A 758-page book by the Turkish government on the Gaza War is causing a stir in Jerusalem.
Published by the Turkish Directorate of Communications, the book, "Filistin Davamız" ("Our Palestinian Cause"), portrays Palestine as a matter for Turkey. The Jerusalem-based Katz Center for Applied Policy (JCAP) criticizes the book for going far beyond this. It reiterates Hamas's version of events, attacks Israel's legitimacy, and lays the groundwork for a long-term Turkish role in Jerusalem.
What's behind the book? JCAP researcher Turku Avci explains that the title itself is the message: "This, too, is our cause."
According to JCAP, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is pursuing a neo-Ottoman strategy. In this plan, Jerusalem is not a secondary objective, but a central goal. Researcher Ran Ichay believes Turkey intends to invade the city as the guardian of the holy sites. This role would grant Erdoğan the status he has sought for years: that of leader of the Muslim world. Ichay points to an obstacle in Islamic tradition: To become caliph, a man must be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Erdoğan is not.
Avci, born and raised in a secular Muslim family in Turkey and now living in Israel, says the book is written as if it were authored by Hamas itself. Israel is portrayed as a criminal state. Israelis are deprived of their human dignity. She also says Erdoğan's inner circle wants to transform the Turkish army into a more Islamic force, believing that a secular army cannot stand up to Israel.
After she spoke out in support of Israel following October 7, 2023, Turkey issued an arrest warrant for her on charges of “insulting Erdoğan.” Turkish Jews in Israel, she adds, often remain silent because they fear for their relatives in Turkey.
Growing concern
Avi Zimmerman of the JCAP says the book is designed to mobilize Turkish public opinion against Israel and, in part, against Jews as a people. He also warns against supplying Turkey with modern weapons, including F-35 fighter jets.
Israeli Minister Amichai Chikli was unequivocal: Erdoğan is not a reliable partner for NATO or the United States. He called him an enemy of the West—an Islamist ruler with neo-Ottoman imperial ambitions. Chikli also placed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the same ideological camp. This is a political assessment. The documented problem remains the official Turkish version.
What about Erdoğan's origins?
Questions about his family have also been raised. The family comes from Rize on the Turkish Black Sea coast. Some reports and a statement by Erdoğan himself connect the family to the Batumi/Adjara region of Georgia. He later emphasized that he is Turkish.
At the JCAP event, Ichay asked whether this ancestry played a role and suggested the family had been Christian about two centuries ago. This is a suspicion voiced in Jerusalem, not a proven fact. It doesn't explain the book. The book explains itself.
Conclusion: The danger described by JCAP is not a rumor about a family tree. It is an official Turkish publication, official Turkish rhetoric, and Ankara's attempt to be perceived as the protector of Jerusalem's holy sites.
Propaganda today. Strategic ambitions tomorrow. Jerusalem is watching.
