Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief Rabbi of Safed (Credit WikiCommons)

Nadine Osman

The deaths of over 46,000 people in Türkiye and Syria earlier this month were mocked and celebrated by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a London radio DJ, and a prominent Israeli rabbi, sparking widespread outrage.

Shmuel Eliyahu, the chief Rabbi of Safed and a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, claimed the earthquake, which struck in the early hours of February 6, was “divine justice,” and that God was punishing the victims for mistreating Jews.

In the article published in Olam Katan, a popular religious right-wing weekly newsletter, Eliyahu, who has close ties to Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, compared the earthquake to the drowning of the Pharaonic Egyptians in the Red Sea in the biblical story of Exodus.

Israeli rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu claimed Friday that Monday’s devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria was "divine justice,” and God was punishing them because of their alleged mistreatment of the Jewish people. pic.twitter.com/uwtWAvgefh

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 12, 2023

“There is no doubt that those who would have seen the Egyptians drowning in the sea and who did not remember the whole event from beginning to end would have been filled with great pity for them and would have tried to save them from drowning,” Eliyahu wrote.

“But the Israelites sang songs because they knew the Egyptians, and understood that these drowners wanted to kill some of them and to continue to enslave the rest. They sang songs because they understood that there was divine justice here intended to punish the Egyptians, who had drowned the children of the people of Israel in the Nile, so that all the wicked in the world would see and be afraid,” he said.

Eliyahu said: “God is judging all the nations around us, who wanted to invade our land several times and throw us into the sea.” Days earlier, Charlie Hebdo tweeted the “drawing of the day” by artist Pierrick Juin that showed damaged housing infrastructure and a heap of rubble with the heading ‘Earthquake in Turkey,’ and the caption ‘No need to send tanks.’

Many people, including public figures, took to social media to condemn the drawings. ‘Modern barbarians! Drown in your anger and hatred,’ tweeted Türkiye’s presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın. Abdurrahim Boynukalın, a Turkish politician and London representative of the AK Party, says, “They show no limits in their pursuit of controversy.”

Social media users described the cartoon as “disgusting,” “shameful,” “revolting,” and akin to “hate speech.”  American Muslim scholar Omar Suleiman said: “Mocking the deaths of thousands of Muslims is the peak of how France has dehumanised us in every way.”

Some users noted how Turks had staged marches of support after the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo office, rallying behind the “Je suis Charlie” campaign, only to be repaid with what many saw as scorn.

✏️Le dessin du jour, par #Juin pic.twitter.com/kPcEqZDocO

— Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) February 6, 2023

Political analyst Öznur Küçüker Sirene addressed the magazine in a tweet. “Even the Turks were ‘Charlie Hebdo’ to share your grief and today you dare mock the suffering of an entire people. One must really have some nerve to do this while there are still babies waiting to be rescued underneath the rubble,” she said.

Italians were also outraged, pointing out that the magazine published a similar cartoon mocking earthquake victims in their country in 2016, with a cartoon titled “Earthquake, Italian-style,” depicting earthquake victims with varying degrees of injury, each compared to an Italian recipe.

‘We never really forgot about what they did here in Italy. My heart is with the people of Türkiye and Syria,’ tweeted one user.

Writing for the Turkish Daily Sabah, political analyst Klaus Jurgens said freedom of expression could not be used to justify the editorial decision to tweet the image. ‘The cartoon in question cannot be defended with freedom of expression. It cannot be regarded as freedom of speech. It is not simply bad taste. It does indeed incite hatred within society at home in France and everywhere else.’

‘In many countries, hate speech is a criminal offense. When will the French watchdog for the domestic media react and tell Charlie Hebdo’s editors in no unmistaken words that this time, they really went a step too far?’
He said the cartoon had promoted pressing questions. ‘First, what kind of mindset is at work? Second, what kind of editorial line is responsible? Third, what will be the wider impacts of inciting hatred in society at home in France and abroad, and not just in Türkiye?’

Rana Abi Jomaa, also a Lebanese journalist, wrote that “there are no limits to Charlie Hebdo’s racism,” wondering “who would defend this abhorrent satirical French magazine after today?”
‘Charlie Hebdo is faithful to its famous hate speech, bigotry, mediocre unethical journalism, and colonialist scorn… Nothing to do with press freedom!’ wrote Tunisian journalist Mourad Teyeb.

On February 13, members of London’s Turkish community took to social media to express their “shock and disgust” after a radio DJ made light of the earthquake disaster. During a Capital FM broadcast, show host Ant Payne said, “I think now actually is the best time to start looking at some cheap flights to Türkiye over the next few years. You can get your teeth done while you’re over there.”

Over 35,000 are dead. A country in mourning. Thousands of people trying to raise money for those affected and this is what @CapitalOfficial says about it. I am in shock and disgusted… pic.twitter.com/nbvThiZpaX

— ErayBeyi (@eray0108) February 13, 2023

Listeners, including many from North and East London’s Turkish communities, demanded an apology for the offensive comments. However, even after numerous listeners confirmed hearing the remark and some posted excerpts of the stream on social media, the radio DJ initially denied making the comments.

Twitter user Cinders Wish tweeted: “Can’t believe I just heard @ant_man_go (Ant Payne) make fun of the #Turkeyearthquake on @CapitalOfficial …”I wonder how all the Turkish and Syrian communities and victims of this disaster feel about that.” Ant Payne responded to the tweet, saying: “Except I said nothing of the sort.”

Liberal Democrat councillor in Norfolk Suzanne Nuri-Nixon also tweeted: “Wow @CapitalOfficial, just wow! Read the room Ant Payne. Thousands have died, thousands are in mourning and you crack a ‘joke’?! Man, did you misread the room!”

Despite initially denying the comments, Payne backtracked on February 14 and issued an apology, he tweeted, “Hi guys, I want to address the comment I made last night on the show. It was insensitive and ill-timed. I would never wish to offend anyone from my shows. My sincere and wholehearted apologies.”

A spokesperson for Global, the media company that operates Capital FM, said, “Ant Payne apologised for any upset or hurt caused by his comments last night during his show, and he has also repeated the apology again this morning on Twitter. We’d like to reassure you that Global takes this matter extremely seriously.”

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Editorial: Mocking Türkiye-Syria earthquake highlights depth of depravity