An apology to Prime Minister Erdogan

This apology to Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was passed around by email this morning:

An open letter to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Prime Minister of Turkey

Dear Mister Prime Minister:

    On behalf of all of the people of Israel, I would like to apologize to you for the cowardice and fathomless idiocy of the Prime Minister of Israel.  As you know, this weekend Benjamin Netanyahu sent you an "apology" for Israel having defended itself against the genocidal terrorists who attacked Israeli soldiers armed only with paintguns when they boarded the terrorist "flotilla" ship that you sent out to challenge Israel's naval blockade of the Hamas enclave in Gaza.   Netanyahu spoke only for himself when he apologized to you for Israel's defending itself and its people, this two generations after the Holocaust.  He does not represent anyone at all in the country when it comes to this "apology."   No one else in the country, except for some anti-Israel radical leftists with tenure at the universities, agrees that Israel owes you an apology for defending its people.

     Actually, on behalf of all REAL Israelis, I would like to apologize to you for the fact that ONLY nine terrorists were killed by Israeli troops on the flotilla ship when Israeli soldiers were savagely attacked by Turkish and other terrorists.  I would like to apologize for the fact that Israeli did NOT torpedo and sink the terrorist ships trying to break the blockade and bring in aid to the Hamas Nazis.  I would like to apologize for the fact that Israel has a Prime Minister who is so clueless, insensitive, and divorced from Jewish history that he would consider buying a  few moments of diplomat calm with a Moslem aggressor by shaming his entire country with an "apology" to Turkey, exhibiting one of the most disgraceful acts by a Jew in all of history, and all this just hours before the Jewish holiday of national liberation, Passover.

     Beyond that, I really do think that Israel owes an apology for NOT having done much more to draw the world's attention to the illegal occupation and destruction by Turkey of the jewel of Cyprus, the city of Famagusta.  Israel sat by while Turkey conquered 40% of Cyprus and transferred tens of thousands of its own people as illegal settlers to the island.  And for that I apologize.  And since you have spent so much time in recent years denouncing Israel as an occupier, I think Israel owes an apology to the world for not helping to end the illegal Turkish occupation of the great ancient Greek capital of Constantinople, now under an illegal Saracen occupation that has continued for far too long.  It is high time that Constantinople be returned to its true heritage and its legal owners, the Greek people. It is less than a hundred years since the city, along with Smyrna and other Greek homelands, was almost liberated by the Greeks, who were only to be blocked by the Turkish military aggressors, the mass murderers of the Armenians.

    So Mister Prime Minister, as you see, I am afraid that Israelis DO owe the world quite a few apologies.

    On behalf of the non-pusillanimous citizens of Israel, I remain

Most sincerely yours,
Prof. Steven Plaut

Indeed. 

Israeli commando sues state over Mavi Marmara photo

Former naval commando who participated in deadly clashes aboard a Gaza-bound Turkish ship in 2010 claims a photo of the incident revealed his identity, forcing him to cancel plans to study abroad out of fear that terror organizations would target him for revenge.

The takeover of the Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010  |  Photo credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

A former Shayetet 13 naval commando who participated in the interception of the Mavi Marmara in May 2010 has filed a lawsuit seeking 800,000 shekels from the Defense Ministry for damages he claimed were caused to him by the release of his photo to media outlets in Turkey and throughout the world.

In May 2010, Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish activist ship headed for Gaza in protest of the Israeli blockade. The commandos were met with violence aboard the ship, and killed nine Turkish activists in the ensuing clash. A photo of the incident, depicting the complainant among others, was subsequently published in an array of publications.

According to the suit, filed with the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, the claimant decided not to study overseas as he had previously planned, out of fear that terrorist organizations would target him for revenge.

Investigations conducted by the Israel Navy and the Shayetet 13 elite naval commando unit following the interception of the Gaza-bound ship, which was part of a larger protest flotilla, found that the faces of three commandos had been exposed during the operation, despite the fact that they boarded the ship with their faces covered.

The Israel Defense Forces is concerned that Turkey may try to take legal action against the soldiers whose identities have been exposed.

The former commando's lawsuit was brought to the attention of Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Danny Efroni, as well as Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein and the State Prosecutor's Office.

Ten Shayetet 13 commandos were hurt in the Mavi Marmara clash, three seriously and three moderately.

Disgusting: Turkey's 'photo of the year' a bleeding IDF soldier

Atlit, Israel - Israeli PM Praises Troops Who Raided Gaza Flotilla

Atlit, Israel - Israel's leader praised on Tuesday the naval commandos who participated in a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla last May that drew international condemnation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a special visit to a military base, told the men they acted "heroically" and "ethically" in an attempt to stop "people who sought to kill you."

If Israel Goes Down, We All Go Down; Anger over Gaza is a distraction. We cannot forget that Israel is the West’s best ally in a turbulent region.

Published in The Times, June 17th 2010

For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In
the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the
Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion.

In a TV interview, Turkish journalist Şefik Dinç, who was on the Mavi Marmara and wrote a book about it, said that no shots were fired from the Israeli helicopters and that IDF soldiers did not open fire until their lives were in danger. The interview clearly contradicts the IHH narrative.

Overview

1. On September 24, the Turkish journalist Şefik Dinç granted an interview to Israel’s Channel 1.Dinç witnessed the Mavi Marmara confrontation and described the incident in a book he wrote, titled Kanlı Mavi Marmara (The Bleeding Mavi Marmara). His account is fairly balanced, giving considerable weight to events that he personally witnessed and experienced.¹

2. In the interview granted to Channel 1, Dinç reiterated a key point he brought up in his book. He said that he had seen with his own eyes that IDF soldiers who descended from the helicopters on the Mavi Marmara did not fire at the passengers. According to Dinç, it wasn’t until the soldiers realized that some of their friends’ lives were in danger that they began using live ammunition.