Turkey: 'It's the Joooz'

A week ago, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a not-so-veiled hint that Israel was  behind the riots in Istanbul's Taksim Square. Now, media outlets that support Erdogan are taking a new tact: American Joooz are behind the riots (Hat Tip: Joshua I).

As anti-government protests continue in Istanbul, Turkish media outlets have begun reporting that the demonstrations are part of an anti-Erdogan plot organized by members of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank that is home to many former senior U.S. officials.

“Apparently, a meeting took place between some of our scholars and outsiders, and these Jews (for many, though not all, at the alleged meeting are Jews) and their fellow travelers planned the whole thing,” AEI wrote on its website Wednesday in a statement lambasting the reports.

The Turkish reports mention several former U.S. government insiders, including Bush administration national security adviser Elliott Abrams, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The Turkish reports also claim that Jewish officials and so-called “neo-cons” associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC), America’s most prominent pro-Israel lobby, are involved in the plot, which was supposedly hatched during a secret meeting in February.

“According to this, the meeting was held at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which carries out its activities with the support of the Jewish lobby AIPAC,” stateda Tuesday report in Yeni Safak, a pro-government newspaper.

“The ‘Istanbul Uprising’ scenario was simulated on 12 February in order ‘to bring the apolitical Turkish youth out on the streets,’” the report says.

The reports erroneously claim that AEI’s Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser, secretly met with other Jewish government insiders to hatch the anti-Erdogan plot.

AEI's Danielle Pletka does a great job of summarizing Turkey:

“Here is the truth: Erdoğan … has begun to transform Turkey into an Islamist bastion,” Pletka wrote on AEI’s website. “The Turkish people are standing up to Erdoğan because they see what has become of their once-proud nation, and they won’t stand for it. Kudos to them.”

It will be  interesting to see when - if ever - Erdogan's Best Fried Forever stands up for the Turkish people. Don't hold your breath waiting.