'Back to Ottoman days:' Expert speaks on exposing Turkey's influence on Jerusalem

Türkiye is exerting foreign influence across Jerusalem in an attempt to undermine Israeli sovereignty in the country, claims Ran Ichay, a team leader at the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (J-CAP), who also served as a diplomat and worked for the Israeli public sector.

J-CAP describes itself as an action-oriented research policy. “We conduct research on a variety of topics and write recommendations for Israeli authorities aiming to promote and implement ideas and initiatives related to issues of sovereignty,” explained Ichay.

As for J-CAP’s partners, Ichay stressed that while he will not mention them by name, the center collaborates with various authorities. “Our recommendations arrive at the tables of the highest echelons; some are carried out, and some are in the process of being discussed. As of lately, things that we see as essential for control and supervision are happening more and more,” he added, circumventing going into any further details.

“In this framework,” he continued, “we monitor internal issues in Jerusalem, as well as foreign influences. Jerusalem became an extensive breeding ground for those who wish to be dominant and pull the rug under Israel's feet, not recognizing Israeli sovereignty in the city.”

Ichay highlighted that the main foreign actors recognized in Jerusalem include Turkey and Qatar, as well as Western countries, the European Union, and the UN. “There are many different motives for their actions, but the common denominator for almost all of them is the non-recognition of Israel's sovereignty and the rule of Israel in Jerusalem,” he added.

“It should be noted that all diplomats with foreign consulates in Jerusalem receive their accreditation from Israel, yet they still act in a way that undermines Israeli sovereignty, which at times can be considered illegal,” continued Ichay. “For instance, the Consul General of Türkiye in Jerusalem, who received his accreditation from Israel, openly presents himself on his website as the ‘ambassador of Turkey to Palestine.’ This is just outrageous,” he added angrily.

Another name that made headlines this last week was the Norwegian delegation vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority, which had its diplomatic status rescinded as announced by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, as a retaliatory measure to the Nordic country’s one-sided recognition of the State of Palestine following the October 7th massacre, and on the backdrop of the refusal of its members to move from Tel Aviv to the Palestinian Authority administrated areas. “I salute the Foreign Ministry for this move, which came after the Norwegian mission exaggerated its behavior,” Ichay added.

Türkiye’s attempts to undermine Israel in Jerusalem

According to Ichay, one of the main actors operating to undermine Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem is Türkiye. “They operate in Jerusalem in the classic Muslim Brotherhood method,” he explained. “They set up supposed projects for welfare, education, financial aid, help to the needy, and more, all in an aim to penetrate society and introduce their extreme ideologies through social and religious activities.”

These projects, Ichay stressed, are carried out either directly by the Turkish Consulate or the Turkish aid agency TIKA or through local associations, including the Islamic Movement in Israel. “They give scholarships for education, computers, especially for those who are interested in learning Turkish,” he added. “They also offer business assistance and even support for home renovations in the Old City. Many times, we find that they do this while conditioning those who benefit from the projects to hang a Turkish flag in their homes or businesses, which is why many of those can be found, especially in the Old City.”

Ichay reminded that, due to its archaeological importance and legal status, any type of construction works in the Old Town must gain the permission of several Israeli authorities, which means that renovations without these permissions are, in fact, illegal and are considered a crime. “This is what helped stop their work in the past,” he added. “These works were considered destruction of antiquities and were criminal activity according to the law, all aided by a foreign government. Once they had their diplomatic immunity revoked, the Turkish institutions went on to close their offices and leave around 2019.”

However, some of these groups returned through their Ramallah branch but are still active in Jerusalem through the Turkish consulate. “We have to remember that these are not just civil society associations, but rather government agencies that operate from the office of the Turkish Presidency, and the chairman of TIKA is appointed by the Turkish President himself.”

When asked about the aims of Türkiye in these actions, Ichay commented, “This is Erdogan's vision. In his eyes, he is a Sultan and a Caliph. He sought to bypass the secular heritage of Ataturk and reinstate a caliphate like that of Ottoman times, which also ruled over Jerusalem. This is why he pushes to give scholarships to those who are willing to study Turkish in Jerusalem and provides assistance to schools that teach the Turkish language. It is within this framework that a branch of the Turkish Younes Emre cultural center was established in one of the central streets of Jerusalem, Bab Al-Zahraa, which even features free parking in an otherwise bustling and crammed area for no justification whatsoever, and we are indeed trying to act against this matter.”

