Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar issued a sharp response to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's remarks about Israel. Sa'ar said he considered Fidan's description of Israel as 'a burden humanity can no longer bear' a 'call for genocide'.
In an interview with CNN Türk on July 2, Hakan Fidan had said Israel had become 'the representative of humanity's common problems' and called on other countries to pressure the Jewish state.
In a written statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar said, 'Referring to a people as a 'problem for humanity' is a phrase familiar from nearly 100 years ago.' He added, 'The Jewish people know very well what happens when such words go unanswered. The first step on the road to genocide is dehumanization.'
Sinan Ciddi, director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), described Fidan's statement as 'one of the most disgusting remarks from a statesman since the Holocaust.' Ciddi noted that anti-Israel rhetoric in Turkey has persisted since 2008 and 'accelerated dramatically' after October 7.
Despite President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's condemnation of antisemitism in March, harsh rhetoric against Israel continued. Erdoğan had called Israelis 'murderers' in May 2021 and accused Israel of being a 'terror state' in May 2025.
According to a Pew Research Center survey in June, 91 percent of the public in Turkey views Israel 'very unfavorably'.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Turkey is a valued NATO ally and that they would continue to engage on all aspects of the relationship. Sinan Ciddi said there are many channels for the U.S. to warn Turkey over such rhetoric.
As the NATO summit in Ankara concluded, Ciddi warned that Turkey would 'try to overshadow everything' and 'present itself as the leading NATO ally'.
Turkey's Embassy in Washington did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
