Tough Day in Turtle Bay

As the annual opening sessions of the United Nations General Assembly got under way on Tuesday, the most virulent attacks were those directed at the state of Israel, in particular from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Iranian leader’s comments in an interview with Chris Wallace of FOX News included the eye-opening allegation that ISIS is a major recipient of Israeli largess. He charged the Israelis with providing weapons and medical assistance to the Islamic State’s forces. Rouhani said the US pullout from the nuclear agreement “broke the trust which can only be restored by lifting all sanctions on Iran. Erdogan, for his part, offered the most animated attack on the Jewish state, taking a page from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s signature play book – accompanying his presentations before the world body with show-and-tell. The Turkish strongman showed maps he claimed documented a shrinking Palestine being consumed by a growing Israel. Erdogan ratcheted up his vitriol by comparing Israel’s behavior vis-à-vis Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to Jews under the Nazi regime.