Turkey's transformation under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan into a bastion of Palestinian advocacy and Israeli hostility has become impossible to ignore. Anyone walking through Istanbul's streets encounters a disturbing visual landscape – spray-painted portraits of Yahya Sinwar, the October 7 mastermind, Palestinian flags draped from buildings, and graffiti demanding Israel's annihilation.
This antisemitic spectacle pervades even traditionally opposition strongholds, where Hamas narratives have taken root with alarming success. The progression from legitimate criticism of Israeli policies to outright hatred and then to classical antisemitism represents a profound shift in Turkish society's discourse.
Turkish media outlets, particularly those aligned with Erdogan's government, have enthusiastically embraced this toxic environment. The antisemitic imagery they deploy draws from centuries-old prejudices. Notable illustrator Ibrahim Ozdaba, a prominent voice in Turkey's right-wing circles, recently published a cartoon depicting Israel as an octopus – a direct homage to traditional antisemitic caricatures portraying Jews as tentacled predators consuming the world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a particular target for these antisemitic attacks. One widely circulated cartoon, labeled "Netanyahudi," portrays the Israeli leader as a skull-clutching demon. Created by illustrator Erdogan Ozer, this image spread rapidly across Turkish social media platforms.
The antisemitic rhetoric has penetrated Turkey's media establishment at the highest levels. Ibrahim Karagul, a prominent columnist for the pro-government newspaper Yeni Şafak and influential political commentator, recently published his genocidal fantasies. "The time has come to destroy Israel. Geography is a weapon, and this weapon must be ignited now. Today it's Iran, tomorrow it's Turkey, or Pakistan," Karagul declared.
"Antisemitic discourse spans the entire political spectrum"
"The current hostility between Israel and Turkey, built on both ideological and geopolitical foundations, has amplified antisemitic currents that have long existed within Turkish society. Since October 7 especially, these antisemitic trends have gained unprecedented prominence," Dr. Assa Ophir, a Turkey specialist from Ariel University's Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Political Science, explained.
"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict's escalation has pushed anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment to unprecedented heights. Turkish audiences consume extremely graphic content on television, in newspapers, and across social media, disturbing images of wounded and killed Palestinians that Israeli audiences rarely encounter. Some videos and photographs appearing in mainstream Turkish media feature genuinely horrific visuals – corpses, burning victims, children with amputated limbs. Government-controlled Turkish television channels now routinely prefix Israel's name with derogatory labels like 'murderous Israel' or 'Zionist Israel' – the term 'Zionist' functioning as shorthand for evil in Turkish discourse," Dr. Ophir noted.
This phenomenon represents a comprehensive societal transformation, the expert emphasized. "Antisemitic discourse permeates virtually every segment of Turkey's political landscape, from left to right, varying in intensity and focus, ranging from the most extreme antisemitism advocating Jewish genocide and Israel's destruction, through traditional Christian-European antisemitism, to contemporary manifestations scholars classify as 'new antisemitism.'"
"The antisemitic themes are diverse and persistent – blood libel accusations about deliberate child murder, organ harvesting conspiracy theories, claims of Jewish control over global institutions and media, assertions that Zionism seeks to establish 'Greater Israel' stretching from the Euphrates to the Nile according to biblical prophecy, various conspiracy theories linking Freemasons and Jews, and blame for the Ottoman Empire's collapse and dissolution," Ophir concluded.
