Some events this week involving both Turkey and Israel got me to thinking back to when Recep Tayyip Erdogan first ascended to the presidency in Turkey in 2014, having formerly been the Prime Minister. Back in those days I was still just guest blogging here at Hot Air but was doing several Blogtalk Radio shows every week as a fill-in guest. On one such show I was paired up with someone who had studied extensively in the Middle East and was expressing some hopes about the future stability of Turkey under the new president. At the time we were still far from the dark days to follow when Erdogan would begin his climb toward absolute power, but he was well known at the time for something else. I asked the other guest (going from occasionally fallible memory here), “Isn’t it true that Erdogan historically hasn’t been much of a fan of the Jews?”

The other guest conceded that it was true that he had a fairly “spotty history” in that regard. And Erdogan soon made good on that record. While he was still running for president he spent a lot of time insisting that he wasn’t actually antisemitic, but would then turn around and say that Israel is more barbaric than Hitler, accusing them of a “systematic genocide” on the Palestinian people.

Why did that come to mind this week? Because Erdogan has been pretty busy lately with the Kurds and building up his relationships with Russia and Iran, but he took time out of his busy schedule to return to some of the golden oldies. He thinks the Jews are totally out of control and wants Muslims to flood the zone in Jerusalem to protect the city’s identity as a Muslim center. (International Business Times)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Muslims around the world to visit Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to protect the site’s Islamic identity. The Turkish leader also took the opportunity to heap scorn on Israel, likening the country’s policies to South Africa’s Apartheid era.

Speaking in Istanbul at a charity conference discussing Palestinian economic development, Erdogan lashed out at Israel regarding its settlement plans in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

“We, as Muslims, should be visiting Al-Quds more often,” Erdogan said, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem. “Each day that Jerusalem is under occupation is an insult to us.”

That was really only the warm up act. The newly empowered tyrant went on to ask what the difference is between, “the present acts of the Israeli administration and the racist and discriminatory politics that were practiced against black people in the past in America – and up until a short time ago in South Africa.” And almost seeming to offer a counterbalance to Donald Trump’s calls for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Erdogan offered the following helpful suggestion.

“Here is the only solution. The establishment of a fully sovereign and independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital along the lines of 1967,” said Erdogan, according to Anadolu.

So he wants a return to the 1967 borders and would like the Palestinians to make Jerusalem their capital as well. Gee… you don’t suppose that would inflame the situation over there just as people are scrambling around trying to put the peace process back in place, do you? As far as being an ally of the west, Erdogan seems to be putting all of his cards on the table now that he won the referendum last month. He is not only not a friend of Israel, but is pretty much an active enemy. He may dislike the Kurds fairly intensely, but he really, really hates the Jews.

And this is our ally. Just imagine how he’d act if he was actually one of our enemies.