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🇮🇱 Israel /Conflict & Security

IDF soldiers targeted by Turkish 'state mechanism' of false accusations, Diaspora Ministry says

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry accused Turkey of using state-linked organizations to pursue Israeli soldiers and dual nationals through alleged false war-crimes claims.
  • The ministry said WOLAS and Freedom Watch Platform use open-source intelligence to identify targets and prepare case files for submission to international courts.
  • Director-General Avi Cohen Scali accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of leading an antisemitic policy toward Israel.

Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry has accused Turkey of building a state-backed system to target Israeli soldiers and citizens through alleged false war-crimes accusations.

Studies released by the ministry say two organizations, WOLAS and Freedom Watch Platform, present themselves as civil society groups but use advanced open-source intelligence systems to identify IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians with dual citizenship. The ministry said the groups use information from Israeli websites to assemble evidence files and pursue legal action against them.

In recent years, Turkey has established a state mechanism in which antisemitism, delegitimization and legal warfare against Israelis are carried out at high intensity as part of an organized and predetermined policy of the country’s leadership and institutions.

— Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism MinistryThe ministry described what it sees as an organized Turkish policy targeting Israel and Israelis.

According to the ministry, the organizations operate with the knowledge of the Turkish government and maintain ties with terrorist organizations, including Hamas. The ministry said their findings are sent to international courts in The Hague.

The connections between the Turkish government, civil society and legal warfare create a new model of action against Israel, which is not limited to the arena of public diplomacy, but attempts to influence legal systems, international institutions and public

— Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism MinistryThe ministry characterized the alleged cooperation as an effort to influence legal and international institutions.

The studies describe what the ministry calls the institutionalization of antisemitism across the Turkish government. They argue that hostility toward Israel and the Jewish people has moved beyond political messaging and spread through state institutions, including education and religious systems, as well as organizations active internationally.

“The connections between the Turkish government, civil society and legal warfare create a new model of action against Israel, which is not limited to the arena of public diplomacy, but attempts to influence legal systems, international institutions and public,” the ministry said. Avi Cohen Scali, the ministry’s director-general, accused Erdogan of “leading an antisemitic policy toward the State of Israel.”

leading an antisemitic policy toward the State of Israel

— Avi Cohen ScaliThe ministry’s director-general accused Erdogan of pursuing an antisemitic policy.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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