WASHINGTON, DC—Representative Eliot L. Engel, the leading Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement urging Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to denounce an open letter published in Yeni Akit, a Turkish newspaper, demanding that the head of the Turkish Jewish community issue a statement apologizing for Palestinian casualties in Gaza:

“The disgusting letter published by the Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit has no place in any society and only serves to put innocent lives in danger. It is ludicrous to hold Jews, or anyone else for that matter, responsible for a regional conflict that they have nothing to do with simply on the grounds of a shared religion with one of the warring sides. This is a textbook case of hate speech and anti-Semitism, and should be immediately rebuked by Turkish leadership. I call on Prime Minister Erdogan to defend his citizens and denounce Yeni Akit and its dangerous incitement against the Turkish Jewish community.”

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Read more about the open letter here: