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Antisemitism in Turkey: Its Historical Roots and Manifestation

November 10, 2024, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey: Demonstrators hold placards during a pro-Palestine march in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza from Taksim Square to Germany Consulate General in Istanbul on November 10, 2024. Beyoglu Turkey - ZUMAu194 20241110_zip_u194_004

Abstract

Since the outbreak of war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, antisemitism has surged globally, including in Turkey, where it increasingly overlaps with criticism of Israel. Once confined to the margins, antisemitism now permeates all segments of Turkish society. Although the war has brought heightened attention to anti-Jewish sentiment in Turkey, this phenomenon is far from new. This paper offers an evolutionary analysis of antisemitism’s roots in the Ottoman Empire, its growth during the early republican era, the impact of Nazi propaganda, and its fusion with political Islam. By tracing its development, the paper examines the rationale behind recent antisemitic incidents in Turkey and concludes that antisemitism has become a pervasive, socially accepted phenomenon extending beyond radical groups to mainstream society.

Introduction

Though initiated by Hamas, the war in Gaza has inevitably brought antisemitism back into the headlines around the world. As the conflict escalates, the thin line between legitimate criticism of Israel and pure hatred of Jews continues to erode.

Although the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) clearly defines[1] antisemitism as including rhetorical and physical violence directed at Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as Jewish community institutions and religious facilities, prominent American historian Deborah Lipstadt notes in her book Antisemitism: Here and Now that much of the general public struggles to define the term accurately, and even scholars in the field cannot agree on a precise definition.[2] Despite the lack of a universally accepted definition, the impact of antisemitism on Jews and the world is undeniable.

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2015 Global Antisemitism Report, even before the war in Gaza, 71 percent of Turkey’s adult population harbored antisemitic views.[3]

The war in Gaza has worsened the situation. As in other countries, antisemitism has surged in Turkish society. Under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has become one of Israel’s harshest opponents. Pro-Hamas, anti-Israel rhetoric in government circles, combined with one-sided pro-Palestinian narratives in state-aligned media have paved the way for a significant increase in antisemitism and anti-Zionism.

The World Jewish Congress defines Zionism, as the belief the Jewish people maintain a right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. It further argues that the denial of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination—as opposed to other nations—in their ancestral homeland whether motivated by politics, religion, or ignorance, is considered as a form of antisemitism.[4]

However, in contrast to the WJC’s equation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, Richard S. Levy takes a critical approach. In his comprehensive work, Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution, Levy argues that anti-Zionism is not necessarily antisemitic and challenges the WJC’s definition based on the denial of the Jewish right to self-determination. By highlighting the existence of Jews who reject Zionism—especially before the creation of Israel—Levy seeks to distinguish anti-Zionism from antisemitism. He also notes the growing adoption of anti-Zionism among non-Jews, particularly those motivated by support for Palestinian rights rather than out of hatred toward Jews.[5]

Despite the lack of consensus on conceptual definitions, recent antisemitic incidents reveal the growing levels of hatred in Turkey.[6]A placard reading “Jews are not allowed” outside a second-hand bookshop and a taxi bearing the sign “No ride for Israeli passengers” are stark examples of this trend.

The same troubling trend is evident on Turkish social media, where glorification of Nazi ideology and Adolf Hitler, along with threats against the local Jewish community, have become increasingly common.[7]      

Acknowledging the severity of current trends in Turkey, this article highlights the roots of antisemitism in the country and reveals the thought patterns shaping its contemporary antisemitic discourse. To provide a more comprehensive understanding of the situation, the article sheds light on the emergence of antisemitism in Ottoman society, its development during the early republican era, the influence of Nazi propaganda, and finally its amalgamation into political Islam.

Foundations of Turkish Antisemitism

The Ottoman conquest of the city of Bursa in 1326 marked the first recorded encounter between Jews and Turks. As the empire expanded into the Balkans during the 14th century, more Jewish communities came under Ottoman rule.

The conquest of Constantinople in1453 constituted a historical milestone for the Jews of the region. The Jewish community of the Byzantine Empire—long subject to restrictions on religious practice, economic activity, and social integration—welcomed the Ottomans as saviors.[8] The establishment of the Ottoman millet system—an administrative ruling mechanism based on autonomous self-governing religious communities—provided the Jews the necessary jurisdictional means to run their internal affairs, such as legal matters and education. Despite its multicultural and inclusive nature, the millet system required Jews and Christians to pay the jizyah (cizye) tax in return for protection and cultural autonomy.[9]

Compared to Christian Europe, Jews under Ottoman rule enjoyed relative tolerance and religious freedom, while their coreligionists in Europe faced constant persecution. Antisemitism was never embraced by the Ottoman authorities as a top-down, institutionalized policy.

The reign of Mehmed IV (1648-1687) was a notable exception. Although not driven by any top-down policy, his rule saw sporadic antisemitic incidents, triggered by the emergence of the false messiah Sabbatai Zevi. In 1665, Nathan of Gaza declared Zevi to be the messiah of the Jews, and the declaration rapidly gained widespread acceptance, establishing Zevi as a prominent religious figure.[10]

To tackle Zevi’s messianic claims—which posed theological and political challenges to his rule—the sultan had him arrested and brought to Istanbul. There he was given an ultimatum: renounce his messianic activities and convert to Islam or be executed. Zevi chose conversion and was renamed Aziz Mehmed Efendi.[11]

Zevi’s most devoted disciples followed him and converted to Islam. This gave rise to the creation of the mysterious Sabbatian movement known as the Dönme(converts). The community’s dual identity—practicing Islam in public while adhering to Judaism secretly at home—fueled suspicions and prejudice and led to the Dönmeh’s pejorative portrayal as “Crypto Jews.” Unsurprisingly, the emergence of this pseudo-Muslim sect of Jewish origin became a source of antisemitism in the Ottoman context.[12]

Since their emergence, the Dönme have been blamed for numerous pivotal events in Ottoman and Turkish history. The most well-known accusation concerns the alleged role of the Dönme in the 1909 Young Turk revolution. According to antisemitic conspiracy theories, the Dönme orchestrated the political plot that led to the deposition of Sultan Abdülhamit II. Building on this narrative, some anti-secular conspiracy theorists went so far as to portray key founders of the Turkish Republic—including its founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk[13]—as crypto Jews.[14]

Türkay Salim Nefes, in his article “The History of the Social Constructions of Dönmes,” identifies core recurring motifs in the conspiracy theories surrounding the Dönme. These narratives portray the Dönme as a secretive elite with a hidden malicious agenda, occupying key positions of power in Turkey and working to destabilize the country from within through collaboration with foreign powers.[15]

With the collapse of the pluralist, multiethnic Ottoman Empire and the rise of the monist Turkish nation-state, non-Muslim ethnic groups lost their autonomous position. The new centralist, unitary nation-state sought to assimilate all other identities into the dominant Turkish-Muslim identity.

