The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has expressed shock at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments accusing Israel of orchestrating the military coup in Egypt while claiming his “evidence” was provided by an unidentified “Jewish French intellectual.”
Erdogan made this claim during a meeting of his Justice and Development political party (AK).
In a letter to Prime Minister Erdogan, ADL voiced its concern that the accusations resembled “the centuries-old anti-Semitic myth of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy to control foreign governments,” and suggest that despite the recent reconciliation process with Israel, Turkey’s government “still harbors a heavy bias against Jews and Israel.”
“The fact remains that while a number of countries have expressed a desire to see a particular outcome in Egypt, including Turkey which has quite vocally supported the Muslim Brotherhood, those responsible for the events of the past weeks are Egyptians acting on their own accord and in their own interests,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.
“To suggest Israel has fomented the unrest in Egypt is incitement of the first order, demagogic and dangerous.”
ADL called on the Prime Minister to publicly retract his statements.
“If the reports of your statements are accurate, we respectfully call on you to publicly retract them,” Mr. Foxman wrote. “Doing so would both demonstrate your sincerity regarding the reconciliation process with Israel, and reaffirm Turkey’s respect for Jews throughout the world.”