U.S. Jewish leaders who met with the Turkish foreign minister disagreed sharply over Turkey’s relations with Hamas. Participants in Wednesday’s meeting with Abdullah Gul said it was unusually tense, with Jewish leaders questioning Turkey’s insistence on defying the Western boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government. Gul argued that such ties were useful to Israel, citing Turkey’s recent, unsuccessful attempt to intervene with Hamas to free a captive Israeli soldier. Currently led by an Islamist-based party, Turkey relies on U.S. Jewish lobbying to maintain its profile in Washington. Representatives of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, United Jewish Communities, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, B’nai B’rith International, Anti-Defamation League and American Jewish Committee took part in the meeting.
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