In the early years of the republic in the 1920s, Jews became victims of antisemitism due to their refusal to assimilate into the dominant Turkish-Muslim identity. Their continued use of the Ladino language or French, rather than adopting Turkish as their mother tongue, was interpreted and portrayed as a sign of ingratitude to the Ottomans, who had given them refuge from the Spanish Inquisition in 1492.[16]

In addition, anti-minority sentiment rooted in the Turkish War of Independence played a crucial role in shaping Turkish perceptions of the Jews. During the war, the Turkish resistance movement under Mustafa Kemal encountered disloyalty from non-Muslim Ottoman citizens—primarily Greeks and Armenians– Although the Jewish community did not formally collaborate with the occupation forces, its non-Muslim identity led to the Jews being associated with the Greeks and Armenians. In other words, they were seen as potential traitors.

Following the Turkish War of Independence in 1923, the public image of the Jews deteriorated further, as reflected in contemporary Turkish humor magazines. The symbolic Jewish couple, Salamon and Rebeka, were portrayed in an overtly negative fashion—similar to the antisemitic Nazi caricatures of the period. Salamon is depicted as a shady, hook-nosed, miser, obsessed with money and speaking Turkish with a heavy “Jewish” accent.[17]

The spread of antisemitic Nazi propaganda through Turkish tabloids such as Orhun and Milli İnkılap played a significant role in fueling antisemitism in Turkey. Under the editorship of Nihal Atsiz, Orhun positioned itself as a platform for Turkish cultural revival and Pan-Turkism and adopted a virulent antisemitic stance. A prominent nationalist and ideologue, Atsız viewed Jewish assimilation as a threat and wrote extensively against the Turkification of the Jews, advocating for the preservation of Turkish purity.

A similarly aggressive but even more virulent approach was taken by Milli İnkılap (National Revolution), edited by Cevat Rifat Atilhan. A former Ottoman intelligence officer who had operated against the early Jewish Zionist espionage network NILI during World War I in Ottoman Palestine, Atilhan emerged as a central figure in promoting antisemitism in the early years of the Turkish Republic.[18]

In 1933, at the invitation of Julius Streicher, the editor of the notorious Nazi weekly tabloid Der Stürmer, Atilhan visited Nazi Germany. During his stay, he met with Adolf Hitler in person and received his blessing and support to conduct antisemitic press activity in Turkey. Later, in March 1934, he also participated in the “International Congress of the Enemies of Zionism, Communism and Free-Masonry” in Munich, where he was designated as the official Turkish representative.[19] Upon his return to Turkey, Atilhan modeled Milli İnkılap after Der Stürmer, translating antisemitic Nazi content from the German newspaper into Turkish. Echoing the German ‘stab-in-the-back’ myth, Milli İnkılâp claimed that “the Jews controlled the economy, commerce, and press, and were to blame for all of Germany’s misfortunes after 1918.”[20] Despite appeals by the Turkish Jewish community, the government turned a blind eye to Milli İnkılap’s antisemitic incitement.[21] During this period, the Jews were routinely depicted with derogatory stereotypes[22]such as “black marketeer, materialistic, merchant, opportunist, hook-nosed, dirty…”[23]

In retrospect, as prominent Turkish-Jewish historian Rıfat N. Bali observed in his article “Antisemitism in Turkey: A New Phenomenon or More of the Same?” there is no doubt that this atmosphere contributed significantly to the antisemitic environment that later gave rise to the infamous Thrace Pogroms (1934) and the imposition of the anti-minority Wealth Tax policy (1942).[24]

Following World War II and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Atilhan’s brand of Turkish antisemitism underwent a transformation. In addition to the racial, ethnic-based Nazi-style antisemitism he had championed, Atilhan now portrayed the existence of the Jewish state as a threat to the Turkish-Islamic world. In line with this new approach, he began to engage with Turkish-Islamist intellectual circles. Starting in 1946 he began contributing articles to the Islamist magazine Sebilürreşad. His influence was immediately apparent: in an article he penned, the editor of Sebilürreşad, Eşref Edip, named the Jews, Freemasons, missionaries and communists as the most important threats against the Turkish state.[25]

Similar antisemitic rhetoric was found in Büyük Doğu (The Grand Orient) magazine published and edited by the prominent Islamist intellectual Necip Fazıl Kısakürek. Büyük Doğu positioned itself as a counterweight to Western materialism, advocating instead for Eastern spiritualism—namely Islam—and aiming to transform the secular Turkish republic into a conservative Islamist state. In 1946, three years after the magazine came out, it republished The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in serial form.[26] As can be seen from his editorial policy, like Atilhan, Kısakürek was also a sworn antisemite. He regarded the Jews as the enemy of national, intellectual, and spiritual cohesion, depicting them as a treacherous and sneaky entity, seeking to destroy Turkish identity from within. He rejected the idea of Jewish assimilation into Turkishness.[27] In his works, Kısakürek sought to justify his antisemitic views by portraying the Jews as solely responsible for introducing Westernization and Europeanization into Ottoman society. Moreover, he accused the Jews of lending money to the empire at usurious rates and thus held them responsible for its financial collapse. In sum, he viewed the Jews as germs who infiltrated the veins of humanity and tagged them as the source of all the calamities of the modern age.[28]

Considering this shared antisemitic background, Atilhan’s decision to join Büyük Doğu as deputy editor in 1950 was not surprising and should be seen as an ideological alliance.[29] Atilhan’s various works—including Zionism and the Threat Posed to Islam (1950), Hear, O Turk, Here Is Your Enemy (1959), and How the Jews Invade the World (1962)—exemplify his efforts to amalgamate antisemitism within Turkish-Islamic conservatism—a fusion that was in complete harmony with Kısakürek’s worldview.[30]

Although their partnership came to an end in 1952 due to personal rivalries,[31] the antisemitic teachings of Atilhan and Kısakürek continued to be influential in Turkish Islamist and conservative circles.

