A far-right ultranationalist and Islamist youth mob, linked with the Turkish AKP government, on Thursday protested outside one of the most significant synagogues in İstanbul to denounce Israel's bans at a sensitive holy site in annexed east Jerusalem.
"If you prevent our freedom of worship there then we will prevent your freedom of worship here," said the statement, read by the Alperen Hearths' local chairman Kürsat Mican.
They kicked the doors of the synagogue and threw stones. They later dispersed.
The synagogue usually has a heavy police guard. It was targeted by deadly attacks in 1986, and again in 2003, which was attributed to Islamists.
The Foundation of the Turkish Chief Rabbinate angrily criticised 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.
The unrest in Jerusalem and the West Bank was triggered by an escalating Israeli-Palestinian dispute over Israel's provocative decision to install metal detectors at a contested Jerusalem shrine. Palestinians say Israel's step is an attempt to encroach on their rights at the site. The Israeli police barred some male Muslims under the age of 50 from entering Jerusalem's Old City and Temple Mount for Friday prayers due to the threat of mass protests.
