This Ongoing War: A Blog: 19-Jul-14: In case anyone is still thinking of holidaying in Turkey

Saturday, July 19, 2014

19-Jul-14: In case anyone is still thinking of holidaying in Turkey

Tayyip Recep Erdogan, a politician who understands
the Nazis [Image Source]

In the wake of violent demonstrations outside Israel's embassy in Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul on Thursday [see "18-Jul-14: Before holidaying in Turkey, some messages to bear in mind"], Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning today to Israeli citizens against nonessential travel to Turkey.

“Given the public atmosphere in Turkey in light of Operation Protective Edge, we are honing our recommendation to avoid visits to the state that are not essential..." [source]

Israel also took the decision yesterday [says Reuters] to order the return of its diplomats' families and reducing the staffing at its Turkish diplomatic posts to a minimum.

Underlining the danger of those anti-Israel mobs and the inflammatory role played by Turkey's current political echelon, here's an extract from a syndicated AP report published this afternoon under the unambiguous headline "ERDOGAN SAYS ISRAEL MORE BARBARIC THAN HITLER":

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of "barbarism that surpasses Hitler" during its ground invasion of Gaza. Erdogan made the comment during a campaign speech Saturday in the Black Sea port city of Ordu. He is running for the presidency in elections next month. He has been speaking out strongly against Israel during its offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, which has killed more than 300 Palestinians. He accuses Israel of using disproportionate force and has said the operation there has derailed efforts to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties. Those soured after Israel's 2010 raid on an aid ship which killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American...

The cheap demagoguery of Turkey's chief politician is something we hope is not quickly forgotten by the many - here and in other countries - with future holiday plans in mind.

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