Several Jewish groups slammed Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay for blaming the ‘’Jewish Diaspora’’ for the protests that started in Istanbul in May and spread throughout the country.
Acccording to press reports, he said, “There are some circles that are jealous of Turkey’s growth. They are all uniting, on one side the Jewish diaspora. You saw the foreign media’s attitude during the Gezi Park incidents; they bought it and started broadcasting immediately, without doing an evaluation….”
Atalay also said that the international media had played a key role in what he termed “the conspiracy" but added that “the ones trying to block the way of great Turkey” would not succeed.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urged the Prime Minister of Turkey and other government leaders to immediately, strongly and publicly reject these ‘’disturbing conspiratorial statements.''
“The anti-Semitic nature of this conspiratorial statement would be disturbing if uttered by anyone in Turkey,” said Abraham H.Foxman, ADL National Director.
World Jewish Congress (WJC) President, Ronald S. Lauder, also harshly criticized Atalay’s remarks, sayiong: “It is shocking to hear from a senior Turkish government minister such despicable and totally baseless slurs. Mr. Atalay should have the decency to apologize. His remarks are an insult not only to the Jewish people but also to the many Turkish citizens who took part in the protests and who have real grievances."
"We are trying to obtain information about the meaning, the scope and details of Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay's statement about the 'Jewish Diaspora being behind Gezi protests,'" the Jewish community in Turkey and the Chief Rabbinate said in a joint statement.
"(Because) Turkish Jewish citizens, as well as other Jewish people living all around the globe, may be affected and pointed (out) as a target of such a generalization, we wish to express our concerns and share our apprehension and worry of the consequences that such perceptions can cause." Some 25,000 Jews live in Turkey.
The protests in Istanbul broke out in June when police used force and tear gas to disperse environmental activists demonstrating against a government plan to develop a mosque and a mall at Istanbul's' Gezi Park in the city's Taksim Square.
The sit-in by peaceful protesters turned into mass protests across the country with nearly 2 million people in 79 of the 81 Turkish cities attending, according to Interior Ministry estimates.
The heavy crackdown by the police with tear gas, water cannons and violent tools drew reaction from local citizens and the world. In total, four people – three protesters and a police officer – have been killed and more than 7,000 people injured.
The Turkish government has repeatedly suggested that the protests were part of a plot against the country, involving foreign powers and financial institutions. Earlier this month, daily Hurriyet‘ quoted Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan as hinting that Israel must be "delighted" with the protests because the demonstrators served its interests.
Ronald S. Lauder added: “I am convinced that the people of Turkey are not going to be misled by these delusory statements from their leaders. This is a Turkish issue that will be resolved, hopefully democratically and peacefully, within Turkey.’’
‘’Words of incitement, such as these, can lead to public reactions and even violence,’’ said Robert G.Sugerman and Malcolm Hoenlein, respectively Chairman and Executive Vice Chairman of theConference of Major American Jewish Organizations in a statement.
‘’We ask (US) President Obama and the U.S. Administration to press the Turkish government to immediately stop these false accusations and demand public rectification of these unfounded charges,” they said.