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TAN: ISRAEL MUST GET US JEWS TO BACK DOWN
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 28 2007
Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namýk Tan has clearly expressed Ankara's
expectation of Israel to "deliver" US based-Jewish organizations and
ensure that the US Congress does not pass a resolution characterizing
as genocide the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I.
Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namýk Tan
Remarks by Tan, who last week cut short his holiday in Turkey to
return to Israel following the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
reversal of its longtime policy by calling the World War I killing
of Anatolian Armenians genocide, came in an interview published in
Monday's edition of Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post.
"Israel should not let the [US] Jewish community change its position.
This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly
important," Tan said, while noting that he understood that Israel's
position had not changed.
Two separate resolutions are pending in the US Senate and House of
Representatives urging the administration to recognize the killings
as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolutions in
the US Congress would seriously harm relations with Washington and
impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US administration
has said it is opposed to the resolution, but the congressional
process is an independent one. In his message on April 24 -- the
date Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a
systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire
-- US President George W. Bush adhered to the administration policy
of not referring to the incident as genocide.
"If you want to touch and hurt the hearts of the people in Turkey,
this is the issue. This is the number-one issue. You cannot easily
explain to them any change in this," said Tan, who has requested
urgent meetings with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to impress upon
them the importance of this issue to Turkey.
In the eyes of his people, Turkey's strategic relationship with
Israel was not with Israel alone, but with the whole Jewish world,
the Turkish ambassador elaborated. "They [the Turkish people] cannot
make that differentiation," he said.
Tan said he understood that the US-based Jewish organizations were
just that, reflecting Ankara's awareness that there was no official
link between those NGOs and the Israeli government. Yet, he added, "We
all know how they work in coordinating their efforts [with Israel]."
Last week, Israel's President Shimon Peres felt the need to assure
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan that Israel has not
changed its position on the Armenian issue. During a telephone
conversation with Erdoðan last week, Peres reiterated the Israeli
position that Turkey and Armenia should resolve the dispute on the
nature of the killings of Anatolian Armenians through dialogue.
According to Israeli media, Peres, during the same conversation,
also noted that Israel does not control US Jewish organizations,
which pursue their own agendas.
When reminded by The Jerusalem Post of quotes by Israeli government
officials reiterating that Israel does not control American Jewish
organizations, Tan firmly said he didn't accept that argument. "On
some issues there is no such thing as 'Israel cannot deliver'~B"
he said, adding that this was one of those issues.
Turkey's Jews in Israel deplore ADL move
The New York-based Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) reversal of its
longtime policy by labeling the World War I killing of Anatolian
Armenians as genocide has sparked a harsh reaction from an umbrella
organization of Jews who migrated to Israel from Turkey.
The Union of Jews from Turkey in Israel (Turkiyeliler Birliði/Itahdut
Yotsei Turkia) deplored the ADL's move in a statement released over
the weekend, saying that they have rejected comparison of the Armenian
allegations with "the disastrous genocide applied by Nazis on Jews
which has no precedent in the history of the humanity."
The statement penned by Momo Uzsinay, the organization's head, brought
to mind the fact that US-based Jewish organizations have welcomed
Ankara's initiative for resolving the issue via establishing a joint
commission of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia
to study the events of 1915 through usage of archives in Turkey,
Armenia and other relevant countries.
"Apparently, the ADL has now put its signature under such a reversal,
which is a questionable decision with political motives and under the
influence of concerns that it must adapt itself in line with certain
circles who change their minds according to political goals," the
statement said, noting that the ADL move came as a result of efforts
of the Armenian diaspora. "Our reality is the fact that Turks do not
have any intolerance toward minorities," it added.
--Boundary_(ID_BatD+ubgMvRqf9RuUw3sMA)--
Today's Zaman, Turkey
Aug 28 2007
Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namýk Tan has clearly expressed Ankara's
expectation of Israel to "deliver" US based-Jewish organizations and
ensure that the US Congress does not pass a resolution characterizing
as genocide the killings of Anatolian Armenians during World War I.
Turkish Ambassador to Israel Namýk Tan
Remarks by Tan, who last week cut short his holiday in Turkey to
return to Israel following the US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
reversal of its longtime policy by calling the World War I killing
of Anatolian Armenians genocide, came in an interview published in
Monday's edition of Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post.
"Israel should not let the [US] Jewish community change its position.
This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly
important," Tan said, while noting that he understood that Israel's
position had not changed.
Two separate resolutions are pending in the US Senate and House of
Representatives urging the administration to recognize the killings
as genocide. Turkey has warned that passage of the resolutions in
the US Congress would seriously harm relations with Washington and
impair cooperation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US administration
has said it is opposed to the resolution, but the congressional
process is an independent one. In his message on April 24 -- the
date Armenians claim marks the anniversary of the beginning of a
systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire
-- US President George W. Bush adhered to the administration policy
of not referring to the incident as genocide.
"If you want to touch and hurt the hearts of the people in Turkey,
this is the issue. This is the number-one issue. You cannot easily
explain to them any change in this," said Tan, who has requested
urgent meetings with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to impress upon
them the importance of this issue to Turkey.
In the eyes of his people, Turkey's strategic relationship with
Israel was not with Israel alone, but with the whole Jewish world,
the Turkish ambassador elaborated. "They [the Turkish people] cannot
make that differentiation," he said.
Tan said he understood that the US-based Jewish organizations were
just that, reflecting Ankara's awareness that there was no official
link between those NGOs and the Israeli government. Yet, he added, "We
all know how they work in coordinating their efforts [with Israel]."
Last week, Israel's President Shimon Peres felt the need to assure
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan that Israel has not
changed its position on the Armenian issue. During a telephone
conversation with Erdoðan last week, Peres reiterated the Israeli
position that Turkey and Armenia should resolve the dispute on the
nature of the killings of Anatolian Armenians through dialogue.
According to Israeli media, Peres, during the same conversation,
also noted that Israel does not control US Jewish organizations,
which pursue their own agendas.
When reminded by The Jerusalem Post of quotes by Israeli government
officials reiterating that Israel does not control American Jewish
organizations, Tan firmly said he didn't accept that argument. "On
some issues there is no such thing as 'Israel cannot deliver'~B"
he said, adding that this was one of those issues.
Turkey's Jews in Israel deplore ADL move
The New York-based Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) reversal of its
longtime policy by labeling the World War I killing of Anatolian
Armenians as genocide has sparked a harsh reaction from an umbrella
organization of Jews who migrated to Israel from Turkey.
The Union of Jews from Turkey in Israel (Turkiyeliler Birliði/Itahdut
Yotsei Turkia) deplored the ADL's move in a statement released over
the weekend, saying that they have rejected comparison of the Armenian
allegations with "the disastrous genocide applied by Nazis on Jews
which has no precedent in the history of the humanity."
The statement penned by Momo Uzsinay, the organization's head, brought
to mind the fact that US-based Jewish organizations have welcomed
Ankara's initiative for resolving the issue via establishing a joint
commission of historians and experts from both Turkey and Armenia
to study the events of 1915 through usage of archives in Turkey,
Armenia and other relevant countries.
"Apparently, the ADL has now put its signature under such a reversal,
which is a questionable decision with political motives and under the
influence of concerns that it must adapt itself in line with certain
circles who change their minds according to political goals," the
statement said, noting that the ADL move came as a result of efforts
of the Armenian diaspora. "Our reality is the fact that Turks do not
have any intolerance toward minorities," it added.
--Boundary_(ID_BatD+ubgMvRqf9RuUw3sMA)--