Avigdor Lieberman: Erdogan following in footsteps of Goebbels

Chairman of the Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee and former foreign minister, MK Avigdor Lieberman slammed Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who claimed that Israel was behind the military coup in Egypt.

“I believe many of you have heard Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's verbal assault on the State of Israel. Everyone who hears the hateful words and incitement understand beyond a doubt that he follows in the footsteps of Goebbels," Lieberman said during a tour of the southern city of Arad, referencing the Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels.

The Yisrael Beiteinu chairman added that "his exploits are along the lines of the Dreyfus Affair and the Elders of Zion. To all those who attacked me and Yisrael Beiteinu after we refused to accept the Turkish apology, I recommend that they take the time for some soul searching."

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told members of his party during a meeting in Ankara on Tuesday: "Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have evidence."

The Turkish prime minister cited a conversation he had with a "French Jewish intellectual" – probably Bernard-Henri Levy – who predicted that the Muslim Brotherhood would not be permitted to rule even if it won an election "because democracy is not the ballot box."

The United States was quick to condemn the comment: "We strongly condemn the statements that were made by Prime Minister Erdogan today (Tuesday). Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in a briefing.