Call to boycott work of Jewish Turkish writer backfires
Author Mario Levi says although he has been targeted, he has a positive take on these events as it also generated unprecedented support.
When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 19 said Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip “surpassed Hitler in barbarism,” he also warned people not to get carried away and harm Turkey’s Jewish citizens. “Israel is acting according to its own temperament. But I call on our citizens. I do not find it right to take things out on our Jewish people in this country.”
Mario Levi, "the first writer in Turkish literature to declare his Jewish identity and write about Jewishness," however, became the target of a group on social media July 23 calling for boycotting his books and holding him responsible for Israel’s actions.
As this went viral in the Twitter sphere, Levi tweeted: “In some people’s eyes, my books also took their place on the list of ‘Jewish products’ that need to be boycotted. Am I supposed to experience this in my dearest and beloved country?” he wrote. “Words are not enough to tell how much this tragic war in Gaza and the death of innocent children is afflicting me with pain.”
The more Erdogan's presidential campaign rallies become virulent against Israel, the more Turkey’s Jewish population feels concerned. Some Jewish families in Istanbul told Al-Monitor of a heightened level of worry this time around as this criticism is building up against them, forcing them to feel unwelcome — to say the least. “We are taking some precautions these days,” one Jewish woman in Istanbul told Al-Monitor. “We changed our daily schedule and choose to spend more time at home. It is becoming different.”
