Israeli diplomatic personnel in Turkey have been instructed to work from home due to the tensions with Ankara surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian clashes over the Temple Mount.
The Times of Israel, citing an anonymous diplomatic source who spoke with the Hebrew language Walla News site, said that the decision was taken before Sunday’s attack on the Israeli embassy in Jordan, in which a security guard shot and killed two people after being stabbed with a screwdriver.
Turkey has been highly critical of Israel’s decision, since reversed, to install metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount after two Israeli police officers were killed at the holy site earlier this month. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called upon Muslims worldwide to “protect Jerusalem.”
"From here I make a call to all Muslims. Anyone who has the opportunity should visit Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa mosque,” he said. “Come, let’s all protect Jerusalem.”
Turks angry with Israel’s security policies on the Temple Mount, the location of the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, have protested outside of two separate synagogues in Istanbul, pledging to prevent Jews from praying as Muslims have supposedly been in Jerusalem. Both the Ahrida and Neve Shalom synagogues are heavily protected and feature metal detectors, due to terror fears.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who has criticized Israel for “limiting Muslims’ access to Al-Aqsa,” came out in defense of the local Jewish community, stating that Ankara "does not agree with actions actions outside places of worship of Jewish citizens.”
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder condemned "the hostile demonstrations” against Turkish synagogues, stating that he trusted that the "Turkish government and all relevant authorities will take the necessary precautions to protect the Jewish community and ensure its safety.”
