Istanbul
– A group of Turkish ultra-nationalists on Thursday protested outside one of
the most significant synagogues in Istanbul to denounce Israel’s security
measures at the Temple Mount following a deadly attack last Friday that left
two Israeli police officers dead, the Dogan news agency said.
The
group from the Alperen Hearths, a far-right ultranationalist and Islamist youth
group, said in a statement read outside the Neve Salom synagogue in central
Istanbul that Israel was a “terror state” seeking to block freedom for worship
to Muslims.
“If you prevent our freedom of worship there then we will
prevent your freedom of worship here,” said the statement, read by the group’s
local chairman Kursat Mican.
The Foundation of the Turkish Chief Rabbinate — which looks
after the country’s small Jewish community mainly concentrated in Istanbul —
angrily criticized the protest.
“We
condemn the provocative action outside the Neve Salom synagogue tonight. We
expect that the relevant authorities will take the necessary measures,” it said
in a statement.
According
to Dogan, some protesters kicked the doors of the synagogue and threw stones.
They later dispersed.
