Washington, DC -- Responding to efforts by Turkey to block Israel’s attendance at an upcoming NATO summit, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (NV) and Congressman Eliot Engel (NY) today issued the following statement:

“We are outraged by the Turkish government’s effort to block Israel from participating in the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago.  Israel is one of NATO's closest partners in the Mediterranean region, and an ally who has taken part in NATO summits for decades.  Turkey must not be allowed to hide behind the flimsy pretext that Israel needs to ‘apologize’ for lawfully intercepting a Gaza-bound flotilla that was launched in 2010, or use this incident to justify its demand that Israel be excluded from this important NATO summit. 

“We commend the Obama Administration for trying to find a solution to this impasse.  Turkey’s rejection of this extremely reasonable request demonstrates its willingness to place harming Israel ahead of its interest in maintaining good relations with the U.S. and NATO.”

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