President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan walking along the Colonnade at the White House. Photo: Samantha Appleton.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday responded, via his ambassador to Washington, to an open letter from the American Jewish Congress asking for the return of its ‘Profile of Courage’ award, bestowed in 2004 for Erdoğan’s  stance on fighting terrorism and working towards peace. In his own open letter, reported by Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News, Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kılıç said, “Prime Minister Erdoğan will be glad to return the award.”

Last week, Jack Rosen, president of the New York-based AJC, accused Erdoğan of “dangerous rhetoric” and “inciting violence against the Jewish people,” with a series of speeches condemning Israel and by not condemning protests in Turkey that devolved into violence at the Israeli embassy and consulate and even the Israeli ambassador’s private residence.

“A decade after we gave you our award, you have become arguably the most virulent anti-Israel leader in the world — spewing dangerous rhetoric for political gain and inciting the Turkish population to violence against the Jewish people,” Rosen said.

Ambassador Kılıç wrote: “Your request for the return of the aforementioned award actually constitutes an unfortunate testimony to the unsusceptible stance adopted by the present leadership of the American Jewish Congress regarding the Israeli government’s ongoing policies of occupation and atrocity.”

“Attempts to depict Prime Minister Erdoğan’s legitimate criticisms of the Israeli government’s attacks on civilians as expressions of anti-Semitism is an obvious distortion and an effort to cover up the historical wrongdoings of the Israeli government,” he said. “It should be noted in this respect that Prime Minister Erdoğan has publicly declared to the entire world that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Turkish leader’s recent comments comparing Israel to Hitler as “anti-Semitism,” while the U.S. State Department said they were “offensive and wrong.”

Turkey, a member of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance, was once Israel’s closest regional ally, and Washington considered it a credible broker in the Middle East peace process, Reuters said.

Reuters attributed Erdoğan’s stance to electioneering: “Anti-Israeli sentiment runs high in Turkey, and Erdoğan’s rhetoric plays well with his base of largely conservative Sunni Muslim voters, who he hopes will hand him victory in Turkey’s first direct election of a president next month.”