Abdullah Bozkurt/Stockholm
A political ally of the Turkish president, the notorious antisemitic politician Muhammed Ali Fatih Erbakan, has called for the immediate closure of military bases hosting NATO and US troops in Turkey. He also advocated for the denial to both the US and Israel of access to Turkish airspace, ports and territorial waters as well as the prosecution of Turkish Jews who enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces.
On October 19, while addressing the Turkish Parliament, Erbakan called for a comprehensive campaign against Israel, asserting that mere condemnations would be fruitless, and that only decisive action would bring about a change in the behavior of the Israeli government. He also criticized the United States for its support of Israel.
“Incirlik Air Base and the Kürecik Radar Base in our country should be closed. The entire Islamic world is duty-bound to take immediate action under Turkey’s leadership. This is both a humanitarian and a religious obligation. If we aim to halt Zionist terrorism, we must take concrete measures and enforce sanctions that serve as a deterrent,” he stated.
Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base, situated in the southeastern province of Adana, serves as the home to the nation’s Air Force 10th Tanker Base Command, providing crucial logistical support for the Turkish military. Additionally, the US Air Force’s 39th Air Base Wing is stationed at the same base, as part of a joint agreement between the two countries in December 1954 and later expanded in March 1980 through the Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement between Turkey and the US.
The Kürecik Radar Station, located in the southeastern province of Malatya, is a NATO facility established in 2012 as an early-warning radar system against ballistic missile attacks. It was installed and is currently operated by US military personnel. There are other Turkish bases in the country where US and NATO forces are stationed, and their access to Turkish military installations may also be at risk if Erbakan’s demands are met.
According to Erbakan, the Kürecik base has been “shielding Israel from potential Iranian missile attacks.” He urged its immediate closure, emphasizing that Turkey should not be assisting Israel in its defense.
During his address in Parliament, Erbakan presented a series of demands. These included the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador as persona non grata, the recall of the Turkish ambassador from Israel, the suspension of oil and strategic goods sales to the US and Israel by Muslim nations, the termination of all commercial contracts with American and Israeli firms, the denial of access to Turkish airspace, ports and territorial waters for both the US and Israel, the initiation of a global boycott against Israeli and American products and the pursuit of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Furthermore, there is a need to identify individuals who hold dual Turkish and Israeli citizenship and are serving in the Israeli military, he said. “These individuals should be prosecuted in Turkey for crimes against humanity.”
Referring to the remarks of his late father, Necmettin Erbakan, who was known for his antisemitic views and played a pivotal role in establishing political Islam in Turkey while mentoring Islamist politicians such as President Erdogan, the junior Erbakan asserted that Zionists would only respond to the language of sanctions, not mere words.
“We must be courageous and take action against the Zionist monster that seeks to engulf all of the Middle East and the entire Islamic world after Gaza and Palestine,” he said, stressing that Turkey must lead a global uprising in the strongest way possible against Israel and its supporters.
In the Turkish political landscape, Erbakan currently leads a relatively small Islamist political party known as the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi), which was established in November 2018. His political campaign gained momentum after he formed an alliance with Turkish President Erdogan during the May elections this year.
With generous government backing, the party secured 1.5 million votes nationwide and won five seats in the Turkish Parliament during its inaugural election. The party is currently represented by Erbakan and four of his colleagues: Ali Yüksel, Doğan Bekin, Mehmet Aşıla and Suat Pamukçu.
Transcript of Fatih Erbakan’s speech in the Turkish Parliament:
Similar to his father, the younger Erbakan is a staunchly anti-Western politician and a leading spreader of conspiracy theories in Turkey against the Jews, promoting antisemitism among the Turkish population. His party openly supported the Hamas terrorist attacks that occurred on October 7.
While representing the party in the Turkish Parliament on October 11, lawmaker Aşıla expressed their endorsement of the Aqsa Flood operation by Hamas, considering it an act of self-defense.
The party has been one of the leading organizations in mobilizing Turks to hold rallies in front of the Israeli Embassy in Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul.
With government support Erbakan has significantly expanded his outreach to a larger audience in Turkey by making frequent appearances on national TV, openly propagating his antisemitic views on live television.
Since 2015 critical and independent media outlets in Turkey have significantly diminished, rendering the Turkish media landscape virtually subservient to the authority of President Erdogan’s office. Content published by the Turkish media is subject to scrutiny by Erdogan’s Communications Office, and the selection of guests and commentators appearing on TV networks requires approval from the same office
Erbakan is one of the approved politicians and commentators whose appearances on TV are actively promoted by the Erdogan government. During an interview with the pro-government Haber Global on October 17, he promoted well-known anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and claimed that an unwritten rule has existed in the US since the country’s establishment, stipulating that the president, vice president, national security advisor and the secretaries of State and Defense must all be committed Zionists.
He asserted that both Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress were under the influence of wealthy Jewish families, including the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds. According to Erbakan, US policies in the Middle East would remain unchanged regardless of the outcome of US presidential election in 2024.
Erbakan also voiced a belief that is widely circulated within Erdogan government circles, albeit not publicly, which suggests that the US and Israel have ambitions to establish an independent Kurdistan by carving out territories from Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. According to this belief, the Kurdistan region would eventually be annexed to Israel to create a greater Israeli state in the future.
During the program the presenter, Buket Aydın, a pro-government propagandist, and Erbakan discussed a conspiracy theory involving Jews purportedly assisting Hitler’s rise to power. When Aydın brought up this conspiracy, Erbakan asserted that Jewish bankers had financed Hitler’s political campaigns and had intentionally orchestrated the persecution of Jews, thereby compelling them to emigrate to Palestine and establish the Israeli state.
Erbakan disclosed that his party had submitted a motion to the Parliament Speaker’s Office proposing the deployment of the Turkish navy to the eastern Mediterranean with the objective of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza by sea and delivering humanitarian aid. It’s important to note that the deployment of Turkish troops overseas requires approval from the Turkish Parliament.
Erbakan and his party are just one of several groups in Turkey that promote hatred of non-Muslims and encourages antisemitism. They appear to operate with impunity, benefiting from political protection provided to such hate-promoting groups by the Erdogan government. They often voice opinions and ideas that align with the beliefs held by Erdogan and his cronies in Turkey’s government but which they may be hesitant to express openly due to concerns about potential international repercussions.
