The rising antisemitism in the Turkish media is a complex phenomenon that manifests itself in several forms:
1. Animosity towards Jews, Judaism and 'Jewish lobbies.' Jews are targeted as individuals, a community, people and "race," and as a sinister political entity seeking Jewish dominance on world affairs, businesses and media. Jews are demonized in many conspiracy theories including causing earthquakes, globalization, and the creation of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia.
2. A hostile approach towards the Jewish citizens of Turkey, questioning their loyalty; blaming them of treason and for the fall of the Ottoman Empire; characterizing them with derogatory adjectives; inciting the public by citing Koran verses hostile to them; and creating an atmosphere conducive to violence. [1] This type of antisemitism also targets Masonic lodges and freemasons for their alleged connections with Judaism.
3. Antisemitism that in recent years has turned into a harsh campaign, which some Turkish intellectuals have called "a witch hunt" against the 'Dönme' [2] who are regarded as 'hidden Jews' posing as Muslims. They are blamed for helping to found the modern Republic of Turkey as a 'spare' Jewish state, for holding all key positions' in Turkey and for ruling the country.
4. Antisemitism directed at Israel and Zionism. The word 'Zionists' often replaces the word 'Jews' in the press.
This is the first part in a series of reports which will be released in the coming weeks. The following are excerpts from articles in the Turkish press dealing with antisemitism (the format of the text appears as in the original):
"The Disgusting Form of Racism Called Antisemitism, is Fast Growing and Causing the Increased Interest in 'Mein Kampf'"
In an article titled 'Mein Kampf and the Protocols of Zion', Ayse Hür wrote in the left of center, liberal daily Radikal: [3]
"Recently there are two interesting books in the 'bestseller' lists: Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and the Protocols of Zion. Mein Kampf which is the 'handbook' for the ultra- nationalists of Turkey was translated [into Turkish] and published about 45 times between the years of 1940 and 2005. […] the Protocols of Zion, which inspired Mein Kampf, was published in full or in summarized form over 100 times during 1943-2004. Mein Kampf which is thought to sell about 1,000 copies a year, is now being marketed by 11 publishers.
"[…] Sami Celik, the owner of Emre Publications, who recently printed 31,000 copies told Aksam newspaper on February 27, 2005: 'Following our research and observations, we thought that Mein Kampf would be a book that would be sought after and read by the public. […] Mein Kampf was [indeed] affected by [recent] developments and its sale figures peaked.' [4] As a matter of fact it has become a sort of handbook for the [electorate] base of MHP [the ultra-nationalist 'National Movement Party'] and 'Genc Parti' [the Youth Party]. Some claim that it is very popular among the students at police academies.
"In the same newspaper [Aksam] we read sociologist Prof. Mustafa Erkal who said: 'Reading Hitler is a reaction. Israel's policies and goals cause a reaction. Naturally, people get curious about Hitler's antisemitism and want to learn more about what he did and wanted to do.' What our academician failed to say is the fact that in Turkey, as in the rest of the world, animosity toward the Jews, that disgusting form of racism called antisemitism, is fast growing and causing the increased interest for Mein Kampf. We know that publishing this book in Europe is banned; and in Germany even its possession is a crime. […]
"Having 'Mein Kampf' and the 'Protocols' on our bestseller list today, must make us think twice before we claim 'there is no antisemitism here.'"
"It is the Jews Who Should Read Mein Kampf"
Columnist Arslan Tekin of the nationalist-Islamic daily Yenicağ, wrote in an article titled 'Yes, Mein Kampf should be taught in schools:' "Everybody should read it, and should learn the reasons why Hitler came about." [5]
11 days later, Tekin wrote in his column in Yenicağ: [6] "Can a Hitler rise in America? It can happen… What was [true] for Germany before Hitler came to power is [now] exceedingly true for America. Big banks, big TV organs, big newspapers, all the tools that can trap the public opinion are in the hands of the Jews… Politics is run by them too.
"What is the proportion of the Jewish [population] in America of 200 million [sic]. Must not even be two percent. They have an image beyond what their numbers merit. I am sorry for the Jews… How come they do not think about the effect their disproportionate 'grandeur' would have on the majority of the [American] people! In Germany, Hitler did not rise just single-handedly. He only answered the questions asked by his people.