The Impact of Antisemitism on Turkish Politics

Parallel to his intellectual pursuits, Atilhan was also active in politics. From 1945 until 1947, he was a member of Nuri Demirağ’s conservative National Development Party (Milli Kalkınma Partisi, MKP), where he shaped its Pan-Islamist, anti-NATO foreign policy doctrine.[32] In 1947, building on that experience, he launched his short-lived Turkish Conservative Party (Türkiye Muhafazakar Partisi, TMP), which, like the MKP, adopted a Pan-Islamist foreign policy based on Turkish-Arab brotherhood.[33]

In 1951, Atilhan launched his own political party, the Islamic Democrat Party (İslam Demokrat Partisi, İDP). Its creation was perhaps Atilhan’s most important contribution to political Islam in Turkey. As its name suggests, the İDP was founded as a reaction to secularism. Like the MKP and the TMP, the party adopted Atilhan’s Pan-Islamist foreign policy doctrine. However, unlike its predecessors, Atilhan’s İDP explicitly identified Communism, Zionism, and what it called “other covert underground organizations”—such as the Free Masons and the Dönme —as enemies of the Turkish state and Islam.[34]

Initially, the İDP did not attract the attention of the Turkish liberals. However, later, when the party had established more than 150 branches across ten different provinces, the media—serving as the watchdog of the secular regime —began accusing Atilhan’s party of being a hub for reactionary Islamist activity. As expected, the secular republic proved intolerant of this anti-establishment political entity, and in 1952— only a year after its founding—the İDP was shut down by court order. The party’s antisemitic orientation was not cited as a reason for the ban.[35]

Following the ban on his political party Atilhan withdrew from politics and focused on his antisemitic, anti-Masonic, and Islamist writings, which were hugely influential on Turkish Islamist circles. A year after his death in 1967, the conservative National Turkish Students Union (Milli Türk Talebe Birliği, MTTB) held a public commemoration in his honor—an event that attested to this phenomenon.[36]

Beginning in 1965, under the successive leadership of Rasim Cinisli and İsmail Kahraman[37]—two nationalist-conservatist students—the MTTB underwent a radical transformation into an ethnoreligious conservative student union that excluded leftist students. The MTTB’s conservative-nationalist line was also on display in the student union’s April 1967 event, which hosted the anti-Communist pioneers of the Turkish-Islamic synthesis, Ibrahim Kafesoğlu and Muharrem Ergin. Kahraman’s speeches reflected this agenda,[38]with the young head of the MTTB calling for the abolishment of all organizations “whose roots originate outside of Turkey” —an unveiled message not only against Communist entities but also against Free Masons in Turkey.

The MTTB’s anti-Communist stance was also intertwined with antisemitism. While depicting Communism as a colonialist ideology that sought to exploit the Turkish proletariat, the MTTB further de-legitimized this ideology by referring to the Jewish roots of Karl Marx.[39] Its antisemitic narrative was also evident in the union’s public events during the late 1960s where the chant “Down with the Jewish imperialism” was among the most commonly heard slogans.[40]

Although the MTTB was only a student union and not a think tank, it was most probably influenced by the writings of Islamist intellectuals. In this regard, Necip Fazıl Kısakürek’s antisemitic critiques on Communism are worth evaluation. Kısakürek emphasized Marx’s Jewish identity and argued that he (Marx) attacked Judaism disingenuously. In other words, Kısakürek implied that Communism’s clash with Judaism was a pre-arranged deceptive contradiction. In his view, Communism and Capitalism were inventions of the same group —namely, the Jews. Consequently, for Kısakürek, the clash between East and West was nothing but a Jewish plot against the nations of the world.[41]

This antisemitic worldview saw Turkey as a microcosm in which the violent clashes between leftist and rightist factions in 1970s Turkey were orchestrated by none other than the Jews. Kısakürek’s close disciples, the Islamists and the far right, readily embraced this conspiracy theory. The widespread dissemination of Atilhan’s antisemitic writings and the broad circulation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion reprinted 28 times between 1971and 1980 —further fueled the rise of antisemitism across the country.[42]  

During this period, Necmettin Erbakan—the former head of the Turkish Union of Chambers—founded a new Islamist political movement called the National Outlook (Milli Görüş, MG). This political movement would give birth over time to six political parties. In chronological order, these were: the National Order Party (Milli Nizam Partisi, MNP), the National Salvation Party (Milli Selamet Partisi, MSP), the Welfare Party (Refah Partisi, RP), the Virtue Party (Fazilet Partisi, FP), the Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi, SP) and the New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah Partisi, YRP). As was the case with Atilhan’s İDP, four of these parties—the MNP, MSP, RP, and FP— were shut down by the Turkish judiciary for violating the secular principles of the Turkish Republic.

In 1970, following Atilhan’s İDP, Erbakan’s National Order Party became the second Islamist political party in Turkish history. From the outset, the party was embraced by Islamist intellectuals, including Eşref Edip, the antisemitic editor of Sebilürreşad and Necip Fazıl Kısakürek. The latter not only wrote the party’s manifesto by himself, [43] by himself, but later published it in his magazine Büyük Doğu.[44] This was considered as Kısakürek’s intellectual endorsement of the MNP.

In addition to backing from intellectuals, the MNP was also embraced by the MTTB, creating a sort of symbiotic relationship between these two entities. Undoubtedly, the harmony between the two stemmed from their ideological similarities. Both the MTTB and the MNP viewed Capitalism and Communism as Western (Jewish) ideologies that should be replaced by Islamic socio-economic development models. Antisemitism was another common denominator. According to prominent historian Rıfat N. Bali, Cevat Rifat Atilhan’s antisemitic publications had a significant influence on the thinking of both MNP and MTTB supporters. Bahri Zengin, a close political associate of Erbakan, also attested to the lasting impact of Atilhan’s publications on the Milli Görüş (MG) parties.[45] Journalist Tekin Erer, writing for the Son Havadis newspaper, also highlighted MNP’s antisemitic identity, describing it as “the Nazi Party in Ankara.”[46]  

Antisemitism’s Promotion by the National Outlook Movement

Indeed, antisemitism and the Israel hatred inherited from Atilhan and Kısakürek’s ideas constituted the ideological backbone of the successive MG parties. This trend can easily be tracked through the Milli Gazete (National Newspaper), the unofficial mouthpiece of the MG movement. Since its establishment in 1973, the newspaper has amalgamated antisemitism and anti-Zionism into MG’s daily propaganda. This consistent hate speech against Jews is in stark contrast to the official editorial principles of the newspaper, which state in their first article that:

No one should be condemned or humiliated due to their race, gender, age, health condition, disability, social status, or religious beliefs.[47]

An examination of the content of Milli Gazete shows plainly that the paper is not bound to its so-called principles when it comes to the Jews. In 1992 the newspaper recommended The Protocols of the Elders of Zion to its readers, describing it as “a very useful book to understand the Jewish reality.”[48] The newspaper has continued to embrace an agenda driven by the Protocols.

