources have been translated by Cem Ertür.
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Sources:[1] Erdogan: Er ya da gec katledilen o masum yavrucaklarin hesabi mutlaka ama mutlaka sorulacaktir[Erdogan: Sooner or later there will be a holding to account for the massacre of these innocent children]Milliyet, 17 November 2012
http://siyaset.milliyet.com.tr/erdogan-er-ya-da-gec-katledilen-o-masum-yavrucaklarin-hesabi-mutlaka-ama-mutlaka-sorulacaktir/siyaset/siyasetdetay/17.11.2012/1628623/default.htm
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[2] Turkish premier, Israeli president agree cooperation needed in regionBBC Monitoring European, 13 November 2007
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[3] AK Parti Grup Baskani ve Basbakan Sayin Recep Tayyip Erdogan’in 13 Ocak 2009 Tarihli Grup Konusmasi[Speech delivered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Justice and Development Party’s parliamentary group meeting on January 13th, 2009]AK Parti website, 13 January 2009
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[4] Dialogue between Erdogan and PeresHurriyet Daily News, 30 Janaury 2009
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10895599.asp?scr=1
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[5] Ties with Israel continue to be based on mutual interests – Turkish PMBBC Monitoring European, 16 February 2009link to the original source in Turkish:
http://www.sabah.com.tr/Yazarlar/safak/2009/02/15/Davos_secim_degil_tarih_malzemesi
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[6] Prime Minister Erdogan Tells ADL That “Anti-Semitism Has No Place in Turkey”ADL website, 10 June 2005
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/4730_13.htm
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[7] Turkish Leader Spells Out More Vigorous Role in Iraqby Warren Hoge, New York Times, 11 June 2005
http://travel.nytimes.com/2005/06/11/international/europe/11erdogan.html
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[8] PM Sharon met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan[Israeli] Prime Minister’s Office, 1 May 2005
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[9] Erdogan says Turkey, Israel must unite to drain ‘swamp of terror’
AFP, 1 May 2005
AFP, 1 May 2005
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[10] Saron Lahey’de yargilansin[Sharon must be prosecuted at The Hague]Yeni Safak, 14 April 2002
http://yenisafak.com.tr/arsiv/2002/nisan/14/politika.html
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[11] President Bush, Prime Minister Hold Joint Press ConferenceU.S. Department of State website, 20 November 2003
http://2001-2009.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/2003/26458.htm
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[12] Turkish PM to AJC Congress: We will wipe terrorism from the face of the earthAmerican Jewish Congress website, 27 January 2004
http://www.ajcongress.org/site/PageServer?pagename=jan04_04
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[13] Here are Tayyip’s “real sons”Sendika.org, 17 August 2012
http://www.sendika.org/yazi.php?yazi_no=47187
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[14] US Jewish group praises Turkish decision to send troops to IraqTurkish Daily News, 11 October 2003
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/default.aspx?pageid=438&n=us-jewish-group-praises-turkish-decision-to-send-troops-to-iraq-2003-10-11
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