Now, in light of Erdogan’s ideological roots — a man who himself was convicted by a Turkish court on charges of religious inciting — it is easy to understand why he characterized Israel’s struggle against Hamas as “state terrorism,” along with his despicable behavior towards President Peres in Davos, the worldwide incitement against Israel during “Cast Lead” (and most recently in Operation “Pillar of Cloud”); and the Turkish Gaza flotilla — which was designed and executed by a terrorist organization and with the full backing of Ankara. Even his statement from last February that Zionism is a crime against humanity is just more of the same.
So what to do? First, recognize that the glory days of Israel’s relations with Turkey will not return to what they were as long as Erdogan’s Islamist party is in power — and no apology will change that. But we must see the rift in a much wider perspective: it is a cultural and religious struggle, not only a question of national honor: political Islam versus the West and its values. The West must clear its throat and defend itself.
Originally published at The American Thinker.