Stop the world, I want to get off. I should say I am fucking bored of the Israeli government statements, if you want I will say it. But have we really ever expected anything different? Couldn't we really ever expect this kind of actions? It was a pirate action to attack a peaceful ship in international waters. Yes, it's true. But, how should we call to attack and occupy Iraq for years without having been attacked by it? Preemptive war. OK, so, what is more serious: to attack a peaceful ship in international waters or millions of innocent people at their own home? At least, the first choice is not worse than the second one. We did even worse in the past, so no surprise now.
It was the worst scenario, some said, but always something expectable. So, if you insist, I will say: I am fucking bored of the Israeli government statements. But please, let me say also: I am fucking bored of the "so called" peaceful rhetoric. I would have never given the Hamas' propaganda 9 (?) dead people. I am not happy to see people on the street here in Turkey celebrating the "heroes", just like Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' leader, called them. Or "martyrs", "shahid", if it pleases you more, as many are calling the dead according to their background. It is no coincidence that among dead activists there was someone that for religious reasons was seeking martyrdom. I found the news today on the turkish newspaper "Milliyet", the wife of Ali Haydar Bengi, 39 years old, said this: "my husband was seeking martyrdom and was praying for it". But it seems many more were seeking for it. Maybe they had their reasons to do that, but how can I share my side with this choice? Very often behind the choice to seek martyrdom there are reasons that nothing have to do with the peaceful aims. So I will not take this side, as a precaution. For one reason at least: behind this choice there's an inner reason that I can not share and that leave the final aim (the end of the blockade in Gaza) on the background.
I have never supported the State of Israel, I always tried to boycott it. I have never supported as well the birth of a Palestinian State. I do believe in the policy of 2 peoples for 1 State, today more than ever.
So, the ball now is in the hands of the Turkish government. They have the "right" to react now, they say. Maybe this was a precise aim sought by the Israeli army: to push Turkey out of its ambiguous shadowy corner: or with us or against us. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the turkish prime minister, today on the turkish newspaper "Vatan" said: "Israel: don't test our patience". Turkey is uncomfortable after what happened. The turkish pride was hurt. The public opinion here is asking a reaction. Erdoğan is provoked and after 2 years of heavy words on the Israeli siege of Gaza he can not let his words fly in the wind. And if this were the aim of Israel? Or anyway, if now the Israeli authorities are handling this situation in order to exploit it in this direction? Everybody knows that Turkey was building up a kind of alliance with Iran. By Israel's side this was a kind of "checkmate" to Turkey. 9 people died? OK, and 5 Palestinians also died 2 days ago in the Gaza strip for an attack come from an Israeli remote control aircraft, but nobody opened an international scandal for them (in fact it happens quite usually).
Turks normally are not people able to eat what they already said. So I expect that some clever turkish strategy maker is already working on an adequate answer, as they called it. All this state of minds produces now here a kind of euphoria in the people and this is what I criticize to the so called "peaceful" activists, especially the europeans, that is: not to consider this. The end of the blockade, the end of the occupation, is not a matter of euphoria, is a matter of human rights and must be required from Israel right now! But the battle ground now like before is diplomacy and the strongest weapon is the boycott. To force the Israeli paranoia by announcing to force the blockade with some "peaceful ships" in the sea in front of the Gaza strip is a suicide and more over a provocation, which can have its reasons, but nothing to do with peace nor solidarity. The international waters in front of the Gaza strip are not a square where you can demonstrate, it's a war ground, that means not a place for solidarity, at least not this way. On the other hand, I am afraid of this crescent euphoria which sounds like a nationalist ottoman pride coming back. Palestinians today are exalting Erdoğan's name, and this is something I would have never wanted to hear.
I have just come back from a few days trip in Izmir. It happened to me to visit the house of Darìo Moreno (alias David Arugete, 1921-1968), the most famous turkish singer, by accident of jewish origins. He belonged to the Sephardic families which were chased by the catholic iberian peninsula during the past centuries and found a shelter in the more tolerant ottoman empire. Everything sounds to me like an interesting coincidence.
It was the worst scenario, some said, but always something expectable. So, if you insist, I will say: I am fucking bored of the Israeli government statements. But please, let me say also: I am fucking bored of the "so called" peaceful rhetoric. I would have never given the Hamas' propaganda 9 (?) dead people. I am not happy to see people on the street here in Turkey celebrating the "heroes", just like Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' leader, called them. Or "martyrs", "shahid", if it pleases you more, as many are calling the dead according to their background. It is no coincidence that among dead activists there was someone that for religious reasons was seeking martyrdom. I found the news today on the turkish newspaper "Milliyet", the wife of Ali Haydar Bengi, 39 years old, said this: "my husband was seeking martyrdom and was praying for it". But it seems many more were seeking for it. Maybe they had their reasons to do that, but how can I share my side with this choice? Very often behind the choice to seek martyrdom there are reasons that nothing have to do with the peaceful aims. So I will not take this side, as a precaution. For one reason at least: behind this choice there's an inner reason that I can not share and that leave the final aim (the end of the blockade in Gaza) on the background.
