At a January 1 rally held at Istanbul’s Galata Bridge, Bilal Erdoğan, son of President Erdogan, delivered a speech attacking Israel and its leadership, using extreme rhetoric and religious language. Addressing a large crowd, Erdoğan claimed that “Zionism is the Nazism of Israel” and referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the Hitler of the 21st century.”

During the speech, Bilal Erdoğan prayed for Allah to “destroy and wreck” Netanyahu, whom he described as a “bandit,” and asserted that Israel would ultimately be crushed if humanity stood against what he called Zionist ideology. He further demanded that Israel pay reparations for alleged war crimes and urged the Turkish public to continue boycotts against Israel.

Erdoğan framed the campaign against Israel as a long-term national and religious struggle, stating that Turkey would persist “until Gaza is free, until Jerusalem is free, and until Al-Aqsa is free,” invoking Islamic terminology and symbolism to rally support.