Short answer: No. As of August 2026, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey, is one of the most vocally anti-Israel heads of state in the world. He halted trade with Israel, said (though Israel disputes the practical effect) that diplomatic ties were severed, has repeatedly compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler, calls Hamas a "liberation" movement rather than a terrorist group, and continues to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza. There is no record of him supporting Israel, appearing at pro-Israel events, donating to Israeli or Jewish causes, or having any Jewish-identity connection.
What Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has actually said and done
October 25, 2023: Erdoğan told his AK Party's parliamentary faction in Ankara that Hamas is not a terrorist organization but "mujahideen" defending their homeland, and canceled a planned trip to Israel that had been in the works, according to The Times of Israel and Haaretz.
December 27, 2023: Erdoğan compared Netanyahu to Hitler, asking "what difference do you have from Hitler?" and saying what Netanyahu was doing was no less than what Hitler did, prompting a public rebuke from Netanyahu, as reported by Forbes and The Times of Israel.
May 2, 2024: Erdoğan's government announced it had halted all trade with Israel, worth roughly $9.5 billion, citing Israel's conduct in Gaza. Turkey's Trade Ministry said the halt would continue until Israel allowed an uninterrupted, sufficient flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, per Anadolu Agency and CNN.
November 13, 2024: Speaking to reporters aboard his plane, Erdoğan said Turkey had "severed all ties" with Israel, according to Middle East Eye and Newsweek. Israel disputed the claim, and both countries' diplomatic missions in fact remained open and operating; Turkey had recalled its ambassador for consultations earlier in 2024, short of a full break.
June 30, 2026: Erdoğan dismissed an Israeli move to designate violence against Armenians as genocide, turning the accusation back at Israel by pointing to Palestinian deaths in Gaza, reported The Washington Post.
July 4, 2026: Erdoğan accused Israel of tying "its political survival to the continuation of conflicts in the region" and said Israeli forces continue "unlawful and inhumane attacks" in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel.
August 3, 2026: In a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Erdoğan urged that Israel must fully comply with the roadmap for the second phase of the Gaza peace plan for it to succeed, continuing his pattern of pressuring Israel rather than supporting it, per Daily Sabah.
The bigger picture
Erdoğan has led Turkey since 2003 (as prime minister, then as president since 2014) and has built his political identity partly on defense of the Palestinian cause. Turkey does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, unlike the United States, European Union, and Israel, and has hosted Hamas political figures. Since the war that began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Erdoğan's rhetoric against Israel has escalated sharply: trade was halted in May 2024, he has repeatedly invoked Hitler-era comparisons against Netanyahu, and Turkey's Foreign Ministry has echoed that language, saying that "just as the end of the genocidal Hitler came, so too will be the end of the genocidal Netanyahu."
Israel has pushed back on several of Erdoğan's specific claims, for example disputing that diplomatic relations were actually severed and noting Turkey's own history with its Kurdish population when Erdoğan levels genocide accusations. Turkish-Israeli relations were normalized as recently as 2022 after years of estrangement following the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, but the current period is markedly more adversarial than that reset. As of August 2026, no credible reporting shows any pro-Israel statement, gesture, or action from Erdoğan; his public record is consistently critical of Israel and supportive of the Palestinian and Hamas framing of the conflict.
The bottom line
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan does not support Israel. He is a leading critical voice among world leaders, having cut trade, disputedly claimed a severance of ties, compared Netanyahu to Hitler, and repeatedly accused Israel of genocide, most recently in statements through August 2026.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
