Erdogan’s Anti-Israel Remarks Reflect Broader Anti-Semitism in Turkey

A famous Turkic figure blasts Jews and Israel for their pernicious influence around the world. Americans respond in shock. Those who know the story are — somewhat nervously — giggling because they have seen it before. Our hero is not Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat, but Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who just blamed Israel for orchestrating the July 3 coup in Egypt.

Erdogan’s evidence to prove his claim about the Israeli influence in the Egyptian coup is not a very strong one: it is a video of French author Bernard-Henri Levy attending a talk at Tel Aviv University (TAU) in June 2011 together with Tzipi Livni, who was an opposition deputy at the time and is currently the justice minister of Israel. When asked whether he would support a coup if the Muslim Brotherhood wins the elections in Egypt, Levy unapologetically responds in the affirmative. In the short video, Livni only nods her head but it is not clear whether she endorses the Frenchman’s views on a coup or his statement that “democracy is not only elections — it is values. You have to have the two.” (The 90-minute talk is available from TAU’s YouTube account.)

Erdogan’s remarks are highly problematic for several reasons.

First of all, he undermines himself when he says he does not criticize Israel out of prejudice. Unfortunately, Erdogan’s use of Levy to accuse Israel for the coup in Egypt fits the standard definition of prejudice: forming a negative opinion about an entire group of people based on the actions of one of its members. At any rate, Levy — a Frenchman of Jewish background who is not an Israeli citizen — can hardly be taken as a spokesman for Israel. Accusing Israel for Levy’s words will taint Erdogan in the future even when he is justified in criticizing Tel Aviv’s actions.