Turkey’s Erdogan tells Jewish leaders he wants to visit Israel

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told American Jewish leaders Monday that he plans to visit Israel, a gesture that advances Turkish-Israeli efforts to build diplomatic ties after 20 years of hostilities, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports.

Diplomatic relations between Israel and Islamic-majority Turkey were broken in 2010 when an Israeli commando raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara, part of a blockade-busting flotilla, resulted in the deaths of 10 Turkish activists.

However, the two countries announced last week they will resume full diplomatic ties, TOI reports. Indeed, Israel’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday it has appointed Irit Lillian, a senior diplomat who worked toward Israeli-Turkish reconciliation, as Israel’s next ambassador to Turkey – the first time anyone has held this role since 2018.

During his address in NYC Monday to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Erdogan also said that antisemitism is a “crime against humanity,” TOI reports.

While Erdogan did not give a date as to when he would visit Israel, he is slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on the sidelines at the UN: the first time the leaders of the two countries will meet since 2008.

Notably, Turkey has direct ties with the Hamas terrorist group, which controls Gaza, and has recently acted as an intermediary for Israel, TOI said.

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