Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations today expressed condolences to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people following the horrific terror attack yesterday at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport.
In a letter to President Erdogan, Conference of Presidents Chairman Stephen M. Greenberg, and Executive Vice Chairman/ CEO Malcolm Hoenlein said:
“We write to express our heartfelt condolences to you and the entire Turkish people, following the heinous terror attack on innocent civilians at the Ataturk airport yesterday.
This latest devastating and tragic act of wonton violence perpetrated against your country underscores, in the most painful terms, the shared threats in the region and the world. Your statement yesterday noting that “If states, as all humanity, fail to join forces and wage a joint fight against terrorist organizations, all the possibilities that we dread in our minds will come true one by one.”, echoes what we heard from you when we met in Ankara in February, and again more recently in Washington.
The Conference of Presidents reiterates our ongoing solidarity with the people of Turkey and our support for your determination to protect the Republic of Turkey and promote cooperation to effectively overcome the scourge of terrorism.
We believe the recently concluded restoration of full diplomatic relations and the resolution of outstanding issues between Israel and Turkey will contribute to this effort and, hopefully, help to foster regional stability in the face of unprecedented security challenges.”
Last February a delegation of the Conference of Presidents met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara and discussed a range of issues including relations between Turkey, the United States and Israel and the global threat of terrorism. In that meeting, President Erdogan also discussed his policy priorities which included potential for regional cooperation involving Israel. More recently, at a meeting in Washington held during President Erdogan trip to the U.S. the dialogue was continued, including the restoration of Israel-Turkey relations.
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