Politics
Turkey’s Erdogan Is All Over East Jerusalem
- Erdogan seeks to present himself as leader of Muslim world
- Israel monitors charity efforts, threatens restrictions
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From the golden Dome of the Rock mosque to the ragtag stalls of the Old City’s market, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is all over east Jerusalem.
Muslim worshipers raise his picture at Friday prayers, restaurants display the Turkish flag on their walls, and tens of thousands of his citizens have been sent to the Israeli-controlled holy city on pilgrimages to prevent its “Judaization.” Inside the cobble-stoned market, Arab merchants on Khan al-Zeit street point to once-crumbling masonry patched up by the Erdogan government, and praise Turkey for its handouts to the poor.