Over the past month, Turkish media has been reporting on the "silent occupation of Northern Cyprus by Jews.
About a month ago, the Cyprus Foundation published an announcement warning the public in Northern Cyprus and Turkey against the threat of the occupying Israel. In the statement, it was stated that 'Israel's occupation plan is not limited to Palestine' and that the Island of Cyprus, like Palestine, was included in the "Promised Land" drawn by the Zionists. It added that this situation poses a threat to Turkey's national security, and it called on the Turkish people to stop the "silent occupation" of northern Cyprus.
Because of the uproar over this accusation, the Turkish government issued a list of the nationalities that have bought land in Turkish-occupied Cyprus. They said that there have been 15,000 applications for purchasing real estate in the territory over the last five years, and Israeli citizens ranked 12th among foreigners who bought property there, way behind the British, Iranians, Ukrainians and Russians.
But that wasn't enough to end the antisemitic rumors of a plan to "occupy" Turkish Cyprus. You see, Turkish pundits explained, the people buying the land from the UK, Ukraine, Iran and Russia were mostly - Jews! And Jews are becoming Turkish citizens in order to buy the land! And Jews are using other evil means to secretly control the land and Turkish Cyprus' economy!
It is true that Israelis have been investing in Turkish Cyprus; there are websites about the pros and cons of such an investment and right now the real estate there is much cheaper than in Greek Cyprus. It looks gorgeous - as long as you are aware of the many risks. And Israelis like to take risks.
But the rumors of a coordinated Jewish takeover of the land, and a supposed Jewish claim to northern Cyprus as part of the "promised land," is Turkish antisemitism - and it is getting a receptive audience.
The puppet prime minister of Turkish Cyprus is now looking at passing laws to restrict Jewish land purchases and other investments.
This episode is yet another example of how anti-Zionism is simply a subset of antisemitism. A crazed accusation of "Israelis" buying up the land, when disproven, turned into "Jews." Israeis who are legitimately looking at the region as an investment opportunity are turned into monsters - but Iranians who are doing the same are ignored.
