Secretary Kerry speaks out against Erdogan's hate

Kudos to new Secretary of State John Kerry who took Turkish PM Erdogan (who got a hearty F.U. from this site yesterday) to task about his sickening commentary that Zionism was akin to racism and anti-Semitism.

In Ankara today, Kerry had this to say::

Speaking at a joint news conference in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Kerry stressed the “urgent need to promote a spirit of tolerance, and that includes all of the public statements made by all leaders.”

Kerry said he had raised the comments “very directly” with Davutoglu and would do the same when he saw Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Friday...

....Kerry said the on the US side, “we not only disagree with it (Erdogan's speech - vb1 note), we found it objectionable.”

He added: “I believe there is a way forward, but it obviously gets more complicated in the aftermath of a speech such as the one we heard in Vienna.”

 Of course Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu had this too say:

 ...(Davutoglu) denied that Turkish officials were using hostile or offensive language, referring repeatedly to the deaths of nine civilians at the hands of Israeli commandos aboard a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship in 2010.

He added: “If Israel wants to hear positive statements from Turkey, it needs to review its attitude. It needs to review its attitude toward us, and it needs to review its attitude toward the people in the region and especially the West Bank settlements issue.”

Erdogan's commentary was so offensive that the U.N. even felt necessary to condemn it:

A UN statement said: "If the comment about Zionism was interpreted correctly, then it was not only wrong but contradicts the very principles on which the Alliance of Civilizations is based." 

The statement said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon "believes it is unfortunate that such hurtful and divisive comments were uttered at a meeting being held under the theme of responsible leadership."

 Later, the statement was reported in Turkey WITHOUT the term "Zionism" in it.

Either way, good for Secretary of State Kerry to stand up for the Jewish people in this manner. Going to a foreign nation and standing up for your allies to their highest officials is a sign of great character. It just goes to prove (ONCE AGAIN) that this administration is a solid friend to both Israel and the worldwide Jewish Community.