Marco Rubio Calls Out Turkish Leader Comparing Israel to Nazis

On Wednesday, from his perch on the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called on Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to cool down the rhetoric against Israel. Last month, Erdogan said Israel has "surpassed Hitler in barbarism" with its actions in Gaza.

"(Israelis) have no conscience, no honour, no pride, Erdogan said. Those who condemn Hitler day and night have surpassed Hitler in barbarism.

While Erdogan said Turks should not engage in anti-Semitic activities, two congressmen from Florida -- U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla. -- condemned the remarks at the end of July. The two congressmen co-chair the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance.

Rubio followed suit on Wednesday with a letter to Erdogan.

In response to thousands of rocket attacks on Israel launched by Hamas and other terrorist organizations from Gaza, Israel instituted a naval blockade to prevent items that could be used to support these attacks from entering Gaza by sea, Rubio wrote. The intent of the measures is to protect Israel, while still allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.

I encourage you to take all appropriate measures to keep these organizations from provoking a confrontation with Israeli forces and violating this blockade, Rubio added. A publicity stunt by Turkish organizations in 2010 led to the regrettable loss of life, and it would be irresponsible for your government not to take measures to avoid a similar outcome this time.

Rubio targeted comments Erdogan made earlier this month.

I was thus deeply troubled by your comments at a campaign event on August 3rd comparing Israels recent actions to Nazi Germanys genocidal campaign against Jews and other minorities with the statement Just like Hitler, who sought to establish a race free of all faults, Israel is chasing after the same target, Rubio wrote. Such deplorable comments and anti-Israel views have become increasingly common among senior Turkish officials and severely undermine our mutual interest in collaboration to address the common challenges our nations face.