In 1996, Milli Gazete had Gary Allen’s controversial antisemitic book None Dare Call It Conspiracy translated into Turkish as Who Runs the World? The Secret World State (Dünyayı Kimler Yönetiyor? Gizli Dünya Devleti). It then gifted the book to its readers as a “service of culture.”[49] Allen’s book claims to expose a hidden agenda behind global political and economic events, accusing an elite group whom he referred to as “insiders” of manipulating daily politics to consolidate power in their hands. According to Allen, most of the bankers —and pawnbrokers—in the world are Jewish As such, he portrays Jews as the “core insiders” among global elites. In his view, various institutions, politicians, and financial figures are aligned in advancing what he sees as the ultimate objective of Zionism: global domination.

None Dare Call It Conspiracy highlighted the Bilderberg Group, founded in 1954, as one of the most important instruments of this “Jewish world domination” theory. The group’s exclusive elitist nature and its desire to influence world politics by acting as a global governance platform played into the hands of conspiracy theorists like Allen and the membership of influential Jewish families like the Rothschilds bolstered these accusations.[50]

Within the Islamist Milli Görüş (MG) movement, Allen’s book was regarded as a “reliable” source for explaining the fundamentals of world politics and frequently used for propaganda purposes. Milli Gazete’s February 26, 2024, coverage of the death of Baron Lord Jacob Rothschild is a potent example. Consistent with the conspiratorial narrative of Allen’s book, Milli Gazete depicted Lord Rothschild as an evil, mysterious, wealthy Jewish businessman responsible for triggering global conflicts and pandemics, including COVID-19. Thus, the newspaper had no problem celebrating his death and calling for him to be held accountable and judged before God for his so-called crimes. Obviously, for Milli Gazete, Lord Rothschild’s unequivocal support for “Zionist Israel” was his greatest offense, leading the newspaper to label him as “one of the most senior perpetrators of occupation and oppression in Palestine.”[51]  

Similar to Allen’s modus operandi of seeking to explain global power politics through mysterious conspiratorial narratives, Necmettin Erbakan sought to interpret unpleasant historical events in Ottoman and Turkish history through antisemitic and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories. Central to his worldview were two pivotal events: the deposition of Sultan Abdülhamid II and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. According to Erbakan, these two remarkable events were the direct outcomes of decisions supposedly taken by the First Zionist Congress in 1897, headed by Theodore Herzl in Basel.[52]

To support his conspiracy theories, Erbakan identified Emmanuel Carasso, a Jewish member of the Ottoman parliament representing the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) as the chief architect of these plots. According to Erbakan Carasso and his Zionist associates were responsible for the annulment of Sultan Abdühamid II, the outbreak of the Balkan Wars, and even the First World War.[53]

He further claimed that the infamous Treaty of Sèvres —the so-called peace agreement signed in 1920 after World War I, and which paved the way for the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire —was also plotted by the Zionists. According to Erbakan, the French and the British military occupations in the entire Middle East, stretching from Southeast Turkey to Trans-Jordan and Palestine had only one objective: to establish a Jewish state. Consequently, in Erbakan’s eyes, the Turkish War of Independence was not just a struggle for national sovereignty but a battle against the attempt to create a Greater Israel.[54]

Erbakan’s antisemitism did not end with the Turkish victory in the war of independence. He alleged that clandestine Jewish plots continued under the new Turkish Republic and that the last Chief Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, Haim Nahum, who served as an advisor to the Turkish delegation to the Lausanne peace talks with the allies, deliberately undermined Islam’s status within the new republic. Erbakan portrayed Nahum as a fifth column figure who aimed to undermine the Turkish economy and diminish Islam’s role in the Turkish state mechanism.[55]

Erbakan saw Nahum as a disguised hostile force who sought to starve the Turkish people, create unemployment, and enslave them with debts, with the aim of alienating the Turkish people from Islam. He labeled this incremental strategy as the “Haim Nahum Doctrine,” which he saw as a Zionist plot aimed at ultimately severing Turkey from the Pan-Islamic front against Israel —which was only founded 25 years after the Lausanne Conference.[56] The chronological gap, which would seem to invalidate his conspiracy theory, did not trouble Erbakan. Convinced that the Jews were the masters of long-term planning, he saw no contradiction in linking the so-called Haim Nahum Doctrine to the creation of Israel in 1948.

In line with this worldview, other negative socio-political incidents in recent Turkish history, such as the February 28, 1997, military intervention[57] and the deterioration of the Turkish economy, were also attributed to Zionist actions in general and the Haim Nahum Doctrine in particular. [58]

As the main newspaper of the Milli Görüş political parties, Milli Gazete continued to serve as the primary platform for disseminating antisemitic and anti-Zionist propaganda. Milli Gazete and other similar newspapers and media outlets have consistently intertwined antisemitism and anti-Zionism, making them inseparable. In this context, the so-called “Oded Yinon Plan” and its portrayal as the next phase of the Haim Nahum Doctrine is remarkable.

The Oded Yinon Plan was in fact nothing but an op-ed article penned by Oded Yinon—a former advisor to the Israeli prime minister and former official with the Israeli Foreign Ministry—in February 1982, published in the Hebrew journal Kivunim (Directions). Despite not occupying any official governmental position and expressing solely his own ideas, due to his resume, Yinon’s public domain article titled “A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s” was portrayed by the Islamists as a blueprint for spreading chaos in the Middle East.[59]

As a strategist who concentrated solely on Israel’s national security, Yinon developed numerous strategies regarding Israel’s hostile neighbors. Unsurprisingly, his article focused on strategies to safeguard Israel’s survival by weakening hostile Arab states, including through promoting their fragmentation. Notably, the article’s section on Egypt completely contradicted Israel’s official policy, reflecting the fact that Yinon regarded the 1978 Camp David Accords as a strategic mistake.[60]

Nonetheless, anti-Israel circles, and particularly Milli Gazete, chose to portray Yinon’s article as the grand strategy of the Jewish state to bring chaos and destruction to the Middle East. For them, the so-called Yinon Plan remains an active threat and seeks to influence the current strategic balance in the Middle East.

