A senior Turkish official accused Zionist bankers of being behind the Turkish lira’s fall in value.
By: World Israel News Staff
A senior Turkish official has accused “Zionist bankers” of being behind the plummet of the Turkish lira in recent weeks.
Burhan Kuzu, a founding member of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), suggested in a series of tweets that US President Donald Trump was “unaware” that his country was being run by what he called “Jewish banking families.”
The Turkish currency lost about a quarter of its value in recent weeks as the markets reacted to a diplomatic row between Trump, who imposed tariffs on Turkish metals in response to the arrest of an American pastor, and Erdogan, who is refusing to release him.
“The American people believe that the dollar is the American currency,” Kozo wrote. “In fact, the world is managed by the banknotes printed by 12 families of Zionist bankers of Jewish origin, who number no more than 300,” he alleged.
In another tweet, he called on Trump to “show courage” and wrestle control of the dollar away from the Jewish bankers and print the banknotes himself, warning, however, that Trump could get killed in the process.
Kuzu served as a member of the Turkish parliament until this summer.
Turkish politicians, including Erdogan, periodically level ridiculous and often anti-Semitic accusations against Israel, with many based on classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories such as those found in the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım charged in June that Israel’s victory in this year’s Eurovision song contest was a set-up aimed to ensure that next year’s competition would be held in Jerusalem and thus fuel inter-religious strife.
Turkish-Israeli relations, once one of the closest alliances in the region, have deteriorated sharply under the Islamist AKP. Turkey ended diplomatic relations with Israel from 2011 to 2013 due to the Mavi Marmara incident, in which Turkish activists attempting to break the siege on Gaza ambushed the IDF soldiers sent to intercept them.
Erdogan has also accused Israel of “state terrorism” for defending itself against Hamas rocket attacks and even invited Hamas leader Khaled Mashal for an official visit.