Erdogan says that Turkish universities are open to scholars who are under fire for standing up for human rights in Gaza.
Erdogan, the president of Turkey, said on Wednesday that there is “no difference” between what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing in the attacks on Gaza that have been going on for months and what Adolf Hitler did many years ago.
“How are you (Netanyahu) different from Hitler?” Erdogan asked at a science awards event in Ankara, the capital. These things will also make us look for Hitler. Is there anything that Netanyahu does that is worse than what Hitler did? No.”
Erdogan said that today, just like in Nazi Germany 80 years ago, scholars around the world who are brave enough to speak out against the abuse and oppression in Gaza are faced with threats and pressure. He was referring to the fact that academics in the US and other places are being fired or criticised for speaking out for Palestinians.
He said that Germany is still paying for what Hitler did. That’s why Germany doesn’t say anything, but we don’t owe anyone anything. The West is the one who owes us money. It can’t speak out because it owes money.
According to him, there is a “witch hunt” going on against anyone criticising Israel, even students at many well-known schools around the world.
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He told scholars in Gaza who are under attack for “defending human dignity” that “the doors of Turkish universities are wide open to you.”
“We realised that the institutions that talk big and spend big budgets are completely hollow when it comes to Israel and its atrocities,” the leader said.
“From the UN Security Council to press organisations, from the EU to journalist groups, all institutions that serve as apostles of democracy have failed (over the Israeli attacks on Gaza),” he stated.
The president of Turkey said that the problem of Gaza has been ignored by both international groups and well-known universities in the West.
“Can you imagine that university presidents are being questioned and held accountable in Congress just because they advocate for the rights of children, women, and civilians?” He wanted to know.
“The slightest criticism, even within the limits of law and democracy, is suppressed by attaching the label of antisemitism, and is considered a crime.”
On December 5, the presidents of Harvard, Pennsylvania, and MIT universities spoke to the US Congress about antisemitism on college campuses.
Erdogan said that almost 100 journalists who were trying to report on the “barbarity” in Gaza had been killed. He said that hospitals, schools, places of worship, colleges, and scientists in Gaza with their families had been bombed.
“We are following with a heavy heart the massacre of 2.5 million people confined to a narrow area of ​​only 360 square kilometres,” he stated. “Despite the diplomatic efforts made by conscientious countries such as Türkiye, unfortunately, we couldn’t prevent the killing of hundreds of Gazans every day.”
“Despite our aid, efforts, and contacts, as a Muslim and, most importantly, as a human being, we are experiencing the embarrassment of not being able to stop this oppression within our own conscience,” Erdogan stated.
After Hamas attacked across the border on Oct. 7, Israel began a huge military campaign in the Gaza Strip. The attack killed at least 21,110 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and hurt 55,243 others, according to local health officials.
The attack has destroyed or injured 60% of Gaza’s infrastructure, forcing nearly 2 million people to leave their homes because they can’t get food, clean water, or medicine.
The Hamas attack is thought to have killed about 1,200 Israelis.
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