When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is no different than Hitler and that Israeli attacks in Gaza are similar to the Nazi persecution of Jews during the Holocaust, he reflected the sentiments in his country where anti-Semitism is reaching record levels, Ynet reported.

Israeli flags have been placed on the floors of open-air markets throughout Turkey for people to step on as they enter stores. Signs saying Jews Not Allowed were plastered on the windows of stores in Istanbul and a giant poster with an antisemitic depiction of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with a swastika was hung in Ankara and an effigy of the Israeli prime minister was hung on a bridge in Eskişehir.

Signs in supermarkets call to boycott Israeli goods and drawings of gliders used by Hamas to attack southern Israel adorn the walls. The entrances to metro stations in Istanbul boast signs saying Murderer Israel.

Recent headlines in the daily newspaper Yeni Şafak newspaper, associated with the ruling party in Turkey, state: There Must Be An End To This Terrorist State, referring to Israel, The World Must Destroy This Virus, and Netanyahu Is The Butcher of Gaza.

Erdoğan has also escalated his rhetoric recently, stating that Israel’s vision of the “promised land” threatens Turkey’s territorial integrity, and therefore, Turkey’s defense begins in Gaza.

The Turkish president hinted that if Gaza falls, Israel will have the opportunity to expand its territory. The Sabh newspaper published a map seemingly presenting “Israel’s promised land,” which included northern Cyprus under Turkish control. Shortly after the maps were published, a campaign was launched to oppose the sale of land in northern Cyprus to Jews with slogans like “So as not to become a second Palestine” and “Advancing the law restricting the sale of land to Jews and Israelis.”

Turkey’s Islamist Hezbollah party, the Free Cause party which is part of the ruling coalition, recently proposed a bill to revoke Turkish citizenship from those who also hold Israeli passports and took part in the “genocide in Gaza.” According to the proposed law, their funds and properties would be frozen and transferred to the government. The proposal states, “If and when we can capture those citizens who participated in the genocide in Gaza, we will impose a life sentence on them.”

The bill is not expected to advance due to political disputes between the Free Cause party and Erdogan.

There are about 15,000 Jews currently living in Turkey.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)