Kerry to express dismay at Erdogan's statement on Zionism.

Kerry to express dismay at Erdogan's statement on Zionism .(INN).

The White House condemned on Thursday the remarks made by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who compared Zionism with fascism in a public address. "We reject Prime Minister Erdogan's characterization of Zionism as a crime against humanity, which is offensive and wrong," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement.

"We encourage people of all faiths, cultures, and ideas to denounce hateful actions and to overcome the differences of our times," he added."This was particularly offensive, frankly, to call Zionism a crime against humanity ... It does have a corrosive effect (on relations)," a senior U.S. official told reporters as Kerry flew to Ankara. "I am sure the secretary will be very clear about how dismayed we were to hear it," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Washington needs all the allies it can get as it navigates the political currents of the Middle East, and sees Turkey as the key player in supporting Syria's opposition and planning for the era after President Bashar al-Assad.
Erdogan used a speech about Islamophobia in Europe at the opening session of the fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations to attack the Jewish State.
 Ban was sitting onstage several meters away from Erdogan listening to the speech through simultaneous translation when the Turkish leader made his comments. The UN secretary-general's announcement on Friday, delivered by his spokesperson, emphasized that if Erdogan's words had been accurately translated Ban strongly disagreed with them.
"If the comment about Zionism was interpreted correctly, then it was not only wrong but contradicts the very principles on which the Alliance of Civilizations is based," said the statement.
Ban's statement also expressed that he believed "it is unfortunate that such hurtful and divisive comments were uttered at a meeting being held under the theme of responsible leadership."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came out strongly against Erdogan's comments Thursday. "I strongly condemn the comparison that the Turkish prime minister drew between Zionism and fascism," Netanyahu said. "I had thought that such dark and libelous comments were a thing of the past." Hmmmm......Obama names Turkey’s Erdoğan among top five international friends.Obama, who met with Erdogan March 25 at the nuclear summit in South Korea, has already met with Erdogan numerous times. He touted their relationship as a “friendship” in a January interview.“The bottom line is that we find ourselves in frequent agreement upon a wide range of issues… [and] because he has two daughters that are a little older than mine — they’ve turned out very well, so I’m always interested in his perspective on raising girls,” Obama said. Read the full story here.


Update: Pinchas Goldschmidt, chief rabbi of Moscow and the head of the Conference of European Rabbis, said Erdogan’s criticism of Zionism amounted to anti-Semitism.

“This is an ignorant and hateful attack on the Jewish people and against a movement with peace at its core, which relegates Prime Minster Erdogan to the level of (Iranian President)Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and, to Soviet leaders who used anti-Zionism as a euphemism for anti-Semitism,” Goldschmidt said in an emailed statement.