Turkey’s Islamist turn targets Israel relentlessly, endangering Jews as Arab and Palestinian extremism gains cover.
Stephen M. Flatow , President of the Religious Zionists of America, speaks from personal tragedy and moral clarity. His daughter, Alisa Flatow, was murdered in a 1995 Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack—an experience that sharpens his warning about the consequences of state-sponsored incitement against Israel and Jews worldwide.
Turkey has crossed a decisive line. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, hostility toward Israel has evolved into an ideological campaign that openly destabilizes the Middle East while placing Turkey’s own Jewish citizens at risk. What once passed as rhetorical posturing is now manifesting as intimidation, legal harassment, and street-level violence.
The clearest evidence came on December 21, when Jewish worshippers in Istanbul were attacked en route to light Hanukkah candles at the historic Neve Shalom Synagogue. A hostile mob shouted, “We don’t want Zionists,” demanding Jews leave the country. The supposed trigger—an event linked online to a “pro-IDF” Jewish guide—underscores a dangerous reality: in Erdoğan’s Turkey, any connection to Israel or the Israel Defense Forces is treated as criminal suspicion.
This was no isolated outburst. Throughout 2025, mass anti-Israel demonstrations surged across Turkish cities, increasingly marked by threatening language and demands for punitive action against the Jewish state. The U.S. Embassy in Ankara issued repeated security warnings—an extraordinary step for a NATO ally and a stark signal that official incitement has consequences.
Rather than de-escalate, Ankara intensified the pressure. Symbolic arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, proposals to revoke citizenship from dual nationals who served in Israel’s defense, and the severing of diplomatic and trade ties all sent a chilling message: loyalty to Israel will cost Jews their rights. Erdoğan’s repeated genocide accusations against Israel on global stages are not diplomacy; they are ideological warfare that inevitably rebounds onto Jewish minorities.
Human rights monitors now document what Turkish Jews experience daily—systemic discrimination, “Jews Not Allowed” signs, service refusals, and the normalization of Nazi imagery online. History teaches an unforgiving lesson: when regimes demonize Israel, Jews at home pay the price. Turkey’s ancient Jewish community is learning that lesson again—at great cost.