A Milli Gazete article titled “Zionism Determines Whom Muslims Should Be Enemies Of” also reflects this conspiracy-tinted worldview. Accordingly, Israel, the United States and even Great Britain are held responsible for everthat without unrest in the Muslim world—including the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in Iran—as part of a scheme to occupy large portions of land throughout the Middle East.[61] By depicting these three states as architects of chaos and imperialism, Milli Gazete seeks to create the impression that without their interference in the Middle East, such incidents would never have occurred. [62]      

Referring to Yinon’s article and renaming it “Greater Israel: The Zionist Plan for the Middle East,” Milli Gazete openly accused Israel and the United States of orchestrating terrorist attacks against Turkey that took place in November 2022. The newspaper further accused Yinon and the Jewish state of seeking to dismantle Turkey along ethnic and Islamic sectarian fault lines. Israel and the United States—allegedly controlled by World Jewry—were portrayed as the masterminds behind the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, (PKK) which is designated a terrorist entity by the U.S.,  as well as other terrorist groups operating against Turkey.[63] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s address at the “Great Palestine Rally” held at Istanbul’s former Atatürk Airport on October 28, 2023, where he openly accused the U.S. and Israel of providing arms and financial support to the PKK and other terror organizations, demonstrated his agreement with this narrative.[64]

In relation to the Yinon Plan and the argument centered on “occupying large portions of land,” another notable example is the “Promised Land Vision” conspiracy theory. As Gary Allen’s conspiracy-driven book presents this idea as a core tenet of Zionism, it is unsurprising that Turkish Islamists frequently invoke this concept.

Accordingly, Israel, supposedly driven by Zionism’s “theological imperialism,” is accused of seeking to expand its territories from the Euphrates to the Nile. This geographical region includes vast territories torn from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and even Turkey. Consequently, Israel is portrayed not only as a threat to the Arab World but also as a national security threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity.[65]

The Rise of Erdoğan and Its Impact on Turkish-Jewish Relations

The rise of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002 marked a significant shift in Turkish politics, with both domestic and foreign policy implications. Following Erdoğan’s consecutive election victories and success in diminishing the influence of the Turkish Armed Forces in the country’s politics, his administration increasingly adopted a more Islamist political identity, at times accompanied by populist nationalist rhetoric.

Erdoğan’s primary motive for adopting such rhetoric was to rally domestic support by appealing to nationalist sentiments. Predictably, his main targets were the nation-states associated with Turkey’s non-Muslim minority groups, i.e., Armenia, Greece and Israel. By consistently portraying these countries as adversaries, Erdoğan was able to boost his popularity to an unprecedented degree.

Jews were portrayed in negative, even conspiratorial terms. This trend had in fact already begun following the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000 and the infamous Durban Conference the following year, which sparked antisemitic sentiments across the globe. These events marked a pivotal moment in the relationship between Israel and many Muslim-majority countries, including Turkey. The violence and global media coverage of the conflict led to an increase in anti-Israeli sentiment, which spilled over into Turkish public discourse. Turkish media, even though it is often highly polarized, amplified this sentiment by frequently highlighting the violence in the Palestinian territories and framing the actions of the Israeli government in highly critical terms. The ensuing backlash against Israel affected Turkish Jews, who were increasingly viewed as representatives of the Israeli state, even though the vast majority of them did not even hold Israeli citizenship.

This negative atmosphere was further exacerbated when Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler’s infamous manifesto, was translated into Turkish and became a bestseller in the country after being published in 2005 by thirteen different publishers. According to reports in the Turkish media, the book was popular among nationalist circles and police academy cadets.[66]

Despite the above, the Erdoğan administration has maintained a complex relationship with the Turkish Jewish community. On the one hand, it has promoted “anti-Israeli” sentiment, but on the other, it has continued to provide support for the Turkish Jewish community.

The Mavi Marmara affair in 2010 further complicated Turkey’s relationship with Israel and, by extension, with the Jewish community. During an attempt by a flotilla organized by the Turkish IHH organization to break the blockade of Gaza, activists attacked Israeli forces with metal rods and pistols, leaving them with no choice but to neutralize nine of them. The incident led to widespread anti-Israel protests in Turkey, many of which featured antisemitic slogans and imagery. The Turkish government condemned Israel’s actions and public rhetoric increasingly conflated the policies of the Israeli government with the Jewish community. The incident exacerbated existing tensions and triggered a resurgence of antisemitic attitudes in Turkish media and public discourse.

Inevitably, Erdoğan’s harsh criticism of the Jewish state, framed in Islamist ideology, raised Turkish public awareness of Jerusalem. Israel’s capital holds a unique place in Turkish political discourse due to its religious and historical significance in both Muslim and Christian traditions — as well as being a city of pivotal importance in Jewish history. Under Erdoğan, Turkey has been vocal in opposing Israeli policies on Jerusalem, particularly with regard to matters related to the Temple Mount. The Turkish government’s stance on Jerusalem, emphasizing its importance to the Muslim world and its opposition to Israeli sovereignty over the city, has at times led to expressions of antisemitic sentiment in Turkish media and society.

Though some Turkish NGOs, such as Kara Kutu, SEHAK and TGV, have sought to combat antisemitism and raise awareness against this hate crime through their publications, these efforts remained limited compared to the broader public discourse.[67] Likewise, the European Union and the United States, due to geopolitical and realpolitik calculations, have been  ineffective in criticizing the Turkish government for failing to address antisemitism.

Demonstrators in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, June 8, 2024
Demonstration in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, June 8, 2024. Photo credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire.

The War in Gaza and the Sharp Increase in Antisemitism

The Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, led to the war in Gaza and the collapse of Israeli-Turkish normalization. Moreover, the war created a very suitable environment for the Turkish president to express his thoughts on Israel. In two separate public addresses he delivered in November 2023,[68] Erdoğan openly labeled Israel a national security threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity due to its so-called “Promised Land Vision.”[69]

Only three days after Erdoğan’s second address on this alleged “Promised Land” threat, Zafer Şahin penned an article in Milliyet titled “It Is Located Within the Lands of the Promised Land! Behind the Scenes of Israel’s Silent Occupation of Cyprus.” In his article, Şahin not only upgraded the imaginary map of the “Promised Land” to include Cyprus but also accused Israelis, and Jews with other nationalities, of launching a “silent occupation” of the island through land and real estate purchases.[70]

Following Şahin’s article, pro-government newspapers Sabah and Türkiye launched an antisemitic campaign in which they claimed that by purchasing land and private property on the island, international Jewry and Israel were seeking to turn the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) into “a second Palestine.”[71] Despite the absurdity of the claims TRNC President Ersin Tatar said that he could not ignore the allegations and would take necessary measures by enacting new laws to eliminate this supposed “threat” to Turkish sovereignty on the island.[72] Despite Tatar’s harsh warnings, no official measures were ultimately taken.  

