In moments when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks spontaneously instead of reading from a teleprompter, his true views come to light. This was evident at a press conference on Sunday in Rize, on the Black Sea.
It was supposed to be about the Turkish defense industry, but the Turkish president quickly got worked up: “We must be very strong so that Israel cannot do these things to the Palestinians. Just as we went to Karabakh, just as we went to Libya, we can do the same with them. There is nothing we cannot do.”
Erdogan knows no restraint
Hatred of Israel and Jews has always been a central pillar of Erdoğan’s politics. Even though he has repeatedly sought to get closer to Israel for strategic reasons over the past 20 years, his anti-Semitism and his support for the terrorist organization Hamas have always shone through.
Since October 7, there has been no holding back for Erdoğan. He has repeatedly glorified Hamas as a freedom movement, and the Turkish Religious Authority Diyanet, which is under his control, demonizes Israel.
Erdoğan’s threat to invade Israel should make it clear to our federal government and other NATO alliance partners: As soon as Erdoğan has the power and military means, he will turn his words into actions.
He not only portrays himself as the strong man at home with these bold statements, but also positions himself as the spearhead of anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel in the Muslim world. Erdoğan is not an autocrat who is crazy. He knows what he is saying, and he must be measured by those words.
Putin has also been ignored for too long
However, Erdoğan’s broad-shouldered appearance, whom our Federal President Steinmeier referred to as a “valued friend” a few weeks ago in Ankara, finds little echo in Berlin and the capitals of NATO member states.
We also ignored Putin for many years, even though he made no secret of what his political agenda is and what he intends to do. The rude awakening only came with the war of aggression against Ukraine. If we have truly learned a lesson from this, and if we take the turning point and state interests seriously, we cannot close our eyes to Erdoğan’s threats against Israel.
This is not only a foreign policy matter, but also relevant to domestic politics. For Erdoğan’s systematic incitement also sends messages to his followers here in Germany.
The author is the founder of the Alhambra Society – Muslims for a plural Europe.