Erdogan’s Turkey, which wants to destroy Israel, is an ally of the U.S., and Israel itself is an ally of the U.S. One of these alliances is in serious danger, and the worries are not in Istanbul.
“‘Israel must be destroyed,’ said chief Middle East advisor to Turkey’s President Erdogan,” by Abdullah Bozkurt, Nordic Monitor, February 15, 2024:
The person responsible for shaping Turkey’s foreign policy in the Middle East in the office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been revealed to have called for the destruction of Israel, as uncovered by a Nordic Monitor investigation.
Sefer Turan, a 62-year-old pro-Iranian Islamist and a chief advisor to the Turkish president, has openly denied Israel’s right to exist, stating, “We must consistently and at every opportunity inform the public that there is no such state called Israel.”
Turan’s remarks were made in June 1997 during a panel discussion concerning the closure of the Palestine Solidarity and Friendship Association (Filistin Dayanışma ve Dostluk Derneği, FDD) by Turkish authorities. The FDD was identified as a front organization sponsored by the Iranian mullah regime in Turkey, aimed at channeling funds to armed Palestinian jihadist groups, organizing rallies against Israel and promoting antisemitism in Turkey.
Turan, one of the architects of the FDD, vehemently criticized the government’s decision to shut down the organization. He also condemned the peace initiatives launched in Madrid in 1991 that aimed to foster peace between Israel and Palestine, along with several Arab nations. The Madrid conference, co-sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union, eventually resulted in the signing of the Oslo I Accord in 1993 and the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994.
“We must openly reveal our identity and, if necessary, endure the risks,” Turan emphasized, further stating, “Nothing ends with the closure of the FDD.”
The driving force behind the creation of the FDD was a propaganda magazine named Yörünge, which received funding from the Iranian regime and was operated by pro-Iranian Turkish Islamists. Some members of this group had undergone training by Iranian intelligence in handling arms and explosives. Turkish authorities took action against the magazine, shutting it down and initiating criminal investigations and indictments against its staff.
The application for the establishment of the FDD was initially approved on July 1, 1995, during a preliminary process and later endorsed by the Interior Ministry in November 1995. However, a month after approval, the ministry requested that the FDD halt its operations until the Cabinet reviewed the application, citing concerns regarding the mention of international operations in the founding charter, which fell under the discretion of the Cabinet. On May 7, 1997 the government officially notified the FDD of its closure.
The FDD board members included Ahmet Varol, Remzi Çayır, Rıdvan Kaya, Nurettin Şirin, Fikret Özdemir and Ahmet Ağırakça, several of whom had longstanding ties with the Iranian Islamist Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force.
In fact, both Turan, working as chief aide to Erdogan at the time, and Şirin were suspects in a confidential investigation into the Quds Force network between 2011 and 2014. During this period their phones were tapped under court order as investigators sought to uncover an Iranian intelligence network in Turkey. The investigation aimed to determine any plots targeting Israeli, Jewish and Western interests in Turkey….
Goofy says
Sefer Turan was a young man when he uttered those words, which are at odds with the fact that Turkey as the first Muslim nation established diplomatic relations with Israel in March 1949.
Had he expressed those words in the present, heated atmosphere we would count the days until receiving the statement from Mossad that “there is none of that name living in Turkey”.
ElderlyZionist says
In 1997, the Republic of Turkey was still officially secular, and moderately friendly to Israel. Tayyip Erdogan was elected Mayor of Istanbul in 1994, was convicted of Islamist incitement and imprisoned in 1998, was elected to Parliament and became Prime Minister in 2003. Turkiye is now an Islamist state, no friend to Israel, and Erdogan is President-For-Life. Sefer Turan helped to facilitate that change.
James Lincoln says
ElderlyZionist,
And yet, Turkey remains a member of NATO.
The Istanbulian says
Turkey is a nato ally. Israel is just an ally. That is why no one talks about freeing Kurdistan or the occupation of north Cyprus