President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday denounced Western democracy bowing down to the interests of Israel despite the latter’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza. Addressing a gathering of the Turkish diaspora in the capital Ankara, Erdoğan accused the West of double standards when it comes to crimes committed against Muslims and criticized attempts to label any pro-Palestinian actions as "anti-Semitic."

"Western administrations trying to teach us democracy and freedom are hypocritical in their policies in the face of massacres in Gaza," Erdoğan stated.

The Turkish leader has been unflinching in his stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He is a fervent advocate of Hamas, which he describes as a resistance group, while at the same time, he leads diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict that resumed on Oct. 7. Türkiye found itself at odds with Western countries with whom it had sought closer relations before the conflict erupted. Türkiye's major allies, from the United States to Germany, have been unwavering in their support of Israel's Netanyahu administration.

Erdoğan said the world only watched the deaths of some 35,000 Palestinians in the latest round of Israel's brutal attacks. "They did not say a word about more than 140 journalists killed there. Israel razed hospitals, churches and mosques to the ground. It targeted schools, people queued up for food aid. It committed massacres. Except for a group of statespeople with a conscience, no country raised its voice, nobody was brave enough to tell Israel that enough was enough. They weren't brave even to call for a cease-fire. They continued their diplomatic and military support to Israel," he said.

The president, on the other hand, lauded students and academics at U.S. universities who recently launched pro-Palestinian rallies. "But they are subject to violence and torture. Academics are fired, and they face a lynch mob. But nobody raised their voice for them. They simply await that those (protests) would die down. This is because Western democracy acts for the interests of Israel," he said.

Erdoğan also complained that Türkiye faced hostility and was labeled anti-Semitic for its stance on the Palestinian cause. "This label will not stand. We are against anti-Semitism as much as we are against xenophobia and racism. Our only purpose is the establishment of a permanent cease-fire and forming the path to a two-state solution. We are doing what we can to form a climate of peace in our region," he said.

Xenophobia in Europe

The president also addressed xenophobia concerns across Europe in his address to members of the Union of International Democrats (UID) he hosted at the Presidential Complex. The nongovernmental European Turkish organization is in Türkiye to hold a camp from Wednesday to Saturday to discuss issues the diaspora faces.

Erdoğan said almost half of some 7 million Turks in Europe live in Germany and for decades, they were deprived of their full rights. He noted that he aired Turks' complaints in his meetings with German officials and welcomed a recent move by Germany that facilitated dual citizenship for the Turkish community. The president, who hosted his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in April in a rare visit, said he brought up a recent racist attack that killed four people in Solingen during his talks with Steinmeier.

"I highlighted that this should be fully investigated and perpetrators should be punished," he said, referring to the arson attack that claimed the lives of a family of Bulgarian nationals of Turkish descent.

The president lamented "discrimination" in the handling of hate crimes in Europe. "They treat them differently based on the identity of the victim. Sensitive handling of anti-Semitic cases is absent in racist attacks. They tried to downplay murders by branding them "döner killings," he said, referring to murders committed by the Nationalist Socialist Underground (NSU) in Germany that killed Turkish migrants.

"Most of the attacks targeting Muslims and immigrants are covered up during investigations. On the other hand, (xenophobic) demonstrations are tolerated under the pretext of freedom of thought. The neo-Nazi terrorism thriving upon hatred against Turks and Muslims reached a level threatening the lives and properties of our people. This is a shame for Western democracies," he said.