Toledo: Turkey should normalize ties with Israel as 2015 nears

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15:04 25/10/2013 » In the world

Toledo: Turkey should normalize ties with Israel as 2015 nears

Ankara should accelerate its efforts to normalize ties with Israel before 2015, the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, said Zali De Toledo, head of the Association of Turkish Jews in Israel, Today’s Zaman reported.

“As 2015 is approaching, Turkey should take into account its interests and should normalize relations with Israel by appointing an ambassador to Israel as soon as possible. If both countries miss the opportunity to mend the ties, the Israeli lobby will likely stay neutral when 2015 comes,” De Toledo told Today's Zaman.

De Toledo said she had done her utmost to pressure the Israeli lobby in the US to refrain from labeling mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 as genocide, adding: “I was the strongest supporter of the Turkish position. And now I am really disappointed to see Turkish-Israeli relations at this point.”

De Toledo served as Israeli cultural attaché to Turkey for 10 years, from 1993 to 2003. Israeli President Shimon Peres offered her the position in a bid to improve relations between the two countries.

Referring to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's harsh stance toward Israel over the Gaza issue, De Toledo says: “It's a one-man show in Turkey. Why is Erdoğan asking for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza? Why is he interfering? This is an issue between Israelis and Gazans, after all!”

 

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Public figure: Holocaust survivors mustn't use Genocide for political gain

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October 28, 2013 - 15:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The head of Ararat Armenian Community of Israel slammed the statement by the leader of the Association of Turkish Jews in Israel who urged Turkey to normalize ties with Israel before the centennial of the Genocide, or risk the Jewish lobby to “stay neutral” on that issue.

In his Facebook post, David Galfayan panned certain Israeli officials for lacking courage to face the "big brother," Turkey in recognizing the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. "Instead, Israel is turning the tragedy of 1,5 million people into a tool for political gain in achieving their petty goals," Galfayan said.

Galafyan slammed the Israeli politicians for an attempt to "preserve a monopoly" to the biggest tragedy of the 20th century: "a nation that survived the Holocaust cannot use the memory of 1,5 million victims to play political games with Turkey."

"Remember, those who do not speak up against the crime become accomplices to it," Galfayan stressed in his harshly-worded statement.

Earlier, speaking to Today’s Zaman, the leader of the Association of Turkish Jews in Israel Zali De Toledo said : “As 2015 is approaching, Turkey should take into account its interests and should normalize relations with Israel by appointing an ambassador to Israel as soon as possible. If both countries miss the opportunity to mend the ties, the Israeli lobby will likely stay neutral when 2015 comes.”

De Toledo told Today’s Zaman that she had done her utmost to pressure the Israeli lobby in the U.S. to refrain from labeling mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 as Genocide, adding: “I was the strongest supporter of the Turkish position. And now I am really disappointed to see Turkish-Israeli relations at this point.”