By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher

More than two weeks have passed since that fateful day when Prime 
Minister Bulent Ecevit accused Israel of committing genocide against the 
Palestinians. Since then, he has come under such blistering criticism 
from both Israel and American-Jews that Ecevit and Turkish Americans 
have been busy trying to control the damage caused to Turkey's interests 
by profusely and repeatedly apologizing for that "indiscretion." Judging 
from various Jewish reactions, Ecevit's words will not be soon forgotten 
or forgiven!

On April 5th, one day after Ecevit's comments, nine major 
American-Jewish organizations sent a joint letter to the Turkish Prime 
Minister severely criticizing him and rejecting his "clarification" and 
apology. They said that his use of the term "genocide" to describe 
Israel's military operations in the West Bank is "absolutely wrong as 
fact and offensive as comment." The Jewish groups stated that the 
Israeli actions were "directly comparable" to the Turkish government's 
armed attacks on the Kurds in northern Iraq. In other words, Turkish 
actions could also be qualified as genocide. The American Jewish 
Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, the 
B'nai B'rith International, the Conference of Presidents of Major 
American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, 
the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the Hadassah, and 
the Orthodox Union concluded their letter by stating, "we register our 
profound disappointment with your comment." The representatives of six
major American-Jewish organizations, including AIPAC, met with Turkey's 
Ambassador Faruk Logoglu on April 9, to personally register their 
protest.
Ironically, only a few months ago, these same nine American-Jewish 
groups had sent a joint letter to Pres. Bush urging him to provide more 
US assistance to Turkey. They had stated that "Turkey's extensive 
relationship with Israel on social, economic, and military issues has 
wavered not one bit." I wonder if these Jewish groups now regret having 
made such a pro-Turkish statement. Would they be so eager to lobby on 
behalf of Turkey again?

The New York Times covered the Jewish reactions to Ecevit's accusations. 
In an April 10th article titled, "With a word, Israeli-Turkish strain 
surfaces," reporter Douglas Frantz quoted Barry Jacobs, the director of 
strategic studies for the American Jewish Committee, as saying: "We have 
put a lot of effort in on behalf of Turkey." The AJC and other American 
Jewish groups were reported to have been "stung and angered" by Ecevit's 
words. "Israel also lodged diplomatic complaints," The Times wrote. The 
Turkish Zaman newspaper reported the remarks of Alon Liel, a former 
official of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, who said that everything will 
be forgotten in the future except Ecevit's accusation of genocide. The 
Jewish people will never forget that. Israel will henceforth question 
Turkey's trustworthiness, Liel said.

Ecevit's statement may have also caused a serious rift in the joint 
lobbying efforts of Jewish and Turkish Americans at the grassroots 
level.

Here are the powerful words of a Jewish-American woman, Rachel Krespin 
of Fairfield, Connecticut, who wrote the following letter to Ecevit: 
"Today, I lived one of the biggest disappointments of my entire life, 
when I was informed of your recent remarks defining Israel's war against 
terrorism in pure self-defense as 'genocide.' I feel very betrayed and 
shocked. I am a Turkish-Israeli-American who spends her entire life in 
the fight against defamation of Turkey, writing tens of letters every 
week, trying to counter the many virulent attempts of Greeks, Armenians, 
Kurds, etc., who all claim 'genocide.'" Ms. Krespin, describing herself 
as a member of the Turkish Forum (a pro-Turkish website), Daughters of 
Ataturk, the Assembly of Turkish
American Associations, and the American Association of Jewish Friends of 
Turkey, wrote:  "As members of these distinguished organizations in
America, we do all we can, to better the image of Turkey in the world. 
And we do not do this alone. It is the help, support and firm stand of 
countless Jewish organizations that give us credibility and make our 
cause heard. We repeatedly quote Israel's Foreign Minister Shimon Peres' 
denial of the 'Armenian Genocide' when we make our case." Reiterating 
her total dedication to "vigorous anti-Armenian, anti-Greek, and 
anti-Kurd campaigns," she told the Turkish Prime Minister, "Israel and 
the Jewish people around the world have faithfully stood by Turkey 
through all her battles and campaigns, both military and political. And 
you, Mr. Evevit, have betrayed Israel. And you betrayed me."

A potentially more damaging development for Turkey was disclosed in an 
upcoming editorial of the newsletter of the American Association of 
Jewish Friends of Turkey (AAJFT). Here are some excerpts: "By using the 
word 'genocide,' he [Ecevit] has destroyed the 80 years of slow and 
painstaking efforts on the part of the Sephardis to influence the 
majority of the Ashkenazic and Mizrahim American-Jewish organizations in 
favor of Turkey. Many of our members are questioning the continuation of 
our organization, the AAJFT, and frankly, we do not blame them."

