What did the US Ambassador with an intelligence background say about Erdoğan?
In response to the 'Israel' label being used against İmamoğlu, Pehlivan pointed to what the Jewish US Ambassador of the time had said about Erdoğan.
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The inclusion of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu in the posts targeting President Erdoğan by Israeli Foreign Minister Katz sparked excitement, particularly in the pro-government press and among 'aktrolls' active on social media.
Writing that "Erdoğan is dismantling the legacy Atatürk built in Turkey," Katz tagged Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu at the end of his post, where he wrote, "Let us hope for days when everything will be beautiful." Following this, the pro-government press commented that İmamoğlu was the 'future presidential candidate supported by Israel'.
In his response, quoting Katz's post, İmamoğlu reacted to the Israeli minister by writing: "I return this statement of yours, which insults the flag and the President of the Republic of Turkey, right back to you. We will not learn democracy and law from someone who has the blood of tens of thousands of children on their hands. Yes, everything will be very beautiful. When Palestine is free."
Cumhuriyet newspaper columnist Barış Pehlivan addressed this issue in his column today and offered an interesting reminder. Including information from the book 'The Innovative Movement' by former TRT News Department head Nasuhi Güngör, Pehlivan noted that the book, which is currently out of print, describes how Tayyip Erdoğan rose within the Milli Görüş (National View) line.
THAT MEETING WAS A MILESTONE
According to what is conveyed in the article, there is an interesting paragraph in the section titled 'The Discovered Tayyip Erdoğan' in the book:
“Tayyip Erdoğan was undoubtedly a successful Istanbul provincial head and subsequently a metropolitan mayor. However, there was a quite interesting claim regarding when Erdoğan was 'discovered.' While Erdoğan was still the RP Beyoğlu district head, he was introduced to the US Ambassador of the time, Morton Abramowitz. At a meeting held at a foundation in Kasımpaşa, an RP İstanbul provincial executive was also present alongside Erdoğan.”
After reminding readers that the Abramowitz-Erdoğan meetings continued regularly, Nasuhi Güngör placed special emphasis on the meeting at the IMM:
“Tayyip Erdoğan’s most striking meeting on this subject took place on October 15, 1996, in his mayoral office. This visit by Morton Abramowitz to Erdoğan’s office lasted quite a long time. After the meeting, Erdoğan stated that Abramowitz had brought a ‘positive and warm message’ and added: ‘I am not receiving this message on my own behalf, but on behalf of my party.’ Various speculations were made regarding the content of this message. It was reported in the press that Abramowitz told Erdoğan, ‘You are very important for the future of Turkey.’ However, there were no statements confirming or denying these reports. Yet, there were two points as important as the content of the meeting. The first was that, following this meeting, comparisons of Erdoğan as ‘Erbakan’s heir’ were rapidly replaced by those of him as a ‘future leadership candidate.’”
THAT INDIVIDUAL WAS ACCUSED OF BEING A MOSSAD AGENT
The importance of Abramowitz is described in Nasuhi Güngör’s book as follows:
“Yes, the former Ankara Ambassador, president of the Carnegie Endowment, and an American Jew with ‘high racial consciousness’ who was frequently accused of being a ‘Mossad agent.’”
(...) He had held very important positions before coming to Ankara. He had served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research. There, he provided coordination between American intelligence organizations, primarily the CIA and FBI, as well as the SIA and DIA.”
'İMAMOĞLU REACTED, BUT WHAT ABOUT ERDOĞAN?'
In his article, Pehlivan also recalled that before becoming prime minister, Erdoğan went to the US as a guest of the Jewish Committee, held meetings with officials from the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, and maintained relations with the ADL, one of the world’s most influential Jewish organizations.
Sharing these anecdotes in his column, Barış Pehlivan pointed out that while İmamoğlu gave a harsh response to the Israeli minister who tagged him and made references to Turkey’s internal affairs, attempts were still being made to label him as an ‘Israeli candidate,’ and he added this note: “İmamoğlu clearly expressed his discomfort with Israel’s support for him. However, when Erdoğan was the Mayor of Istanbul, he had reached out with open arms to similar support.”