Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, April 22, 2024. Photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/Pool via REUTERS

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday for once again comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and accusing Israel of committing “state terrorism” in its campaign against Iran.

“The sultan, in his own eyes, in yet another inflammatory speech, continues to incite against Israel and against the Israeli prime minister,” Sa’ar wrote in a post on X.

“Erdogan, who has set a record in suppressing the freedoms and rights of his citizens, as well as his country’s opposition, dares to preach to others,” the top Israeli diplomat continued.

The Sultan in his own eyes, in yet another inflammatory speech, continues to incite against Israel and against the Israeli Prime Minister.
Erdogan, who has set a record in suppressing the freedoms and rights of his citizens, as well as his country’s opposition, dares to preach…

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 18, 2025

Turkey has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel on the international stage, even going so far as to threaten an invasion of the Jewish state and calling on the United Nations to use force if Jerusalem fails to halt its military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.

“It is particularly ironic that someone who does not hide his imperialist ambitions, someone who invaded northern Syria and illegally holds northern Cyprus, claims to speak in the name of morality and international law,” Sa’ar wrote in his post on X. “A little self-awareness could be helpful.”

During an address to lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament, Erdogan said Israel’s military campaign against Iran was illegal and “crazed.”

“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has long left Hitler behind in terms of genocide,” the Turkish leader said. “It is a very natural, legitimate, and legal right for Iran to defend itself against Israel’s thuggery and state terrorism.”

“We are closely monitoring Israel’s terrorist attacks on Iran,” Erdogan continued.

Last week, Israel launched a broad preemptive attack on Iran — dubbed “Operation Rising Lion” — targeting military installations and nuclear sites across the country in what officials described as an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat.

The ongoing Israeli strikes killed several of Iran’s top military commanders and nuclear scientists and dealt a major blow to the country’s retaliatory capabilities, destroying not only much of its ballistic missile stockpiles but also crippling its launch platforms.

Israel had previously declared it would never allow the Islamist regime to acquire nuclear weapons, as the country views Iran’s nuclear program — which Tehran insists is solely for civilian purposes — as an existential threat.

Iranian leaders have regularly declared their intention of destroying Israel and have for decades supplied internationally designated terrorist groups, such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with weapons and funding to attack the Jewish state.

Erdogan has frequently defended Hamas terrorists as “resistance fighters” against what he describes as Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, with Turkey long serving as one of the group’s top international backers.

As part of his long history of anti-Israel rhetoric, Erdogan has falsely accused the Jewish state of running “Nazi” concentration camps and compared Netanyahu to Hitler multiple times before.

In March, he threatened to “send Netanyahu to Allah to take care of him, make him miserable, and curse him.”

The Turkish leader has also said that Netanyahu was a “butcher” who would be tried as a “war criminal” over Israel’s defensive military operations in Gaza.

He has also called Israel a “terror state” and expressed solidarity with Iran after it attacked the Jewish state with a barrage of ballistic missiles last year.

The post Israeli Foreign Minister Slams Turkey’s Erdogan for Defending Iran, Comparing Netanyahu to Hitler first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday repudiated New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for defending the “globalize the intifada” phrase by invoking the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising during World War II.

On Tuesday’s episode of “The Bulwark Podcast,” host Tim Miller asked Mamdani, a Democrat, whether he would be willing to condemn the chant “globalize the intifada,” arguing that the phrase — which references previous periods of sustained Palestinian terrorism against Jews and Israels — calls for violence against Jewish people. Mamdani refused to condemn the chant, claiming that it has been misinterpreted and represents a “desperate desire for equality and equal rights.”

“I am someone who, I would say am, is less comfortable with the banning of certain words, and that I think is more evocative of a Trump-style approach of how to lead a country,” Mamdani said in comments first reported by Jewish Insider. 

“I think what’s difficult also, is that the very word has been used by the Holocaust Museum when translating the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising into Arabic, because it’s a word that means ‘struggle,’” he continued. “And, as a Muslim man who grew up post-9/11, I’m all too familiar in the way in which that Arabic words can be twisted, can be distorted.”

The Holocaust Museum subsequently issued a blistering repudiation of Mamdani’s comments, calling them “outrageous and especially offensive.”

“Exploiting the Museum and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to sanitize ‘globalize the intifada’ is outrageous and especially offensive to survivors,” the museum said in a statement posted on social media. “Jews have been attacked and murdered under its banner. All leaders must condemn its use and the abuse of history.”

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was an effort by Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland to fight back as they were set to be deported to concentration camps and killed as part of the Nazis’ campaign to exterminate Jewry during the Holocaust.

Decades later, the slogan “globalize the intifada” has sparked controversy and been widely condemned as offensive and antisemitic due to its apparent call to expand violence historically marked by attacks targeting Israeli civilians. The term “intifada,” or uprising, refers to two periods (the first beginning in 1987 and the second in 2000) when Palestinian terrorists ramped up violence targeting Israelis that included suicide bombings, shootings, and stabbings.

Critics argue that invoking the intifada in a global context promotes the spread of political violence and implicitly endorses attacks on Jews worldwide. Jewish organizations and watchdog groups have condemned the slogan as a form of hate speech that blurs the line between criticism of Israeli policy and incitement against Jewish communities, especially amid a rise in antisemitic incidents globally.

Fellow New York City Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo and Whitney Tilson also issued statements condemning Mamdani for attempting to use the history of the Holocaust to justify use of the controversial slogan.

