Israel’s foreign ministry has accused Turkish President Erdoğan of hostility toward the Jewish state, citing his actions in Syria and Cyprus and against his own people. In a series of X posts over the weekend, the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called Erdoğan an antisemite dictator, urging NATO to take note, and the ministry challenged Turkey to deny that Erdoğan is antisemitic or an obsessive opponent of Israel. Turkey’s foreign ministry swiftly rejected the claims as baseless, accusing Israel of deflecting from its actions in Gaza.
This latest exchange follows a series of escalating statements between the two countries in recent days. On Saturday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry took to X to condemn Israeli air strikes on Lebanon and to accuse Israel of trying to create a “permanent state of conflict in the region”. Israel’s foreign ministry promptly responded, pointing to the hypocrisy of the Turkish president and saying the accusation was one of “Erdoğan’s ridiculous moral sermons”:
While violently suppressing his own citizens and carrying out mass arrests of political opponents, Erdoğan presumes to preach lofty values to the international community.
In Erdoğan’s Turkey, there is no justice, no law, and no freedom.
Israel does not need Erdoğan’s ridiculous… https://t.co/9U68UH8CaY— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) March 29, 2025
“While Erdoğan violently suppresses his own citizens and carries out mass arrests of political opponents, he presumes to preach lofty values to the international community,” the Israel Foreign Ministry wrote, adding, “In Erdoğan’s Turkey, there is no justice, no law and no freedom.”
Continuing Saturday’s exchange, the Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected Israel’s statement, calling the allegations “disrespectful and baseless” and “part of an effort to cover up the crimes committed by [Prime Minister] Netanyahu and his associates”:
“This increases our concern that Israel will accelerate its genocidal policy in Gaza and intensify its actions aimed at destabilising other countries in the region. “We will continue to stand by the innocent civilians targeted by Israel and defend their rights,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry again responded on X, calling Erdoğan a “dictator” and an “obsessive hater of the Jewish state”.
What bothered the Turkish Foreign Ministry?
Here’s a way to clarify the dictator’s words: Clearly state that Erdoğan is not an antisemite, that he is not an obsessive hater of the Jewish state.Everyone knows what Erdoğan has done to nations and peoples in the region — from… https://t.co/WCNCoo3DDh
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) March 30, 2025
“Everyone knows what Erdoğan has done to nations and peoples in the region – from Cyprus to Syria. Everyone sees what he is doing to his own people,” the Isreali ministry continued, referring to Turkey’s cross-border attacks, and to its domestic crackdown on protesters rallying against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a potential rival for Erdoğan’s presidency.
The exchange comes amid heightened friction over Syria, where Israeli airstrikes targeted military sites near Palmyra and the T4 Airbase in Homs province on 21 March. Turkey, a NATO member, has expanded its influence in the country, supporting the interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in 2024, and reportedly negotiating a military presence in Palmyra. Israel views this as a strategic threat, aiming to maintain its operational freedom in the region.
