Erdogan visits Germany amid divisions over Israel

2023-11-16 19:39:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Turkish-German relations have reached a low point. The war in the Middle East is the main cause, given the countries' different views on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used harsh rhetoric criticizing Israel and defending Hamas, which Turkey's Western allies such as Germany consider a terrorist organization.
For 75 years, Israel has been trying to "create a state in the land that was stolen from the Palestinian people," Erdogan said recently in Ankara. Israel's legitimacy is being called into question by its "fascism," he added.

At a press conference in Berlin on Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Erdogan's comments "absurd," stressing that Israel is a democracy.

Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the official but by no means sole representative of Germany's Jews, also attacked Erdogan. He accused him of "inciting protests in the German streets and psychological terror against the Jews in Germany with his propaganda."

Erdogan will arrive in Berlin on Friday afternoon, according to the published agenda. He will first be received by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and then have dinner with Scholz at the chancellery.

Observers have said the German government hopes to limit Erdogan's public exposure. On a three-day visit in 2018, he held rallies, attacked Kurdish activists and drew street protests that criticized Turkey's human rights record. Most famously, he held a rally in 2010 attended by 15,000 people in the western city of Cologne, which is home to a large Turkish community.

At the time, he told the crowd that Turkish immigrants should integrate and learn German, but that "no one can expect you to assimilate."

Erdogan was originally scheduled to attend the international men's soccer match between Germany and Turkey at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Saturday. But this event has been cancelled.

People in Berlin can expect increased security in the city during Erdogan's visit, especially around the government area. The measures are likely to last until Saturday, as thousands of Kurds aim to protest Erdogan's policies and show support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been banned in Germany for decades./ CNA