"Hey Jews! The world cannot bear to have another Hitler [because of you]. Your disproportionate [presence]; your recklessness; your daring to burn the world for [even] one Jew, makes the American people and everyone in the world ask the question: 'what's happening here?' Do you know how the US is seen now? [It looks like] the biggest Jewish empire of the world. […]
"I, like everyone else, am seeing this situation… Hitler's Mein Kampf must be read especially by the Jews.
"A madman like Hitler does not just come about [without a reason]… The book which you define as 'nonsense' has set the world on fire. The Jews should think about the reasons [why]."
"Hitler Was a Man of Foresight"
Abdurrahim Karakoç, a columnist at the Islamic newspaper Vakit praised Hitler: [7]
"[…] It is impossible not to admire the foresight of Adolph Hitler, who is presented to public opinion as 'racist, sadistic, and monstrous.' Way back then, Hitler foresaw what would happen these [present] days. He cleansed off these swindler Jews, who believe in racism for a religion and take pleasure in bathing the world in blood, because he knew that they would become [this] big a curse for the world.
"[…] Hitler indeed was a man of foresight […] So Hitler did the job, yet Israel is presented to the world public opinion as the innocent victim.
"[…] The second man with foresight is evidently Osama bin Laden. If a stone hits a dog's leg somewhere in the world, Osama bin Laden gets blamed. […] Bin Laden had foreseen what would happen in Iraq, in Palestine, and in the prisons of Guantanamo.
"He [Osama] alone, or perhaps with a few friends, defies the superpowers of the world and sets fear inside the very shelters of the oppressors. […] It was Hitler yesterday, and it is Osama bin Laden today […]"
"Couldn't You Find Other People to Send to Turkey, Than the 'Jew' Edelman and the 'Jew' Feith?"
In reaction to a Wall Street Journal article by Robert Pollock [8] [on the rising anti-Americanism in Turkey] columnist Serdar Kuru wrote in the nationalist Turkish daily Ortadoğu: [9]
"[Pollock's] article determines that Turkey is becoming a paranoid third world country. And the reason they think we are paranoid is the widespread belief among Turks that America is [nothing but a] toy in the hands of Jews who have designs of aggression against Turkey. The author of the article seems to be annoyed at the exposure of the Jewish identities of the American Ambassador Edelman and later of [Douglas] Feith during his visit [to Turkey].
"[…] In reality it is clear who ordered this poor shooter [Robert Pollock, WSJ] to write this article […] Our problem is with the Zionist Jews who have grabbed every corner in America and the Evangelist Christians that they [the Jews] feed, who plan [together] to set on fire the whole world and our country. The ones who are disturbed by people, who oppose their plans, are the same ones who prepare these plans.
" The Wall Street Journal, where this article was published belongs to the Dow Jones Corporation. Peter R. Kahn, the head of Dow Jones is Jewish and is a member of CFR. This man's wife Karen House is the head of the Wall Street Journal. She too is Jewish and a member of CFR. Mrs. Karen is also the director of RAND, the think tank that prepared the world domination plans for the Bush team. Vice President of Dow Jones, Joseph Stern, is one of America's most famous Jewish lawyers. A Board of Directors member is Lewis Campbell who owns Textron the gun manufacturer and heads the security operations of the capitalist Round Table. One other Director of the Board is former president of American Express, Harvey Golubda and he is Jewish.
"By now you must have understood why Wall Street Journal is disturbed by Turkey's anti-Zionist attitude. This Jewish Dow Jones Corporation also has an exchange fund called "Dow Jones Islamic Market Turkey." This strange exchange fund [claims] to do brokerage with no interest. Some stupid fools who think they can make money without paying interest must be entrusting their monies into the hands of Jews. As you can see my friends, the reactions to the Turkish attitude towards American and Zionist expansionisms are not objective […] they are coming from the Zionists themselves.
