(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
 

BY XIAONAN WANG

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO 

The tiff between novelist Paul Auster and Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan got started earlier this week. At issue: the 70 Turkish journalists that the group Set Turkish Journalists Free says are in prison there.

Auster told a Turkish newspaper that he refused to visit Turkey to publicize his new book  because they jailed journalists.  

The prime minister called Auster, who is Jewish, “an arrogant man”.  Erdogan says Paul has a double standard because he visited Israel in spite of its bombing Gaza. The prime minister also mocked the noted writer, saying he is just not interested in his visit.

“As if we need you! Who cares if you come or not? Would Turkey lose any grandeur?”

Paul picked up the fight. He defended himself Wednesday in his latest statement:

“Whatever the Prime Minister might think about the state of Israel, the fact is that free speech exists there and no writers or journalists are in jail. ”

Paul’s stand is applauded by Jewish Journal.  The Journal’s Shmuel Rosner says the author is admired for taking on this fight with Turkey’s P.M.    Rosner also speaks out against Erdogen for dragging down Israel.

“Suppose Israel is a terrible country, does it make Turkey better? Does it make Turkey’s imprisonment of journalists more justified?”

However, a blog post on Mondoweiss echoes Erdogan’s accusation against Paul. It quoted a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January:

“the Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm over ongoing attacks on and detention of journalists in Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as over a recent series of developments that restrict freedom of the press in Israel.”

No matter where this ends up, a Wall Street Journal article points out that Auster will benefit by it.   

“......he certainly got some publicity for his latest book — “Winter Journal” — published in Turkey last month, ahead of the U.S. edition.”