Negative Perceptions of Jews in Turkish Politics: An Analysis of Parliamentary Debates, 1983-2016

ABSTRACT What are the political roots of anti-Jewish rhetoric? To address this ever-important query, this study analyses perceptions of Jews in Turkish politics. Building on group position theory and the historical background of Turkish-Jewish relations, the research proposes that right-wing ideological orientation and perceived threats can predict negative perceptions of Jews. It scrutinises the Turkish parliamentary proceedings using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The findings support the premise. The study concludes that discussing perceived threats tends to evoke negative rhetoric while right-wing ideological orientation seems to be a predictive factor for the expression of such views. This implies that an effective management of perceived threats would reduce the frequency of anti-Jewish statements in Turkish politics.