Continued Verbal Conflict Between Erdogan and Netanyahu and His Son

The reciprocal attacks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have intensified recently, involving Yair Netanyahu, Benjamin's son. Erdogan compared Yair Netanyahu to the perpetrator of the deadly attack on Muslim mosques in New Zealand. According to reports from the Associated Press and Israeli and Turkish media, Erdogan stated on Monday, March 18, that Yair Netanyahu and the terrorist responsible for the New Zealand attack are fed from the same source. Shortly after, Benjamin Netanyahu, supporting his son, remarked that 'Erdogan has forgotten that the Ottoman Empire has been consigned to history.' The recent conflict between the leaders of Israel and Turkey began last week over comments made by Miri Regev, the Minister of Culture and a senior member of the ruling Likud party, who stated that the formation of the next Israeli government with the participation of the rival Likud party and relying on the support of Arab parties is 'a security threat.' In response to this minister's remarks, Israeli presenter and model Rotem Sela defended the equal rights of Arabs living in Israel; several other Israeli figures also supported Ms. Sela. However, Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to Rotem Sela by writing, 'Israel is a country exclusively for the Jewish people, and the Jewish nation-state law that our government has just approved emphasizes this.' Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for the Turkish presidency, responded by stating that with such explicit 'racist' remarks from the Israeli Prime Minister, it remains to be seen whether the world will respond appropriately. Erdogan himself labeled Benjamin Netanyahu as 'racist and a dictator'; in response to Erdogan, the Israeli Prime Minister wrote on his Facebook in English, 'Turkey's dictator Erdogan attacks Israel's democracy at a time when Turkish prisons are full of journalists and judges.' The Turkish President responded again to Netanyahu, saying, 'The Israeli Prime Minister, instead of preventing the oppression of Muslims, attacks me; he is in an election and wants to gain power; we will not respond to his words on social media anymore.' This time, however, Yair Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest son, on Saturday, March 16, in support of his father, attacked Erdogan, stating that he kills Kurds and has occupied Northern Cyprus. Yair Netanyahu also referred to Istanbul by its ancient name before the Ottoman Empire, Constantinople. Constantinople, or the city of Constantine, was named after Roman Emperor Constantine I during the Eastern Roman Empire and was the capital of this part of the Roman Empire, but with the collapse of the Romans, Ottoman Muslims renamed the city Istanbul. Erdogan expressed anger on Saturday night that Netanyahu's son used the name of the Roman Empire regarding Istanbul and advised his father to 'twist his son's ear.' Given that Brenton Tarrant, the Australian citizen responsible for the bloody attack on Islamic mosques in New Zealand on Friday, March 15, mentioned Istanbul as Constantinople in his 70-page manifesto and wrote that the minarets of the Hagia Sophia in this city should be demolished and the European part of it should again be in Christian hands, Erdogan attacked both Netanyahu father and son for the second consecutive day on Monday, March 18. Erdogan, intertwining the massacre of Muslims in New Zealand with his disputes with the Netanyahu father and son, stated, 'We (Muslims) are here until the Day of Judgment, and they will not be able to turn Istanbul back into Constantinople; the words of the son of the leader of Israel are like the words of the perpetrator of the New Zealand massacre; both are fed from the same source.' According to Anadolu Agency, the Turkish President added, 'If the words of Netanyahu or his son continue to blame Turkey, we have other ways to teach them,' assuring that 'anyone who raises their hand against Muslims or Turks in the world will face a repetition of history from us.' Erdogan's implicit reference in his remarks on Monday to the 104th anniversary of the Ottoman Empire's victory in the Battle of Gallipoli and the day of 'martyrs' was a long period of Ottoman rule over the territory where Israel was established 30 years after the collapse of this empire. According to Ynet, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a renewed attack on the Turkish leader on Monday night, wrote, 'Today, the Jewish people have their strong and resilient country, which is a free democracy and is not afraid of threats, and Erdogan can learn about religious freedom and respect for religions from Israel.' Relations between Israel and Turkey have been fraught with crises since the spring of 2010; this time, despite the new round of attacks between the leaders of the two countries, which now also involves Netanyahu's son, the offices of representation of both countries continue to operate without ambassadors or consuls for now.