I have never supported the State of Israel, I always tried to boycott it. I have never supported as well the birth of a Palestinian State. I do believe in the policy of 2 peoples for 1 State, today more than ever.
So, the ball now is in the hands of the Turkish government. They have the "right" to react now, they say. Maybe this was a precise aim sought by the Israeli army: to push Turkey out of its ambiguous shadowy corner: or with us or against us. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the turkish prime minister, today on the turkish newspaper "Vatan" said: "Israel: don't test our patience". Turkey is uncomfortable after what happened. The turkish pride was hurt. The public opinion here is asking a reaction. Erdoğan is provoked and after 2 years of heavy words on the Israeli siege of Gaza he can not let his words fly in the wind. And if this were the aim of Israel? Or anyway, if now the Israeli authorities are handling this situation in order to exploit it in this direction? Everybody knows that Turkey was building up a kind of alliance with Iran. By Israel's side this was a kind of "checkmate" to Turkey. 9 people died? OK, and 5 Palestinians also died 2 days ago in the Gaza strip for an attack come from an Israeli remote control aircraft, but nobody opened an international scandal for them (in fact it happens quite usually).
Turks normally are not people able to eat what they already said. So I expect that some clever turkish strategy maker is already working on an adequate answer, as they called it. All this state of minds produces now here a kind of euphoria in the people and this is what I criticize to the so called "peaceful" activists, especially the europeans, that is: not to consider this. The end of the blockade, the end of the occupation, is not a matter of euphoria, is a matter of human rights and must be required from Israel right now! But the battle ground now like before is diplomacy and the strongest weapon is the boycott. To force the Israeli paranoia by announcing to force the blockade with some "peaceful ships" in the sea in front of the Gaza strip is a suicide and more over a provocation, which can have its reasons, but nothing to do with peace nor solidarity. The international waters in front of the Gaza strip are not a square where you can demonstrate, it's a war ground, that means not a place for solidarity, at least not this way. On the other hand, I am afraid of this crescent euphoria which sounds like a nationalist ottoman pride coming back. Palestinians today are exalting Erdoğan's name, and this is something I would have never wanted to hear.
I have just come back from a few days trip in Izmir. It happened to me to visit the house of Darìo Moreno (alias David Arugete, 1921-1968), the most famous turkish singer, by accident of jewish origins. He belonged to the Sephardic families which were chased by the catholic iberian peninsula during the past centuries and found a shelter in the more tolerant ottoman empire. Everything sounds to me like an interesting coincidence.
But what sounds more interesting of the story of Darìo Moreno comes from his most famous song: "Canım İzmir". The lyrics:
<<"İzmir! My sweet and dear city!
If I die far away from you one day,
May they bring me to you,
But, while taking me to my grave,
May they not say of me, "He died",
May they say, "He is sleeping">>.
But, in spite of his will, he was finally buried in Israel, in the city of Holon. What better example of the nonsense of the Israeli paranoia?
<<"İzmir! My sweet and dear city!
If I die far away from you one day,
May they bring me to you,
But, while taking me to my grave,
May they not say of me, "He died",
May they say, "He is sleeping">>.
But, in spite of his will, he was finally buried in Israel, in the city of Holon. What better example of the nonsense of the Israeli paranoia?
The turkish jewish community anyway in these days condemned the Israeli attack saying that they express solidarity to their co-citizens (which means to the turkish Freedom Flottilla members). Erdoğan also tried to prevent any perverse idea of sick minds by saying: the turkish Jews are our co-citizens (which means: don't touch them). This at least is a good news, anyway everything starts to be twisted and inextricable.
There's a strange well-known smell in the air here in Turkey. Something that the european pacifists could not smell nor understand. While instead probably the Israelis maybe have understood so far well and for this reason once more they lost their control. I would call it Ottoman thrill.
Anyway, let me say, I don't have honor for the fallen, nor solidarity, I will never call them heroes nor martyrs, I have nothing more than mercy for them. Although I am European, I don't fall into the trap and I will not support any nationalist (or religious) way to solve the Israel problem in the Middle East. The Middle East that Erdoğan and Ahmadinejad have in their minds doesn't reassure me.
Anyway, let me say, I don't have honor for the fallen, nor solidarity, I will never call them heroes nor martyrs, I have nothing more than mercy for them. Although I am European, I don't fall into the trap and I will not support any nationalist (or religious) way to solve the Israel problem in the Middle East. The Middle East that Erdoğan and Ahmadinejad have in their minds doesn't reassure me.
Here above a poster in Izmir: "In a world full of peace there's no place for Israel".
Other poster: "Don't shut up, scream; resistance: is right".
Some view of Izmir from the sea.
Here above with Göknür at the "balıkçı barınağı", the shelter of the fisherman.
