Turkish Intelligence Service Targets Jewish Population
While the Jewish community in Turkey — now reportedly under surveillance by Turkish intelligence services — wants to help the Erdogan government heal its rift with Israel, it’s unclear as to what they can do, writes Tulin Daloglu.
The deteriorating relationship between Turkey and Israel has generated unprecedented and disquieting accusations against Turkey’s Jews. There is a growing tendency in this country — encouraged by the ruling Islamist government — that demonizes Jews and triggers anti-Semitism, consciously or not.
For example, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprisingly raised for the first time — just hours before the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was announced on Nov. 21 — the question of the "dual loyalty" of Turkish Jews. Then, daily Yeni Safak, a supporter of Erdogan’s government, claimed in a front-page story on Dec.13 under the headline “Murderers amongst us” that there were Turkish-speaking Israeli soldiers who boarded the Mavi Marmara flotilla on May 30, 2010 and killed nine Turks.
When the readers’ comments on the article warned of physical threats to Jewish citizens, Rafael Sadi, the spokesman of the Association of Turkish Jews in Israel, condemned the news report.
“Yeni Safak and other extremist newspapers are eager to twist the truth and paint a picture as if having a dual citizenship as a Turk and an Israeli equals treason in Turkey,” he told Al-Monitor. Sadi said that at the request of the Israeli Interior Ministry on the night of the raid, they sent eight volunteers to Ashdod Port as those detained were going through passport control.
