Erdogan is supportive toward us, Turkey’s Jewish community says

Turkey’s Jewish community today said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always been constructive, supportive and encouraging toward them.

The statement comes after the US State Department yesterday “condemned President Erdogan’s recent anti-Semitic comments regarding the Jewish people”.

The Jewish community responded to this condemnation via their official Twitter account, saying: “While tragedies in the region are deeply saddening – & global rise of anti semitisim is unacceptable- it is unfair & reprehensible to imply that President Erdogan – @tcbestepe – is antisemitic.”

While tragedies in the region are deeply saddening – & global rise of anti semitisim is unacceptable- it is unfair & reprehensible to imply that President Erdogan – @tcbestepe – is antisemitic. On the contrary, he has always been constructive, supportive & encouraging towards us. https://t.co/XMfV5bXicb pic.twitter.com/CBAIX0lSvo

— Türk Yahudi Toplumu (@tyahuditoplumu) May 19, 2021

Erdogan has criticised Israel for conducting air strikes on Gaza and called it a “terror state” after Israeli police fired rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian protesters in occupied East Jerusalem.

“They are murderers, to the point that they kill children who are five or six years old. They are only satisfied by sucking their blood,” Erdogan said, referring to the Zionist state’s oppressive policies against Palestinians.

The history of Jewish community in Turkey goes back 2,400 years. Turkey hosts a modest Jewish population around 20,000.

READ: ‘Everyone was a target,’ says witness to Israeli attacks at Al-Aqsa Mosque