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

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly slammed the protest on the Neve Shalom synagogue by an ultra-nationalist group on July 22 who threw stones at the synagogue in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district, claiming response to the restrictions on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport before heading to Saudi Arabia, Erdoğan said rights violations in Jerusalem may never be grounds for Muslims to violate the rights of others. 
"It is not a part of our religion to defame the worship of people who belong to other religions," he said.

His remarks came after the Alperen Hearths, an ultranationalist 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 compound has led to a wave of anger among Palestinians, who called for the immediate removal of the devices.