Thursday, October 18, 2007
Elder of ZiyonA book resembling the Protocols of the Elders of Zion has become a bestseller in Turkey. What makes this book so special is that the blood libel against the Jews takes on a new twist. The Washington Post reported the story.Remember - the secular Turks are considered the "good guys!"
The book is called The Children of Moses. Its cover shows Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan inside a Star of David. Reporter Mustafa Akyol writes that this is the first in a series of four volumes. The book argues that Erdogan and his conservative allies in the pro-Islamic party are in fact crypto-Jews with secret ties to the conspiratorial forces of "global Zionism."
The book is not a rarity. Copies are on display in bookshops, on Independence Avenue (Istiklal), in the secular part of Istanbul and in Turkey’s international airport. They are displayed alongside a Turkish book with an international reputation by Pamuk Orhan. The publishers claim that over 520,000 copies – an astonishing figure – have been sold since it came out earlier in the year.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion blamed “International Jewry” for destroying both Czarist Russia and communism as well as for the capitalist system. But this is the first time Jews have been blamed of all things for setting up an Islamic state. Most ironically, the book portrays Israel as allied with the Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The author, Ergun Poyraz, is a self-declared Kemalist, i.e. a loyal follower of Kemal Ataturk, who founded modern Turkey in 1923. “Zionism has decided to turn Turkey from its secular path and make it a moderate Islamic republic," Poyraz maintains in all seriousness, offering no support for his arguments, which are not documented and have no factual backing.
A clear case of anti-Semitism does not spring from virgin soil. Last February saw the exposure of a fascist group calling itself the Union of Patriotic Forces, led by retired colonel Karadag Fikri. The group’s secret oath included the words, "I am of pure Turkish blood and there is no Jewish convert in my lineage." Its members promised to "kill or be killed" so that "the Turkish nation will rule the world."
In June, police found 27 hand grenades and sticks of dynamite in a house in Istanbul belonging to one of the group members with shady links to someone in the security forces. The arrest led to other cells and Poyraz, the anti-Semitic author, belonged to one of them. The lawyer hired to defend him was Kamal Kerincsiz, who is suing Nobel Prize-winning author Pamuk for "insulting the Turkish people." The trial of Poyraz and his comrades continues.
This anti-Semitic book recalls a dark chapter in Turkish history. When Ataturk died in 1942, his successor Mustafa Ismet Inonu imposed heavy taxes targeting mainly the Jews. When unable to pay, the Jews were sent to labor camps in Eastern Turkey.