Ichay continued: “It must be stressed that the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem does not even recognize Israeli sovereignty in the western part of the capital. The consulate’s website claims that its jurisdiction is according to UN Resolution 181, meaning Jerusalem is an internationalized city, where residents of the Motza and Beit Zeit communities are also under its purported jurisdiction. We monitor these behaviors, which the state has a hard time seeing and scrutinizing because they’re not exactly diplomatic or political. So we come to cover those angles that fall between the chairs. This kind of undiplomatic behavior is destructive and subversive, and we are here to monitor and bring it to the authorities’ attention.”

When asked what exactly is problematic with alleged charity projects, as long as they coincide with the law, Ichay commented: “Israel also sends aid to countries through its agency, Mashav. But we never do this kind of work to undermine the ruling governments. We don’t even gain political benefits from it, as many of the countries we help end up voting against us at the UN in any case. But when it comes to the Muslim Brotherhood, this is exactly their sophistication, and that's how they work. Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin started in Gaza as a cleric who only provided help to children from the streets, and that's exactly how Hamas started in Gaza, recruiting its followers and indoctrinating them with extremist, murderous ideologies.”

Ichay continued: “We also know that the Turkish activity in Jerusalem does not end there. There are headquarters of Hamas in Turkey, some of which were freed as part of the Shalit deal. From there, they direct their operatives and send them funds and instructions, especially in Judea and Samaria, as well as Jerusalem. So, the Turkish intelligence works with Hamas in Turkey, and TIKA and the other organizations work with the Turkish government, and this is extremely dangerous.”

According to Ichay, Jihad tourism is another alarming issue. “Some Turkish groups are part of what we call ‘Islamist Jihad tourism.’ There are travel agencies in Jerusalem that work in this field. These trips are most probably subsidized, indicating the institutional involvement of those Turkish-funded organizations. We know of several cases of actual terrorists who took part in these tours, including Jamil Takli, a Turkish professor who came with instructions for the operation of Hamas cells in Judea Samaria and Jerusalem, as well as Hasan Skelnan, who tried to stab an Israeli policeman. No Israeli in Türkiye would ever think of doing this to their hosts,” he added.

Ichay added that the West is yet to wake up to the challenges posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. “In the West, they just don't understand that this threat is growing inside their home. The jurisdiction of the Muslim Brotherhood in the world is the whole world – wherever there is a Muslim presence. There is no major city in Europe that does not have a Muslim Brotherhood headquarters. This includes leading European countries, such as France, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Holland, and Denmark. And Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood, period. They describe themselves as ‘the Muslim Brotherhood arm in Palestine,’ as stated in their charter,” he reminded.

Ichay stressed that the center doesn’t deal only with negative impacts or foreign influence. “We also strive to present positive recommendations in a way that will benefit the entire population in Jerusalem. If Israel is indeed sovereign in Jerusalem as it claims, then it should behave in an equal manner with the Arab residents of Jerusalem and should take care of them – that is, unless they engage in incitement to terror, as was the case with Ekrima Sabri” (preacher of Al-Aqsa who was taken for questioning after eulogizing assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh).

‘100% optimistic’

When asked if, despite all the above, he remains optimistic, Ichay answered: “I’m 100% optimistic. Even when the situation is not good and the situation is much better than it used to be. Especially if you look at the long term, the trend is positive. Yes, we’re in a very harsh and complicated situation. We worry restlessly because of the hostages in Gaza, and our injured soldiers, and we all wish for their speedy recovery.

“But compare what we have today to what we had 70 years ago. Things are better economically, politically, and demographically. This is true in Jerusalem, too. There are 30 countries that are in the process of moving their embassies to Jerusalem. In the end, reality wins, and I believe that we have the ability to shape reality. I’m a person of faith, and as Ben Gurion said: ‘In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.’”