Israel came to the defense of France on Tuesday and lambasted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his calls to boycott French goods and comparison of the situation of Muslims in France today to the situation of the Jews prior to World War II.
"Israel rejects the disgusting comparison made between the struggle against Islamist extremism in France, and Nazi policy and racism against Jews in Europe before World War II," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Hayat said on Twitter.
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"The call for a total boycott of French products is no more than a cynical political exploitation of freedom of expression that incites hatred, and is similar to the hypocritical calls for boycotts of Israeli goods," he added.
1/2 Israel rejects the disgusting comparison made between the struggle against Islamist extremism in France, and Nazi policy and racism against Jews in Europe before World War II. pic.twitter.com/TPrZvgRTnf
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) October 26, 2020
Erdogan, who has been the most vociferous in his criticism of France among political leaders, called on Turks not to purchase French goods after French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would fight Islamic radicalism.
The latest exchanges have added fuel to a row between Turkey and France over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, which have flared after history teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown pupils the cartoons in a lesson on freedom of speech, was beheaded in France this month.
Macron said Tuesday that his government would "intensify its fight against radical Islamism." He said that as a result of Paty's death, dozens of measures had been taken against organizations and individuals "pushing forward a radical Islamist project, in other words, an ideology aimed at destroying the [French] Republic."
The presidency spokesperson pointed out "the absence of messages of condolence and support from the Turkish president after the assassination of Samuel Paty" and condemned Erdogan's call to boycott French products, which the presidency deemed "very offensive."
Macron's government also plans a bill aimed at rooting out what the French president has called "Islamist separatism," which he contends has created a parallel culture in France, one that rejects French laws and norms. While Macron blamed some of this separatism on France's colonial past in North Africa, he was quoted as saying Islam is "a religion that is in crisis all over the world."
In a televised speech on Monday, Erdogan told Turks: "I am now telling my nation, just as they are saying in France not to buy anything from Turkish brands, I call on my nation here and now: do not pay attention to French-labelled goods, do not buy them."
He said Muslims are now "subjected to a lynch campaign similar to that against Jews in Europe before World War II" and that "European leaders should tell the French president to stop his hate campaign."
Erdogan added: "The rising Islamophobia in the West has turned into a wholescale attack on our book, our prophet and everything we consider holy. Relocations, inquisitions and genocides towards members of different religions is not a practice that is foreign to Europe. The crimes against humanity committed against Jews 80 years ago, the acts against our Bosnian siblings in Srebrenica just 25 years ago are still in the memory."
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On Wednesday, top Turkish officials condemned a caricature scorning Erdogan in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, calling it a "disgusting effort" to "spread its cultural racism and hatred."
"We strongly condemn the publication concerning our president in the French magazine which has no respect for any belief, sacredness and values," presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin wrote on Twitter.
"They are just showing their own vulgarity and immorality. An attack on personal rights is not humor and freedom expression," he said.
The cartoon on the cover of Charlie Hebdo, showed Erdogan sitting in a white T-shirt and underpants, holding a canned drink along with a woman wearing an Islamic hijab.
Turkish presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun said "Macron's anti-Muslim agenda is bearing fruit!"
"We condemn this most disgusting effort by this publication to spread its cultural racism and hatred," Altun wrote on Twitter.
US news site Politico suggested on Wednesday that Erdogan's boycott call is a "risky bet that has every chance of backfiring."
International investors were "already selling off their lira assets at a rapid pace, as they believe geopolitical tensions are becoming explosive. In addition, in a show of solidarity with France, a number of Middle Eastern countries – including the UAE and Saudi Arabia – have called for a boycott of Turkish products," Politico said, adding that "Europe and America are increasingly frustrated with Erdoğan's erratic declarations, his provocative behavior and his attempts to cozy up to Russia. European governments' forceful response to Erdoğan's suggestion that Macron should get a mental health check suggests that the Turkish president's credibility is running increasingly thin."