“Hamas and other terrorist groups know the true meaning of the phrase. The ‘intifada’ in the early 2000s was a wave of suicide bombings that killed nearly 900 Israeli civilians,” Tilson said. 

“Mamdani’s refusal to disavow terrorism against Jews is utterly disqualifying. His assurances that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers ring hollow,” Tilson continued. 

“At a time when we are seeing antisemitism on the rise and in fact witnessing once again violence against Jews resulting in their deaths in Washington DC or their burning in Denver— we know all too well that words matter. They fuel hate. They fuel murder,” Cuomo said in a statement. 

In the wake of the recent shooting of two Israeli embassy aides in Washington, DC and the firebombing of a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, experts have told The Algemeiner that rampant antisemitism and anti-Israel activism on university campuses, where “globalize the intifada” has become a popular chant, is fueling violence against Jews in the US and elsewhere.

Amid the backlash, Mamdani organized an impromptu press conference on Wednesday morning to address the controversy. After declaring that “antisemitism has no place” in New York City, he launched into an emotional tirade accusing his critics of Islamophobia. 

Mamdani, a representative within the New York State Assembly, said that he hasn’t issued a “more visceral reaction” to antisemitism because when he speaks “with emotion” he is characterized “as a monster, as being at the gates, language that describes almost a barbarian, looking to dismantle a civilization.” He claimed that “the very sad burden of being the first Muslim candidate for mayor is to deal with humanizing language.”

Mamdani then took shots at Cuomo, a former governor of New York, claiming that he “doesn’t even view Muslims as being a part of this city” and criticized him for not visiting a mosque during his campaign. 

“It pains me to be called an antisemite. It pains me to be painted as if I am somehow in opposition to Jewish New Yorkers I know and love,” Mamdani said. 

The candidate then became visibly emotional and claimed that he’s received daily Islamophobic hate messages and threats against his life.

“It takes a toll,” he said. “Antisemitism is such a real issue in this city. It is hard to see it weaponized by candidates who do not seem to have any sincere interest in tackling it but using it as a pretext to win political points.”

Although Mamdani entered New York City’s mayoral race as a longshot, polls indicate that the progressive firebrand has made significant strides among the electorate in the past month. Mamdani trails Cuomo by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent among likely voters, according to a May 23-26 Emerson College poll.

In the closing stretch of the Democratic primary, Mamdani’s views on Israel and antisemitism have been increasingly scrutinized. Mamdani, a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organization, has been under pressure by anti-Israel activists to adopt a more adversarial posture against the Jewish state.

Moreover, the progressive official also sparked outrage after engaging in a series of provocative actions, such as appearing on the podcast of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas influencer Hasan Piker and vowing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

During an event hosted by the UJA-Federation of New York last month, Mamdani also declined to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Mamdani doubled down on that position during the first Democratic primary debate, in which he refused to acknowledge the Jewish state’s right to exist.

Mamdani has made anti-Israel activism a cornerstone of his political career.

New York City, which is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, has experienced a major spike in antisemitic incidents since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.

The post US Holocaust Museum Slams Zohran Mamdani for Invoking Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to Justify ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Chant first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on May 28, 2025, Philadelphia Union attacker Tai Baribo #9 is challenged by Alonso Coello #14 of Toronto FC during the MLS game between Toronto FC and Philadelphia Union at BMO Field. Photo: Indrawan Kumala via Reuters Connect

Major League Soccer (MLS) player Tai Baribo is stuck in his native country of Israel and has been unable to leave since war broke out between the Jewish state and Iran almost a week ago.

The Philadelphia Union forward, who is the league’s leading goal scorer, and his family have been unable to return to the United States because airspace in Israel has been closed as the country faces Iranian missile attacks, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The Union said in a statement to the publication on Tuesday it has been in “constant communication” with Baribo, 27, and “are actively working to bring him back to Philadelphia safely.”

“With the airspace currently closed, the situation remains fluid, and we are exploring all alternative options,” the Union further told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Our priority is Tai’s safety and well-being. We will share more updates if and when it is appropriate.”

The Union is on a two-week break while the FIFA Club World Cup and the Concacaf Gold Cup currently take place across the US. Several Union players are competing in the Gold Cup, which began its second round of group stage matches this week and concludes with a final on July 6. The final for the FIFA Club World Cup is set to take place on July 13.

Baribo has scored 13 goals in 16 MLS matches and is a frontrunner in the race for this year’s Golden Boot, which is given to the league’s top goal scorer. After the Union’s game on May 31 against FC Dallas, he traveled to compete with Israel’s national team in international matches, including a FIFA World Cup qualifying game against Estonia on June 6 and a friendly match against Slovakia on June 10 in Hungary. He had a calf injury that ultimately kept him out of the two international games. He returned to Israel following those matches and has been unable to leave the country since.

Baribo was born in Eilat, Israel. It remains unclear where in Israel he is staying during the c urrent war, but his wife reportedly shared a video on her Instagram story that showed the aftermath of a missile attack near their location. Another video that she posted showed Baribo and others in what appeared to be a storage room used as a bomb shelter.

On Wednesday, Israel’s national carrier El Al launched an airlift operation to bring tens of thousands of stranded Israeli citizens back to Israel. Israel’s Transportation Ministry estimated that more than 50,000 Israelis worldwide have been unable to get back home after airlines stopped flights to the country when the war broke out on June 13.

The post Major League Soccer Player, Lead Scorer Remains Stuck in Israel With Family Amid Iran War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.