Call to boycott work of Jewish Turkish writer backfires
Author Mario Levi says although he has been targeted, he has a positive take on these events as it also generated unprecedented support.
When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 19 said Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip “surpassed Hitler in barbarism,” he also warned people not to get carried away and harm Turkey’s Jewish citizens. “Israel is acting according to its own temperament. But I call on our citizens. I do not find it right to take things out on our Jewish people in this country.”
Mario Levi, "the first writer in Turkish literature to declare his Jewish identity and write about Jewishness," however, became the target of a group on social media July 23 calling for boycotting his books and holding him responsible for Israel’s actions.
