On August 15th a (1975-1990), one that constantly moves between bursts of sectarian violence and attempts to diffuse it. In this sectarian settings lies the actual background to the bombing as well: Dahia, a Hizbullah stronghold, was struck by Sunni terrorists, as a retaliation to Hizbullah’s (Shi’ite) alliance with Syrian President Bashar Assad (Allawite Shi’ite) against a tapestry of Sunni opposition groups. A Sunni organization took responsibility for the blast, promising “More attacks, God willing”.
This sort of claim of responsibility in the Middle East is just a means to show-off, it doesn’t mean they actually did it. But the context of this attack is clear, to President Suleiman as well as anyone else. The same Hizbullah neighborhood was struck by a car bomb on July 9th, and on August 23rd the Shi’ite retaliation came, in the form of – you guessed it: “>announced last Tuesday that Israel is behind the ousting of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. His evidence: Bernard-Henry Lévy, who “is also Jewish” said in a conference two years ago that the Brotherhood should not be allowed to take power in Egypt. Scientific.
Erdogan’s fantasies tend to shamelessly resemble old-school European Antisemitism, where “The Jews” were known to be responsible for any malaise to begin with, requiring only a ridiculous circumstantial excuse in order to prove their connection to any specific event. This is, ladies and gentlemen, the leader of the modern powerhouse called Turkey, a country of over 70 million, and a NATO member. The seat from which this man, wearing proper suits and carried by the esteem of state protocol, preaches his idiotic antisemitism is the most problematic thing about Erdogan, a man who poses many challenges.
Does the Prime Minister believe that his statement may serve to solve the situation in Egypt? Does any action or inaction by Israel stand to relieve the very real enmity between the army and the Muslim Brotherhood – a war that precedes the founding of the State of Israel?
In the streets of Egypt both camps blame their adversary for supporting or enjoying the support of “The Zionists” and “The Jews”. This is really just an adjective, another synonym to reflect one’s belonging to a certain crowd and the consequential disdain towards the other crowd. You probably won’t see the Lebanese President or the Turkish Prime Minister actually burning an Israeli flag or sticking a Star of David onto their opponents’ likeness – that’s below their office and stature.
But the un-evolved, irresponsible idea certainly seems to fall within their sets of appropriate conduct.
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