In a chilling display of hate speech aired on the Turkish government-funded TV Net channel on May 21, İsmail Kılıçarslan, a commentator and columnist known for his staunch support of President Erdogan, called for the mass killing of “Zionists,” asserting that “humanity has no other choice left.”
THE NORDIC MONITOR -- Kılıçarslan’s remarks, which have sparked outrage online and among international observers, were broadcast live during a political commentary segment. The commentator claimed that all non-violent methods of resistance against Zionism had been exhausted and called for what he described as a “final step.”
“Let me say it again,” he declared. “The thing to do is obvious: to kill Zionists. Humanity has already done everything else it could — protests, parliamentary action, international appeals. All that remains is to eliminate them one by one from the face of the Earth.”
He added that the world could no longer sustain what he claimed was the daily killing of 100 Palestinians, half of whom he said were children, by Zionists. “No conscience can withstand this anymore. We should have already started killing Zionists — Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, atheist Zionists — it doesn’t matter. They all must be eliminated.”
Kılıçarslan’s statement appeared to conflate political Zionism with a broad category of ethnic and religious identities including Jews and others, stoking fears of incitement to genocide. The comments, made on a network with close ties to the Turkish government, came at a time of heightened tension and increasing antisemitic rhetoric in the country’s pro-government circles.