Turkey's ultra-nationalist and Islamist group attack synagogue in İstanbul
As the crisis between Palestinians and Israelis over Al Aqsa Mosque escalated, members of the ultra-nationalist and Islamist Alperen Hearths of Turkey held a violent protest against Israel’s cancelling of Islamic Friday prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque after a clash between by Palestinians and Israel’s security forces around the mosque.
The Alperen group gathered in front of Neve Shalom Synagogue of İstanbul’s Beyoğlu district at evening hours on Thursday (July 20). Provincial head of the group, Kürşat Mican, referred to Israel as a ‘terrorist state’ and said ‘forcing Muslims to go through a security check before entering the mosque was harassment and forbidding Friday prayers to be held at Al-Aqsa Mosque was a blow on freedom of belief and religion’.
Threatening the Jewish community, Mircan continued: “We are holding a demonstration here. Zionists should pull themselves together. They should stop ban our Muslim brothers from practicing their right to worship. Just as you bar us from practicing our right to religion there (at Al-Aqsa), we will bar you from doing it here. Just as we are standing here today, we will also come tomorrow and you won’t be able to enter here!”
The group members threw stones at the synagogue building and kicked its door.
A picture showing this violent act was shared by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, which had also announced the plans for the protests before they had taken place.
After public reaction to AA’s way of reporting on the violent protest of the group, the Agency deleted its tweet.