Although this wave of allegations seemingly began with Şahin’s article, it was in fact the continuation an antisemitic campaign launched by Milli Gazete ten months earlier. In retrospect, Şahin hijacked public outrage against Israel triggered by the war in Gaza and merely reproduced the conspiracy theories circulated by Milli Gazete.

To justify its antisemitic allegations about Israeli and Jewish land and real estate purchases in Cyprus, Milli Gazete invoked a mysterious and sophisticated narrative that delved into Ottoman history to claim that Jewish interest in the island is not a new phenomenon but dates to the days of the prominent 16th-century Ottoman-Jewish diplomat and statesman Don Joseph Nasi, who served as an advisor to Suleiman the Magnificent. Milli Gazete accused Nasi of being “the first Zionist in the world” as he had sought to turn Cyprus into a safe haven for Jews. The article went on to highlight that Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th-century British prime minister of Jewish origin as having sought to realize Nasi’s agenda of settling Jews in Cyprus.[73]

Continuing this narrative, Milli Gazete depicted every Jewish or Israeli purchase of land or real estate as a “sneaky plan” to buy out the entire island. An application for the construction of a new synagogue[74] and the purchase of 25,000 dunams of land were portrayed as initial steps in this alleged “occupation.”[75] The newspaper portrayed Israelis and the Jews as a national security threat not only to mainland Turkey but also to the TRNC.

It escalated its claims even further by implying that a land purchase in the village of Alaniçi, near the Turkish Armed Forces’ Geçitkale UAV air base, was intended to create a safe zone to launch covert Israeli intelligence missions against the Turkish military.[76]   

Accusations of covert Israeli intelligence operations were not limited to Cyprus. In the aftermath of two consecutive devastating earthquakes on February 6, 2023, an Israeli humanitarian aid rescue team saved the lives of nineteen Turkish citizens trapped under the rubble.[77] Despite their visible success on the ground, due to their affiliation with the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command, the team became the target of conspiracy theories on social media[78] accusing its members of being intelligence officers sent to Turkey to map and gather sensitive information. Although these accusations were eventually forgotten, they resurfaced following the outbreak of the Gaza war. On January 27, 2024, the Haber 7 news website —considered a pro Justice and Development Party (AKP) mouthpiece —revived the issue, implying that intelligence gathered from the disaster zone could be used against Turkey due to Erdoğan’s critical stance against Israel.[79]

As antisemitism surged following the outbreak of the Gaza war, Turkish Jews were subjected to hostile rhetoric. The Islamist daily Yeni Akit, known for its antisemitic tendencies, targeted Turkish Jews—partucularly those holding dual Turkish-Israeli citizenship. The newspaper urged the Turkish government to enforce Law 5901 to revoke the citizenship of “Zionist citizens of Turkey” who had allegedly joined the ranks of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to fight Hamas. Although the campaign targeted Jews with Israeli citizenship, the language employed by the newspaper sought to portray all Turkish Jews as natural collaborators with the State of Israel.[80]  

In a similar vein, Doğru Haber, a newspaper that serves as the unofficial mouthpiece of the Kurdish-Islamist-religious Free Cause Party (Hür Dava Partisi – HÜDA PAR —aka Hizbullah) announced that the party planned to introduce a parliamentary bill to revoke the citizenship of Turkish Jews who had enlisted with the IDF. The proposed bill also called for life imprisonment for these individuals and confiscation of their property, with their assets to be transferred to the Turkish Treasury’s “family fund.”[81] On July 9, 2024 the bill formally passed the first vote in  Turkish parliament.[82] Although it is still pending two more votes to become law, it has generated anxiety among members of the Jewish community. In the past such statements would never have been taken seriously by the local Jewish community. However, due to HÜDA PAR’s official affiliation with the ruling AKP-led “People’s Alliance” (Cumhur İttifakı) coalition government, such rhetoric can no longer be ignored.

Banalization of the Holocaust and demonization of Israel is another important facet of the disturbing rhetoric emanating from government circles. President Erdoğan’s December 27, 2023, statement equating Adolf Hitler with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is perhaps the most striking example of this phenomenon.[83] This was not the first time that Erdoğan had made such comparisons. In 2018, he called Israel the “most fascist, racist state” and compared its leaders to Hitler.[84] In retrospect, this vitriol did not stop the Turkish president from mending his fences with Israel, as he did officially in March 2022.

In fact, Israel was not the only country Erdoğan accused of Nazism. In 2017, during the presidential referendum campaign, the Turkish president openly accused Germany of Nazis practices after authorities there refused his request to hold mass rallies in German cities. [85] That same month, Dutch authorities denied a similar request, Erdoğan did not hesitate to label the Dutch government as “Nazi remnants.”[86] In March 2020, the Turkish president once again banalized the Holocaust, comparing the use of force by Greek border security officers to prevent illegal mass immigration over the border with Turkey with “Nazi atrocities.”[87]  

Erdoğan’s trivialization of the Holocaust enabled the Turkish press to adopt the same problematic rhetoric. The Turkish government’s official news channel TRT Haber, accused Israel of imitating the methods of Nazi Germany, such as mass killings, food deprivation, and setting up concentration camps.[88] Similarly, the leading pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak contributed to the “literature” by coining the derogatory term “ZioNazi” (Siyonazi in Turkish) — an amalgam of the words “Nazi” and Zionist.”[89] Finally, the once well-respected Turkish newspaper Milliyet renamed Gaza as “Gazzeschwitz” (Gazze being the Turkish name for Gaza).[90]

Antisemitism: The “New Normal” in Turkey

Although antisemitism was never a deeply ingrained sociological phenomenon in Turkey and was once confined to the radical segments of society, it has now become a widespread sociological anomaly.

The three main factors —the emergence of Dönmein the Ottoman Empire; the Jews’ reluctance of to assimilate into the dominant Turkish identity during the early days of the republic, and the repercussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—constitute the backbone of this hatred.

Before 1948, antisemitism in Turkey was mostly shaped by anti-minority sentiments and the influence of Nazi propaganda. Like other non-Muslim groups living in Turkey, the Jews were viewed as potential traitors. Moreover, their preservation of their Jewish identity and unwillingness to fully assimilate into Turkishness, combined with the spread of Nazi propaganda, largely driven by the efforts of Cevat Rifat Atilhan, fueled the growth of antisemitism. In this context, the emergence of antisemitic magazines, such as Atilhan’s Milli İnkılap, significantly contributed to the expansion of antisemitism.

