Israel FM calls Erdogan ‘anti-Semitic dictator’

Israel’s foreign minister has accused Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being an “anti-Semitic dictator” after the Turkish president’s apparent call for the destruction of the Zionist state. Gideon Sa’ar claimed that Erdogan is “dangerous” for the region.

Following his visit to a mosque in Istanbul for the Eid Al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Erdogan said, “May Allah, for the sake of his name ‘Al-Qahhar’ [‘the Conqueror’], destroy and devastate Zionist Israel.” He also prayed that, “May we all, witnessing what is happening there [in Gaza], stay united, strong and resilient as brothers; may Allah keep our unity everlasting.”

🇹🇷🇮🇱Erdogan threatens Israel with divine punishment.

Leaving a mosque he visited at the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan, Erdogan said:

“We see what is happening in Palestine. May Allah destroy Zionist Israel in His holy name. We must see what is happening there.
Therefore,… pic.twitter.com/7I88VC1yhR

— Tony (@Cyberspec1) March 30, 2025

His comments were met with outrage by many within Israeli media and politics. Sa’ar said in Turkish on his X account that, “The dictator Erdogan has revealed his anti-Semitic face. As is clearly seen these days, Erdogan is dangerous both for the region and for his own people.” He added that, “We hope that the countries in the NATO alliance will understand this – and hopefully sooner rather than later.”

The incident was the latest in an ongoing diplomatic and verbal spat between Ankara and Tel Aviv in recent weeks — and more broadly, since Israel’s latest invasion and genocide in Gaza since October 2023 — with the Turkish foreign ministry having condemned Israeli air strikes in Lebanon on Friday.

“Those attacks,” said the ministry, “exposed Israel’s flagrant disregard for international law and its ongoing threat to the region’s security and stability. The international community must stand united against Israel’s efforts to create a perpetual state of conflict in the region.”

The Israeli foreign ministry then hit out at Erdogan on Saturday by accusing him of hypocrisy by preaching “lofty values to the international community” while “violently suppressing his own citizens and carrying out mass arrests of political opponents.”

READ: Is Europe ready to accept Turkiye’s defence of the continent?