Jewish leaders want peace award back from Erdagon

(Reuters) - An association of Jewish Americans said Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has become the world's "most virulent anti-Israeli leader" and demanded he return an award it gave him a decade ago, partly for his efforts to broker peace between Israel and Palestinians.

The New York-based American Jewish Congress awarded Erdogan its "Profile of Courage" award in 2004 for what it said was his stance on fighting terrorism and working towards a peace.

"Now, we want it back," the association's president, Jack Rosen, said in an open letter to Erdogan dated July 23 and made public on Thursday. He cited the Turkish leader's comments last weekend that Israel had "surpassed Hitler in barbarism" through its attacks on Gaza.

"A decade after we gave you our award, you have become arguably the most virulent anti-Israel leader in the world — spewing dangerous rhetoric for political gain and inciting the Turkish population to violence against the Jewish people."

Anti-Israeli sentiment runs high in Turkey, and Erdogan's rhetoric plays well with his base of largely conservative Sunni Muslim voters, who he hopes will hand him victory in Turkey's first direct election of a president next month.

There is widespread anger in Turkey at Israel's offensive in Gaza, where the death toll reached 747 on Thursday after Israeli forces shelled a U.N.-run school, killing at least 15 people.

Israel, which says it has a right to defend itself, has lost at least 32 soldiers in clashes inside Gaza and with Hamas raiders who have slipped under the fortified frontier in tunnels. Palestinian rockets and mortar bombs have killed three civilians in Israel.

Israel said last week it was reducing its diplomatic presence in Turkey after protesters pelted its consulate in Istanbul with stones and draped Palestinian flags on the ambassador's residence in Ankara.

The U.S. State Department called Erdogan's earlier remarks, in which he likened an Israeli MP to Hitler and said the Jewish state was terrorising the region, "offensive and wrong".

Turkey, a member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, was once Israel's closest regional ally. Washington considered it a credible broker in the Middle East peace process.

Rosen said Erdogan had forfeited Turkey's seat "at the table of legitimate mediators" and that all parties would have been better off had he remained a "proponent of peace".

Erdogan has made no apology for his stance, criticising the West and Arab nations and acknowledging in a television interview on Monday that he no longer spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama as frequently as in the past.

(Reporting by Jonny Hogg; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Larry King)







Funny, he got the award for working towards peace and is going to lose it for the same reason

Go ahead, I doesn't really change the fact that Erdogan has a point.

These awards are meaningless. Nobel peace prize being the biggest joke.

That Guy said:

Go ahead, I doesn't really change the fact that Erdogan has a point.

These awards are meaningless. Nobel peace prize being the biggest joke.

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That award lost all its credibility once it was handed over to Obama

they forgot about Khamanei and Rouhani? lol

Muslims want Nobel Peace Prize back from Obama

Well Erdogan Should Take That Award and Throw It In Their Faces What Is The Worth Of Such Peace Prize When Murderers Get Them For The Murder They Comit!

Path-Finder said:

Well Erdogan Should Take That Award and Throw It In Their Faces What Is The Worth Of Such Peace Prize When Murderers Get Them For The Murder They Comit!

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He should throw it in the garbage can if you ask me

Turkey's Erdogan "glad" to return U.S. Jewish group award

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan would be glad to return an award given to him by a Jewish-American association a decade ago, a letter released by his office showed on Tuesday, and it called on the U.S. group to condemn the Israeli government's policies.
The New York-based American Jewish Congress said in a letter to Erdogan last week that he had become the world's "most virulent anti-Israeli leader" and it demanded that he return an award it had given him partly for his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

"Prime Minister Erdogan will be glad to return the award given back in 2004," Turkey's ambassador to Washington Serdar Kilic said in the letter addressed to American Jewish Congress President Jack Rosen.

Erdogan's office released a copy of the letter to the media, describing it as Turkey's official response.

"The absence of this award will not prevent Prime Minister Erdogan from resolutely fighting against terrorism, working towards the peaceful solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and upholding the safety and well-being of the Jewish community in Turkey," the letter continued.

Rosen's open letter to Erdogan had cited the Turkish leader's recent comments that Israel had "surpassed Hitler in barbarism" through its attacks on Gaza.

There is widespread anger in Turkey at Israel's offensive in Gaza.

"Instead of acting according to the requirements of international law, Israel continues its occupation and destruction policies ... (and) attempts to depict Prime Minister Erdogan's legitimate criticisms of the Israeli government's attacks on civilians as expressions of anti-Semitism is an obvious distortion and an effort to cover up the historical wrongdoings of the Israeli government," the ambassador's letter said.

"We would like to urge you to publicly condemn the Israeli government's policies that have caused public outrage around the world," it added.

The letter, which emphasized that Erdogan is "a leader who has proclaimed to the world that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity", added: "Erdogan has developed a close relationship with the Jewish community in Turkey. Jewish citizens in Turkey and the rest of the world have kept themselves separate from Israel’s policies."

More than 1,100 Gazans, most of them civilians, have been killed in the conflict. On the Israeli side, 53 soldiers have been killed as well as three civilians.

Israel said earlier this month it was reducing its diplomatic presence in Turkey after protesters pelted its consulate in Istanbul with stones and draped Palestinian flags on the ambassador's residence in Ankara.

Turkey's Erdogan "glad" to return U.S. Jewish group award | Diplomacy | Worldbulletin News

Prime Minister Erdoğan ‘glad’ to return award given by American Jewish Congress - POLITICS

PM Recep tayyip Erdogan speaks his voice of Conscience. Since the Zionist lack this human quality, I can understand their inability to fathom Mr. Erdogan's criticism.

I second those leaders! By decrying Israel's services to the mankind in Gaza mr. Erdagon has lost all the moral grounds to keep this peace award further with him. Peace award must go to a leader of Israel.

Association of Jewish Americans can go and phukk itself, it has blood on its hands.

It is wrong to take back an award once given. What Mr. Erdogan did at that time got him the award, and he should keep it. Circumstances that change later have no bearing on the grant of the award.

Well,erdogan should have returned it in protest already,as he sees as Israel worse than nazi germany.

Lel, this totally backfired. The AJC really thought they had groomed a good pliant puppet in 2004. How wrong they were.

lol
O man! Jews nature kanjoos makhi choos
Give us back our lands morons.