The AAJFT editorial further stated that despite the persecutions of Jews 
in Turkey, such as "the sad episodes of the pogroms in Thrace, the 
Varlik Vergisi, the camp at Askala, the labor battalions, Éwe [Jews] 
stood up for Turkey whenever we couldÉ. We fought the insidious 
accusations against Turkey coming from the Greek, Armenian and Arab 
lobbies.É We wrote letters to the editors whenever the good name of 
Turkey was being vilified in the American press; we spoke up at 
political meetings when local Arabs, Armenians or Greeks wanted to pass 
anti-Turkish resolutions; we proudly marched at Turkish parades in the 
streets of New York with the Stars and Stripes surrounded by the red 
Turkish crescent flag on one side and the white Blue Star of David on 
the other; we testified at state hearings when anti-Turkish curricula 
were being debated. Mainly we influenced our fellow Ashkenazic and 
Mizrahi Jews in the United States who knew little about Turkey, or knew 
only what they heard from the anti-Turkish press. Our Sephardic goodwill 
ambassadors quietly and persistently continued this long uphill crusade 
to defend the good name of Turkey in our organizations, our synagogues, 
our local assemblies and everywhere we were present." The editorial 
concluded with the following drastic suggestion: "It pains us greatly to 
hear the word 'genocide' used in any other context except that of the 
genocide of the Jewish people, especially coming from Prime Minister 
Ecevit who has always insisted that there were no other genocides in the 
world. ÉPerhaps he did not realize the depth of the hurt of the Jewish 
people in hearing that word coming from the leader of a nation which we 
had always considered to be our friend. As president of our association, 
I call upon our members to decide whether we should continue to have an 
American Association of Jewish Friends of Turkey."

Given these highly negative repercussions, the Turks did everything 
possible to minimize the damage. Within 48 hours of his statement, 
Ecevit was compelled to issue two separate apologies. When Turkey's 
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem was asked during an interview on the Turkish 
Kanal 7 Television if the Jewish lobby is "so important to us that 
following its reaction, Prime Minster Ecevit had to correct his remark 
about a genocide twice," he replied: "the Jewish lobby has always 
supported Turkey against any injustices that have been made or that were 
going to be made." Cem also acknowledged that the Jewish lobby has 
always supported Turkey in connection with the Armenian genocide issue. 
A prominent Turkish commentator, Mehmet Ali Birand, described Ecevit's 
remarks as a "big gaffe" and said that the Prime Minister had acted like 
"a bull in a china shop." Referring to the "certain connotations" of the 
word genocide, especially when used by a Turkish leader, Birand 
suggested that "those who live in glass houses should not throw stones!" 
In a desperate attempt to appease the angered Jews, some 
Turkish-American activists even resorted to degrading their own Prime 
Minister, of course, from the safe shores of the United States. Here is 
a small sample of how they have characterized Ecevit. Prof. Yuruk 
Iyriboz wrote back to the "betrayed" Jewish-American woman, Rachel 
Krespin: "Ecevit's statement is not only devoid of the responsibility 
adhered to his position but also unintelligently augments other false 
claims in order to create myths provoking hatred among the peoplesÉ. As 
senility post-retirement is admissible, it is not compatible with 
leadership."

Mahmut Esat Ozan of the Turkish Forum wrote to Ms. Krespin 
apologetically: "Let me assure you, dear friend, there have been very 
few times in my whole lifetime when I was as much infuriated as I am now 
having heard about the utterly irresponsible bungling, blunder, slip-up, 
faux pas, folly, misjudgment and the miscarriage of justice all 
committed by one opinionated Turkish Prime Minister called Bulent 
Ecevit." Ergun Kirlikovali of the Turkish Forum wrote: "Turkish Forum 
urges Ecevit to apologize to Israel. Turkish Forum and the people of 
Turkey greatly value the special ties and the friendship with the Jewish 
people in Israel and elsewhere and is grateful for the continued support 
of all the Jewish-American organizations for our cause. We trust that 
Ecevit's ill-informed and unfortunate remarks, would not and cannot 
affect the strong Turkish-Jewish friendshipÉ."

Another Turk, Keenan Pars, took a more offensive tack in his writing to 
the president of the American Association of Jewish Friends of Turkey: 
"It is unfortunate that Turkey has to suffer through the senility of 
EcevitÉ. Israel has its own share of imbeciles and charlatans. Wasn't 
there a buffoon named Yossi Beillin [Israel's former Minister of 
Justice] who recently advocated that Israel should buy into the Armenian 
genocide scam and even teach it in schools? We don't get overly upset 
when scoundrels like Elie Wiesel, Noam Chomsky and other opportunists 
help perpetuate the hoax of the slick Armenian con artists. While these 
weasels may be 'experts' in the Holocaust matters, they have 
diddly-squat qualifications to speak about the Turk-Armenian conflict. 
They're in it to fatten their bank accounts. Just ask Elie Wiesel how 
much he charges the Armenians for a 'speaking engagement.' "

These frantic Turkish efforts to appease Israel and American Jews at all 
cost are a clear indication that Turkey is greatly dependent on the 
Jewish lobby to carry out its political agenda in Washington. The 
argument, therefore, that Israel's reluctance to recognize the Armenian 
Genocide is due to its concern about the Turkish backlash is groundless. 
Given the Turkish ingratitude for the numerous services rendered by 
American Jews to Turkey, the honorable thing for the Jews to do at this 
point is to discontinue these services and join with the Armenian 
American community in commemorating the Armenian Genocide on April 24.