Erdoğan slams attack on Neve Shalom synagogue, threats against Jews in Istanbul

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly slammed the attack on the Neve Shalom synagogue by an ultra-nationalist group. The group had claimed the protest was a response to the restrictions on the al-Aqsa mosque.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport before heading to Saudi Arabia on July 23, Erdoğan said rights violations in Jerusalem may never be grounds for Muslims to violate the rights of others. 

"We are members of a deeply rooted civilization that has provided peaceful coexistence to all religions, especially Jerusalem, for centuries. The violations of rights in Jerusalem should never be a reason for Muslims to violate the rights of others. Reactions must be measured in the framework of the law," he said.

Erdoğan also highlighted the importance of freedom of worship.

"To harm the freedom of worship of those who are members of other religions and their place of worship has no place in our society. Based on this understanding, we are putting forth efforts to ease the tensions in Jerusalem at once and for peace to return around Masjid al-Aqsa once again," he added.

His remarks came after the Alperen Hearths, an ultra-nationalist youth organization linked to the right-wing nationalist Great Union Party (BBP), gathered in front of the Neve Shalom synagogue and kicked and threw rocks at the building on July 20.

The setting up of metal detectors at the entrances of the al-Aqsa mosque has led to a wave of anger among Palestinians, who called for the immediate removal of the devices.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım also criticized the synagogue protest, calling for restraint.

"We are inheritors of a civilization that regards differences as richness without...