In the aftermath of the foundation of the State of Israel, due to Turkey’s engagement with Pan-Islamist ideals, this Nazi-style, anti-minority reflex-originating antisemitism evolved into a vivid, widespread sociological phenomenon.

Apart from Atilhan, who blended his own antisemitism with Islamism, other Islamist intellectuals such as Eşref Edip and especially Necip Fazıl Kısakürek influenced the masses. Their influence was particularly evident within the conservative Islamist student union, the National Turkish Student Union (MTTB). Unsurprisingly, having been influenced by these antisemitic Islamist ideologues, the MTTB formed a symbiotic relationship with Erbakan’s Islamist Milli Görüş, MG-oriented political parties that can be seen as the successors to Atilhan’s first Islamist political party, the Islamic Democratic Party (İDP).   

Having also received the political blessing of Kısakürek, Erbakan’s first political party, the National Order Party (Milli Nizam Partisi, MNP) and its unofficial newspaper, Milli Gazete, became the flag bearers of Turkish-Islamist political antisemitism. As Milli Gazete openly adopted and promoted Gary Allen’s antisemitic conspiracy theory-based book on world politics, Erbakan and his other MG comrades used antisemitic conspiracy theories to explain local political incidents.

In this regard, the serious accusations against the Ottoman-Jewish member of parliament Emmanuel Carasso, along with the so-called “Haim Nahum Doctrine” and “Oded Yinon Plan” formed the backbone of this hateful worldview for decades.

The Gaza war and the collapse of Israeli-Turkish normalization further amplified the influence of these conspiracy theories, embedding them as an inseparable part of Turkish public discourse. President Erdoğan’s statements on the so-called “Promised Land Vision” conspiracy theory—framing Israel as a national security threat to Turkey’s territorial integrity—reflect the enormous impact of this antisemitic-based worldview on the current Turkish leadership. In fact, given the “teacher-student relationship” between Erbakan and Erdoğan, the Turkish president’s deeply ingrained hostility toward Israel is hardly surprising.

Without doubt, Erdoğan’s open adoption of these controversial views also paved the way for the emergence of additional conspiracy theories. The so-called “silent occupation of Cyprus” and the alleged “intelligence gathering operations in Cyprus and Turkey’s earthquake zones” are concrete examples. Beyond fueling antisemitism, Erdoğan’s statements comparing Israel with Nazi Germany further trivialized the Holocaust and demonized the Jewish state.

In conclusion, bearing in mind the above, after a long and gradual evolution, antisemitism in Turkey has reached an unprecedented peak. While in the early 1920s, antisemitism was confined to the margins of society, today, driven by the rise of political Islam and Erdoğan’s open support for Hamas, it has become a widespread, unapologetic, sociological phenomenon that permeates not only the radical segments of Turkish society but also its mainstream. Erdoğan’s March 30 Eid al-Fitr address at Istanbul’s Çamlıca Mosque, in which he asked God to wipe the Jewish state from the map, stands as the most recent and striking indicator of the current status of antisemitism in Turkey.[91]

Notes:


[1] “Working definition of antisemitism”, IHRA

[2]  Lipstadt, Deborah, (2019) Antisemitism: Here and Now

[3] Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2015-year Global Antisemitism Report

[4] “Defining antisemitism: Why anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism”, World Jewish Congress

[5] “Anti-Zionism” in Levy, S, Richard, Antisemitism A historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution

[6]  Betsy, Penso, “Antisemitism: The “New Normal” in Turkey”

[7] Antisemitism rises in Turkey during Israel-Hamas war, DW

[8] Nuh, Arslantaş, Yahudiler ve Türkler, pp.257-270

[9] Barkey, Karen and George Gavrilis, “The Ottoman Millet System: Non-Territorial Autonomy and its Contemporary Legacy”, pp.24-42

[10] Türkay Salim, Nefes, “Understanding Anti-Semitic Rhetoric in Turkey Through The Sevres Syndrome”

[11] Cengiz Şişman, “Sabatay Sevi”, in TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi,

[12] Yusuf Ziya, Bölükbaşı, “Türk Milliyetçiliğinde Antisemitizm: Hüseyin Nihal Atsız Yazıları Üzerine Bir İnceleme” pp.293-320

[13]Atatürk’ün Yahudi olduğunu açıkladığı bilgisinin yer aldığı iddia edilen kitap”, Teyit,

[14]  For More Details see: Soner Yalçın, Efendi: Beyaz Türklerin Büyük Sırrı, Istanbul: Kırmızı Kedi, 2019

[15] Nefes, Türkay Salim, “The History of the Social Constructions of Dönmes (Converts)*”

[16] Rıfat, Bali, “Antisemitism in Turkey: A New Phenomenon or More of the Same?”

[17] Ibid

[18]  Celil, Bozkurt, “Yahudi aleyhtarı bir derginin değerlendirilmesi: Milli İnkılap ve Kamuoyundaki Yankıları”, p.178

[19]  Celil, Bozkurt, Bir Yahudi Aleyhtarının Anatomisi: Cevat Rifat Atilhan, pp.102-119

[20] Alexandros Lamprou, “The journal İnkılâp and the appeal of antisemitism in interwar Turkey”, p.34

[21] Rıfat N. Bali, Bir Türkleştirme Serüveni, p.245

[22] Tanıl, Bora, Cereyanlar Türkiye’de Siyasi İdeolojiler, pp.383-387

[23] For More Details: See the cover of Milli İnkılap – July 15, 1934, Number:6, @muradcobanoglu, X

[24] Rıfat, Bali, “Antisemitism in Turkey: A New Phenomenon or More of the Same? p.225

[25] Rıfat N Bali., Musa’nın Evlatları Cumhuriyetin Yurttaşları, pp. 272-273

[26] Ibid p.325

[27] Tanıl Bora, Cereyanlar Türkiye’de Siyasi İdeolojiler, pp.445-446

[28] Ergün Yıldırım, “Necip Fazıl’ın Siyasal İslamlaşma Yaklaşımı”

[29] Tanıl Bora, Cereyanlar Türkiye’de Siyasi İdeolojiler, pp.383-387

[30] Celil, Bozkurt “Bir Yahudi Aleyhtarının Anatomisi: Cevat Rifat Atilhan” pp.102-119

[31] Rıfat N. Bali, Musa’nın Evlatları Cumhuriyetin Yurttaşları, p.229

[32] Mustafa Murat Çay, Cevat Rifat Atilhan, Askeri, Siyasi ve Fikri Yönleriyle, pp.149-175