"Is it our fault that behind every immorality, incitement, conspiracy and filth there is a Zionist ? Couldn't you send to Turkey people other than the Jew Edelman and the Jew Feith? […]"
"Our Times are Similar to 1930's in Germany"
In the leftist-liberal daily Radikal, Murat Necip Arman wrote: [10]
"The discussions we are having now are almost identical to the ones they had in Germany during the 1930's. At those days the press articles were not openly targeting the non-Germanic races yet, but were often arguing that they [the Jews] dominated the economy and that they were conducting [secret] activities that would ruin the fiber of the German society.[…]
"On New Year's Eve, in a TV channel which does not feel the need to hide its ties to a [Turkish] political party, it was recounted at great length that the Jews are a cursed people and that for this reason it was obligatory for the Muslims to eradicate them [the Jews]. […] it should not be forgotten that to openly say such a sentence constitutes a crime. […] While this neo-antisemitism is recklessly manifested in almost all media organs, in the eyes of the masses Israel's aggression towards Palestinians provides justification for such a dangerous kind of racism.
"[…] This animosity towards the non-Muslims, the like of which we have not witnessed in many years, is hovering over Turkey and agitating masses of people who are not bothered by its [grave] consequences.
"As I said, what we have here [in Turkey] presents similarities with Germany of the 1930's. I hope common sense prevails in Turkey and this dangerous trend does not lead to frightening results. […]
"At least the national press must keep in mind its social responsibility in presenting these matters with a cool head. Political parties can play dangerous games for political gains. […] But the media's common sense is essential […]"
"Persecution by Hitler Much Exaggerated"
Upon the German Government's decision to ban the publication of the Turkish Islamic daily Vakit in Germany, a columnist at Vakit, Hüseyin Üzmez, wrote: [11]
"[…] It is true that persecution [of Jews] by Hitler is much exaggerated. We are sick and tired of [listening to] stories of the inhuman persecution and torture he committed against the Jews. It is said that Hitler himself was a Jew… that he committed cruelty only to force the Jews to migrate from Europe to Palestine … and that it was the Israeli Zionists who dictated these acts upon him, at the time they were founding Israel. Two great powers (money and media) are in Jewish hands. The 'treacherous local collaborators' and some international organizations are also in their command.
"All humanity knows the fact that they [the Jews] are unequalled in [their] lobbying [skills]. With all this power and the tools, they can make or break anyone. […] Who can oppose them? We saw the best example of this in what the German Interior Minister did to our newspaper Vakit. Against all the European human rights agreements, German police was putting pressure on our paper. We were in the midst of a judicial process. Our paper was illegally shut down […] Then the German Interior Minister interfered. He banned our paper. […] This was a [perfect] example of execution without a trial. […] It is obvious that he [the interior minister] was directed [by someone high above] into making such a decision. […] This is how powerful the Zionists are. And this is the supposedly 'civilized and modern' West.
"[…] the German Interior Minister, who was so angry at us because we said 'Hitler had not killed six million Jews,' cannot be German. We are very curious to know whether he is a Jew?"
"Jewish Paranoia"
Columnist Yusuf Kaplan of the Islamic Yeni Şafak writes: [12]
"Jewish paranoia ( = fanaticism) is a phenomenon found in Jews that is an integral part of their character, blood and soul. Since paranoia is the form of Jewish existence and self- expression, they have never refrained from exposing it at every occasion, in the past and the present.
"[…] the Jewish paranoia can reach barbaric, cruel and inhuman dimensions […]
"Jewish paranoia has determined the color and the shape of our times. What keeps this paranoia alive is the power that the Jews possess [which enables them] to shape and direct the politics, economies and cultures of especially the western countries.
"[…] Jews also rule the Western universities and world media. […]
"Jewish desire to dominate everything in the Western countries, and the way they easily and arrogantly exploit organizations and individuals to serve Jewish interests, may end up causing a short circuit within the democratic institutions of the West. Their nosy interference with everything, and their actions beyond the reach of their size, have already started to draw serious reactions in the Western countries. Because the Jewish paranoia is blown to extreme, forced and artificial dimensions, it can explode any day and take care of them [the Jews] and cost them dearly."
