US condemns Erdogan comments on Jewish people as anti-Semitic

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS

WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday strongly condemned recent comments by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the Jewish people as anti-Semitic, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

“We urge President Erdogan and other Turkish leaders to refrain from incendiary remarks, which could incite further violence,” Price said in a statement.

“Anti-Semitic language has no place anywhere,” he said.

Price did not specify which Erdogan remarks the United States considered anti-Semitic. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

Erdogan, a vocal defender of the Palestinians, has criticized Israel for conducting air strikes on Gaza and called it a “terror state” after Israeli police fired rubber bullets at rock-throwing Palestinians in Jerusalem.