[33] Ibid pp.149-175

[34] Celil, Bozkurt, “Türk Siyasetinde İslam Demokrat Partisi ve Kamuoyundaki Yankıları”, pp.85-86

[35] Celil Bozkurt, “Bir Yahudi Aleyhtarının Anatomisi: Cevat Rifat Atilhan”, pp.115-116

[36] Ibid, p.109

[37] Between 2015-2018, as a Justice and Development Party (AKP) affiliated member of parliament, Kahraman served as the speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

[38] Emine Öztürk, “Milli Türk Talebe Birliğinde değişen milliyetçilik anlayışı ve anti-komunizm (1965-1971)” pp.116-125

[39] Onur Türkölmez, “Türkiye’de Dindar Milliyetçiliğin oluşum süreci: Milli Türk Talebe Birliği örneği”, p.43

[40] Emine Öztürk, “Milli Türk Talebe Birliğinde değişen milliyetçilik anlayışı ve anti-komunizm (1965-1971)”, pp.116-125

[41] Ergün Yıldırım, “Necip Fazıl’ın Siyasal İslamlaşma Yaklaşımı” p.482

[42] Rıfat N., Bali, Musa’nın Evlatları Cumhuriyetin Yurttaşları, pp.325-326

[43]Milli Nizam Partisi kuruluş beyannamesi”, TBMM Kütüphanesi

[44] MNP’nin bildirisini Necip Fazıl kaleme almıştı, Türkiye Yazarlar Birliği

[45] Rıfat N Bali., Musa’nın Evlatları Cumhuriyetin Yurttaşları, p.293  

[46] Ibid, p.280

[47]Yayın İlkeleri”, Milli Gazete

[48] Rıfat N. Bali, Musa’nın Evlatları Cumhuriyetin Yurttaşları, p.336

[49] Ibid p.273

[50] Gary Allen, Gizli Dünya Devleti (Istanbul, Milli Gazete)

[51] “Sömürü düzenin bir numarası Rothschild öldü: Şimdi hesap zamanı”, Milli Gazete,

[52] Talip Tuğrul, “Milli Görüş Hareketinin Temel Karakterleri”, p.638

[53] “Erbakan Her Türk Evladının Bilmesi Gereken 3 Önemli Yahudi ve Haim Nahum Doktrini”, YouTube

[54] Ibid

[55] Ibid

[56] Ibid

[57] Bali, Rıfat N., Musa’nın Evlatları Cumhuriyetin Yurttaşları, p.275

[58] Elif Örs, “Nahum Doktrini Kaçıncı Seviyesinde?”, Milli Gazete

[59] Khan, Aftab Ahmad, (2015) “The Zionist Plan for the Greater Israel by dividing Middle East: Oded Yinon Plan”, pp.35-48.

[60] Yinon, Oded, “A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties”, Kivunim, A Journal for Judaism and Zionism

[61] “İran’daki olaylar ABD ve İsrail projesi”, Milli Gazete

[62] “Müslümanların kime düşman olması gerektiğini Siyonizm belirliyor”, Milli Gazete

[63] “Siyonist plan terörü körüklüyor”, Milli Gazete

[64] “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan: Gazze için kıyamdayız”, AA

[65] Gary Allen, Gizli Dünya Devleti, pp.31-33

[66] “Kavgam best-seller oldu”, Internet Haber, February 27, 2005

[67] “Commitment without borders – Antisemitizmi Önleme ve Holokost Eğitimi Kılavuzu”, TGV, Karakutu, KIGA, 2019

[68] “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’dan İsrail’e: Sabrımızı zorluyorlar”, TRT Haber

[69] “İşgalci İsrail, Türkiye için de tehdit”, Sabah

[70] Şahin, Zafer, “İsrail’in Kıbrıs’taki sessiz işgali”, Milliyet

[71] “SABAH’ın haberi büyük ses getirdi! KKTC’de sessiz siyonist işgale tepkiler artıyor”, Sabah

[72] “KKTC’de Yahudi istilasına karşı harekete geçildi! Yasal düzenlemeler yolda” Takvim

[73] “Madde madde açıklıyoruz… Kıbrıs, Siyonizm için neden önemli?”, Milli Gazete

[74] Akyel, Siyami, “Kıbrıs’ta Siyonist İşgal”, Milli Gazete

[75] “KKTC’de Adım adım işgal! Yabancıya taşınmaz mal izni”, Milli Gazete

[76] “İsrail, SİHA’larımızın dibinde konuşlandı!”, Milli Gazete

[77]  “IDF to conclude Operation Olive Branch after saving 19 lives in Turkey”, The Jerusalem Post

[78] @yzbprice_, X,  

[79] “İsrail’in yardım bahanesiyle Türkiye’yi haritalandırdığı ortaya çıktı!” Haber 7

[80] “Siyonist uşaklarını vatandaşlıktan atın”, Yeni Akit

[81] “HÜDA PAR Meclise teklif sunacak Gazze’de soykırıma karışanlar vatandaşlıktan çıkarılsın”, , Doğru Haber

[82] “HÜDA PAR’ın “soykırım” ile ilgili kanun teklifinin TBMM Genel Kurulu’nda görüşülmesi kabul edildi”, ILKHA

[83] “Turkey’s Erdogan says Netanyahu worse than Hitler, Israel running ‘Nazi camps’”, Times of Israel

[84] “Israel rebukes Turkey’s Erdogan over ‘Hitler’ comparison”, BBC

[85]  “Turkey’s Erdogan accuses Germany of ‘Nazism’ amid row over rallies”, Al-Monitor

[86] “Turkish President Erdogan Calls Dutch ‘Nazi Remnants’”, Foreign Policy 

[87] “Erdoğan likens Greek border crackdown to Nazi atrocities”, Guardian

[88] “İsrail Nazilerin adımlarını izliyor”, TRT Haber

[89] “Gururla paylaştılar: Siyonazi Kampı”, Yeni Şafak

[90] “Metrekareye 1,65 kişi! Auschwitz bile 5 kilometreydi”, Milliyet

[91] “Erdoğan’dan bayram namazı sonrası açıklamalar: “Rabbim siyonist İsrail’i kahru perişan eylesin!””, TGRT Haber

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Photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Picture of Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak

Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak is an expert on contemporary Turkish politics and foreign policy, Turkish-Israeli relations, and the Kurds. He is co-editor of Turkeyscope, a publication of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.

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