"The Jews and Christian Zionism"
In his article titled 'Globalization Projects and Nationalists' Israfil Kumbasar of the nationalist-Islamic daily Yenicağ, summarizes a lecture by Mehmet Gül [13] at a recent [pan-Turkic] Turan Cultural Foundation's meeting: [14]
"[…] The only 'secret' power behind the globalization project are the Jews and the masons!...
"The 'Jewish Zionists whose goal is the 'total Jewish domination of the world' claim that a 'messiah' will come down from the sky and will build the 'World Kingdom'!...
"The same expectation is widely shared by the 'Christian Zionists' who accept all that the 'Old Testament' says!... The Christian Zionists believe that all humanity will become Christian with the coming of Jesus, the 'son of God'!...
"The Neo-Con representatives of Evangelism that amalgamates the 'Christian Zionism' and the 'Jewish Zionism' are ruling America now!...[…] they are looking for 'sacred allies' in the Islamic world, who will serve their purposes!...
"In recent years some communities with 'messianic views' are appearing within the Islamic world […] !...
"[…] We can understand the games played on the Muslim world if we learn that the 'Wahhabism' which originated in Saudi Arabia is plotted by the 'masons' to 'leave the Muslims behind.' Bahaism, Kadianism […] and other 'messiah waiting' Muslim communities all help serve 'the new world order'!... […] it seems that these 'Zionist Muslims' will soon say that 'greater Israel' is the will of the great architect of the universe'!... The Muslim Turks who follow them will only see the realities when it is too late and our lands between the Euphrates and the Tigris will already be in Israeli hands.
"[…] 'Messianic belief' is a 'Zionist trap' for all humanity! […]"
[1] On November 15, 2003, two major synagogues in Istanbul were bombed by Turkish Islamic terrorists, killing 26 and wounding hundreds, most of them Muslim Turks who were in the vicinity. On August 21, 2003, a Jewish dentist, Dr. Y.Yahya, had been murdered in his clinic. The perpetrator confessed upon his arrest that he had wanted to kill 'a Jew' [after what he read about the Jews in the press]. On March 9, 2004, a Masonic lodge in Istanbul was also attacked by two suicide bombers, killing one and wounding five, and the bombers were later found to have had ties with the synagogue bombers. A gun used in the attack against the Masonic lodge proved to be the same one used in the execution style murder of the Jewish dentist.
[2] The 'Dönme' are descendants of the Jewish followers of a self-proclaimed messiah, Sabbetai Sevi (1626-1676) who was forced by the sultan to convert to Islam in 1666. They consider themselves Muslims and officially are recognized as such. Dönme is the Turkish word for 'convert' but it carries overtones of 'turncoat' as well.
[3] Radikal 2 (Turkey), March 13, 2005.
[4] According to the most recent reports, 'Mein Kampf' has climbed to second place in Turkey's 'Bestsellers' list. The first place is occupied by a book titled 'Metal Storm,' a futuristic novel set in 2007 when Turkey is attacked by the U.S. military, after which a young Turkish hero explodes a nuclear bomb in America.
[5] Yenicağ (Turkey), March 15, 2005. This Turkish daily newspaper is a synthesis of radical Islam and MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) nationalism.
[6] Yenicağ (Turkey), March 26, 2005.
[7] Vakit (Turkey), August 17, 2004. In February 2005 publication of this newspaper was banned in Germany, for antisemitic incitement and its denial of the Holocaust.
[8] The Wall Street Journal, February 16, 2005.
[9] Ortadoğu (Turkey), February 19, 2005. Ortadoğu is a nationalist Turkish daily close to MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) which was a coalition partner in the previous government.
[10] Radikal (Turkey), January 23, 2005.
[11] Vakit (Turkey), February 28, 2005.
[12] Yeni Şafak (Turkey), February 21, 2005. This Islamic daily newspaper is known to be an unofficial mouthpiece of the AKP government. The newspaper's owner and PM Erdoğan have become in-laws, after the recent marriage of their children.
[13] Mehmet Gül is a former member of Parliament from MHP (Nationalist Movement Party), and he was addressing a Turan [pan-Turkic] ultra-nationalist gathering.
[14] Yenicağ (Turkey), March 4, 2005.
