ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel as the most racist country in the world, saying Adolf Hitler’s spirit had been resurrected, after it passed law that declared Israel as the exclusive homeland of the Jewish people.
“There is no difference whatsoever between [Adolf] Hitler’s obsession with an Aryan race and the view of the Israeli leadership that this ancient land belongs exclusively to Jews,” Erdogan said on Tuesday.
“The spirit of Hitler, who led the world into a catastrophe, has been resurrected in some Israeli authorities,” he added.
The new law has “revealed the true intention of this country,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his Justice and Development (AKP) in parliament.
Erdogan’s comments, the first since the Israeli law passed last Thursday, were slammed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The new legislation recognises Israel as a Jewish state and says “the right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israelis unique to the Jewish people.”
Arabic is downgraded from being an official language to “special status” in Israel, but the legislation claims it will “not harm the status given to the Arabic language before this law came into effect.”
The bill was applauded by right-wing lawmakers as enshrining in legislation what was commonly accepted by most Israelis and much of the world: that Israel is a Jewish state.
But Arab-Israel lawmakers and civil liberty groups said the law prioritised Israel’s Jewish character over its democratic character and would pave the way for discriminatory practices.
As Erdogan called Israel “the most Zionist, fascist and racist state in the world,” AKP lawmakers erupted in cheers.
“All unjust practices, oppression and isolation of the Palestinian people, Muslims visiting Jerusalem, and Christians are legitimised by this law,” Erdogan said. — dpa
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