Armenian Genocide: Turkey's Ambassador to Israel raises the ante

Yet another post about the Armenian Genocide. In a compelling and frightening interview given to the Jerusalem Post, Turkey's Ambassador to Israel has made it crystal clear that he expects Israel to "deliver" the ADL and other Jewish organization on the Armenian Genocide issue.

Turkey expects Israel and the organization to ensure that the US Congress does not pass the resolution characterizing as genocide the massacre of Armenians during World War I.

The Ambassador said:

"Israel should not let the [US] Jewish community change its position. This is our expectation and this is highly important, highly important.... If you want to touch and hurt the hearts of the people in Turkey, this is the issue... This is the No. 1 issue. You cannot easily explain to them any change in this."

He also told the Post that "in the eyes of the Turkish people, Tan said, his country's strategic relationship with Israel was not with Israel alone, but with the whole Jewish world. 'They [the Turkish people] cannot make that differentiation,'"

This is simply mind boggling. Let me enumerate what leaves me speechless here:
1. Turkey resolute fight against acknowledging the genocide. Doesn't Turkey realize that the world is upset less by the genocide [it's used to those things] than by Turkey's denial. [It's weird but true.]

2. Turkey's assumption that Israel can determine whether the resolution passes or not.

3. How in Turkey's mind Israel says jump and American Jews will jump. It just does not work that way. [I hate to disappoint the antisemites who see as all organized in one giant conspiracy but it just ain't so]

4. While Turkey threatened to cut off French investments in Turkey when it passed a law outlawing Armenian genocide denial, it did not raise the stakes the way it is doing now.

And, as I have said before, who says history does not have contemporary relevance???