“We witnessvery frequently the alienation of the ‘other’ in various countries instead of efforts to understand the culture and beliefs of the ‘other,’” he said. “Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism andfascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity,” adding that “Certain politicians’ defamation of a religion or a sect by mass communicationtools only makes pre-conceived notions bigger and deepens the gap.”
| The Simon Wiesenthal Center decried UN Secretary General's silence at a UN conclave in Vienna as Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogancharged that Zionism is "a crime against humanity," lumping it together with racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Erdogan said in part: "Erdogan is exactly the type of bigoted politician he bemoaned in his speech. It has been clear for some time that PrimeMinister Erdogan has chosen to walk in the hateful footsteps of Iranian President Ahmadinejad and use the denigration of Israel and the millions of proud Zionists around the world toestablish his credentials with the Islamist street. His anti-Semitic bombast is degrading 500 years of relations with the Jewish people and putting Turkey's Jewish community at risk ofattack from extremists," charged rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish International Human Rights NGO. "Frankly however, we are deeply disappointed that the UN Secretary General, the world's leading diplomat sat through the attack insilence. We note that the US, UK, Canada and Australia declined to attend in the first place, but that both Germany and France were in attendance. We urge the leaders of those twocountries along with all NATO members to publicly denounce this hate-mongering," Cooper added. "With the upsurge of anti-Semitism raging across Europe, such a slander, left unchallenged will only further embolden anti-Semiteseverywhere," the Wiesenthal Center official concluded. |