ISTANBUL - Criticizing the racist and militarist discourses against Jews based on Israeli attacks, IHD Co-Chairperson Eren Keskin said: "We have to use our language very carefully when opposing this war."

 

Following the "Aqsa Flood" attack launched by Hamas against Israel on October 7, the Israeli-Palestinian war broke out again. The balance sheet is getting heavier as a result of Israel's attacks targeting civilian settlements. While attacks are being protested in many parts of the world, anti-Semitism comes to the fore in the protests in Turkey. Israel's National Security Council called on Israeli citizens in Turkey to leave the country.

 

Human Rights Association (IHD) Co-Chairperson Eren Keskin evaluated the increasing racist and militarist discourses against Jews, especially in Turkey, following the attacks.

 

Stating that the state of war between Israel and Palestine dates back to the past years, Keskin said: "The conflict process should be approached impartially. As human rights defenders, they oppose all actions that harm civilians. As human rights defenders, we have always criticized and opposed the policies of the Israeli state towards Palestinians, but the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7 was an attack against civilians and It constituted a crime against humanity. For this reason, we, as human rights defenders, condemned this immediately."

 

DISCOURSES TARGETED JEWS

 

Drawing attention that a lynching campaign against Jews was launched in Turkey after Israel's attacks targeting civilians in particular, Keskin said: “Many of the actions carried out in front of the Israeli Consulate today contain discourses that target entirely Jewish people, and in fact we see anti-Semitic discourses here. We think these are also very dangerous because there are Jewish citizens living in our geography and they continue their lives in great fear. For example, Jewish writer Rifat Bali has a saying that I have never forgotten: 'Jews in Turkey choose invisibility and live in fear without making themselves felt in any way.' Therefore, while we oppose this war, we have to use our language very carefully."

 

'WE CANNOT TARGET THE JEWS'

 

Stating that Israeli attacks are a state policy and therefore it is wrong to condemn the attacks through anti-Semitism, Keskin said: "There is a much larger peace movement in Israel than in Turkey. Very recently before this incident, Israeli dissidents and thousands of peace-loving people achieved something that we have not been able to achieve so far and took to the streets against their own rulers. We have to see these. That's why, as human rights defenders, we are always in favor of doing business with supporters of peace. We cannot carry out actions that target all Israelis and Jews without considering the peace supporters in Israel, and we are against them."

 

'RACISM IS BEING STRENGTHENED BY THE STATE'

 

Reminding that there were many "racist and nationalist" based events in Turkey's past history, Keskin touched upon the consequences of these. Stating that racism has been normalized again recently, Keskin said: "This situation has been strengthened by the state. Increasing racism poses a great threat to the people. Although it is a geography where many ethnic identities and faith identities live together, we are talking about a republic founded only on the basis of Turkish and Sunni Muslim identities. This could have been democratized over time, but on the contrary, it was deepened and paved the way for racists. For example, the speech of an AKP official praising Hitler in Samsun Municipality the other day was a speech that required immediate action by prosecutors. A statement is made defending a person who committed genocide, using completely anti-Semitic language. Today, they use Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code to support peaceists, but in fact, this is exactly what directs the public to hatred and resentment."

 

'A RACIST AND MILITARIST SOCIETY IS BEING CREATED'

 

Underlining that the government aims to create a unipolar society with racist and militarist language, Keskin said: “In our geography, only certain people currently have the right to speak. You are only free if you support the government. Apart from him, no one is free in this geography. Lawsuits are being filed against everyone. We have all either entered prison, are about to enter prison, or are under judicial control. In fact, we all live as hostages. None of us are free and this contradicts all the international agreements that Turkey has signed."

 

'THE STAND SHOULD BE TAKEN IN SIDE OF PEACE'

 

Stating that everyone who is in favor of democracy and human rights should take a stance in favor of peace on this issue, Keskin said:“There is a need to carry out peace efforts to prevent anti-Semitic discourses and to take a stance in favor of the Arabs living in Israel and the peace supporters in Israel. Unfortunately, politics does not do this. Then this duty falls to human rights defenders and democratic people." 

 

MA / İbrahim Irmak