Chief Rabbi of Istanbul attending a wake at a mosque for the Muslim husband of a Jewish lady both dead.
There were similar pictures yesterday of the reverse, I'll post more if I see them.
Posted on 11/17/2003 4:09:34 PM PST by a_Turk
TURKEY pledged overnight to continue fighting terrorism and slammed unnamed nations for shedding "crocodile tears" over the deadly bombings on two Istanbul synagogues at the weekend.
"Those who committed this are not human, they are not Muslims... Turkey will continue to fight terrorism with determination to the very end," Justice Minister Cemil Cicek told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Cicek, who is also the government's spokesman, declined to answer questions about the probe into Saturday's bombings, which killed at least 24 people and has been reportedly claimed by the al-Qaeda network.
Instead he delivered a tirade on what he said were double standards that nations apply to global terrorism and charged that some countries - which he refused to name - have long supported "terrorists" targeting Turkey.
"Turkey has long called for cooperation and a joint stance against terrorism... Unfortunately, Turkey has been left alone in its struggle against terrorism," Cicek said.
He was referring mainly to separatist Kurdish rebels, who have waged a bloody 15-year war on the Ankara government, with the conflict claiming some 36,500 lives until a unilateral ceasefire was declared in 1999.
The rebels are not recognised as "terrorists" in most European Union nations and have found refuge in the past in neighbouring countries such as Syria and Greece.
Cicek's outburst also seemed to target Germany, which has so far declined to extradite to Turkey a notorious radical Islamist leader.
The death toll from the blasts rose to 24 today, officials said, after rescuers found the body of an elderly Jewish woman in the wreckage of one of the synagogues in the old heart of Istanbul.
London-based Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi said it received a claim of responsibility from an al-Qaeda branch for the strikes during Jewish prayers on Saturday.
Turkish Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said the attacks were the work of two suicide bombers who detonated their powerful truck-bombs outside the Neve Shalom and Beth Israel synagogues, and vowed to catch all the culprits.
"There is no organisation in Turkey that could have done this on its own. It is obvious that the planning was done abroad," Aksu told the Vatan newspaper, discounting earlier claims that a fundamentalist underground Turkish group was responsible.
Aksu said footage from security cameras at the Neve Shalom synagogue, Istanbul's largest Jewish centre of worship, showed one of the bombers and a truck exploding as it was driving past.
"He is in the footage, although it is not clear. We are trying to establish their identities... It is also not clear whether they were Turkish citizens or foreigners," he added.
Aksu said the bombs, which police say weighed up to 400kg, were fabricated in Turkey.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was hosting a meeting of his cabinet, said Turkey was trying to confirm the al-Qaeda claim, while officials said several people had been detained in connection with the attacks.
The Arabic-language statement from al-Qaeda warned of attacks in the United States and its key allies including Britain, Australia and Japan and claimed a wave of suicide bombings during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,
"Abu Hafz al-Masri Brigades struck a mortal blow after having kept Jewish intelligence agents under surveillance and determined that five of them were in two synagogues in the centre of Istanbul," it said.
Most of the victims of the attacks were Turkish Muslims, including at least one policeman, while at least six of the dead were identified as Jews. The woman found today had already been counted by Jewish officials.
As municipal workers began clearing streets of the piles of debris and wreckage in old Istanbul, foreign diplomats joined Jews and Muslims in a silent march for peace near the devastated Neve Shalom synagogue.
"Our greatest wish is to never have to live through such terrible events again," said Mimar Kadir Topbas, mayor of the district of Beyoglu. "We want to signal our faith in the idea that tolerance can triumph over terrorism."
Since the attacks, Turkish Muslims and Jews have been at pains to highlight the peaceful ties the two communities have enjoyed since the 15th century when the Ottoman Empire offered refuge to Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was in Italy, the current EU president, aiming to bolster his country's troubled relationship with Europe amid fears of rising anti-Semitism in the wake of the attacks.
In Brussels, the European Union condemned the bombings as "heinous terrorist attacks" and stressed that "terrorism and anti-semitism must be fought by the whole international community".
NATO member Turkey has been Israel's chief regional ally since 1996 when they struck a military cooperation accord, raising the ire of Arab countries and Iran. It was the first Muslim country to recognise Israel after the creation of the Jewish state in 1948.
Israel today warned travellers planning to visit Turkey to "take every precaution" although stopped short of advising them not to go.
Some 300,000 Israelis visit Turkey each year, making it one of the most popular overseas destinations.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom visited Istanbul yesterday where he laid wreaths to honour the dead, and Israeli officials are due to attend funerals tomorrow of the Jewish victims.
If you can post pictures of Muslim and Jewish Turks marching together in the silent parade, that would be fantastic.
He's half right.
Turk, if I know your people correctly, Al Qaeda has just made an error beyond its own imagining. Your people are ruthlessly terrible when aroused. I strongly suspect that AQ has decided to try to pry Turkey away from its alliance with the West and its military relationship with the Israelis.
The Turks will get to work, and it won't be pretty. Arabs have always understood that it is best not to arouse the Turk. Now the Wahabist fanatics have gone and done it, and have turned the wounded attention of the Turk to the violent, lawless excuses for civilizations to his south.
Dumb, dumb, dumb, a thousand times dumb.
But why should we be surprised? Look at the Arab press! They have believed their own propaganda for years. They probably convinced themselves that Turkey was a house of cards that needed but a push.
They forgot about Gallipoli, apparently.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.