22 July, 2017
The Turkish Jewish Community on Twitter called the incident Thursday night outside the Neve Shalom synagogue, where several dozen men gathered with anti-Israel signs, "intimidation and provocation", calling on authorities to make sure it "stops" and that the people responsible are prosecuted for a hate crime.
Turkey's Dogan news agency reported that the far-right ultranationalist and Islamist youth group Alperen Hearths demonstrated in front of the Neve Salom synagogue in central Istanbul, with some protesters kicking the door of the synagogue and throwing stones before being dispersed.
Indeed, Erdogan had recently called on Muslims from around the world to swarm to the Temple Mount in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin talked over the phone with Turkish President Recep Erdogan in a rare conversation between the two leaders over the escalating tensions around East Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque compound, APA reports quoting Xinhua. He added that the steps taken at Har Habayis were meant to ensure that such acts of terror could not be repeated, and that Israel was committed to safeguarding the lives of all the citizens who visited the holy places.
In a call to the Turkish president, albeit against the advice of Israel's Foreign Ministry, Rivlin slammed Erdogan for not denouncing last week's deadly terror attack on the Temple Mount.
The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry recommended that Rivlin shouldn't hold the conversation with Erdogan in light of Turkey's involvement in the incitement.
Earlier on Thursday, Erdogan spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who reportedly asked the Turkish leader to intervene in the conflict and help bring an end to the violence.
The site has become the site of violent clashes in the past.
"Israel was maintaining and would continue to maintain the status quo at the holy sites", the statement continued.
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