I had found two separate "proofs" of this:
1. A wacky Christian who hung around with Herzl suggested to him that the northern border of the Jewish state should be "the mountains facing Cappadocia." There is no indication that Herzl took him seriously.
2. The Torah mentions that Israel conquered the Hittites in Canaan, and some people in Turkey think that since at their height the Hittite empire reached parts of Turkey, Israel wants them..
Now, I found a third.
Abraham and his father lived in Haran before God told him to go to Canaan. Most people identify Harran with a town in southeast Turkey with that name. So, we are confidently told, "Harran is as important to Jews as Jerusalem."
See? It all makes sense!
(I always thought Harran was Hauran in Syria, but it isn't - that is spelled differently in Ezekiel.)
Meanwhile, in another Turkish paper, the Quran Verse of the Day is one that is interpreted as saying that Jews "will be humiliated wherever they are, and they will incur Allah’s wrath and will be condemned to humiliation. This is because they denied the revelations of Allah and killed the prophets without cause.
This is because they rebelled and transgressed."
And just in case that wasn't explicit enough, they add a graphic quote from Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, a
Turkish poet and novelist:
The translation is, "Did you say Jews? They are the cursed ones who do not hesitate to set the world on fire to fry their eggs."
Turkish media is obsessed with Jews, and with inciting against Jews. I sure wouldn't schedule any flights through that country.
