'Jewish property owners in the north were increasingly targeted.'

The criticism of Israel's actions against Palestinians has become an unconscious attack on all Israelis and Jews. Since Hamas attacked Israel in early October and then Israel bombed Gaza, Jews living in northern Cyprus have come under increasing attack, especially from nationalist circles. The aggression is often linked to the exposure of the identities, and in some cases photographs, of Jews living among the Turkish Cypriot community on social media. The publications are widely disseminated.

Recently, a group led by Yasemi Ozturk, a member of the Turkish Cypriot assembly from the far-right Ural National Party (UPNP), staged a demonstration in front of the Jewish Center''Chabad in Kyrenia, calling it "a concrete step towards the establishment of a Zionist structure in northern Cyprus." Last November, the Chabad building was closed by local authorities under pressure from the same nationalist group on the grounds that it did not have the necessary documents. Late last month, five business organizations, including the Association of Turkish Businessmen in Cyprus, said in a statement condemning Israel's attack on Gaza and calling for a ceasefire, "The Jewish colony settled in our country must be controlled and the necessary measures must be taken regarding their residence here. "

"There is a very dangerous and disturbing trend here," said Prof. Nur Koprulu, an expert on the Middle East. "The accusation of individual''Jews or the entire Jewish community is anti-Semitism, hate speech and discrimination...' We can't distinguish here the difference between the Jewish community and the state of Israel.... And the stereotypes about Jews that are still present in society are revitalized with negative events such as war." She emphasizes that the trauma of war and the killing of innocents on both sides also plays a large role around the world, which manifests itself in either anti-Semitism or Islamophobia. - Image from one of the newspapers accused of anti-Semitism.

The aggression against Jews has mainly centered on their land and property rights over claims that they want to establish a state of Israel in northern Cyprus as part of the 'Great Project of Israel'. В''Last month, a nationalist Turkish Cypriot journalist divulged on social media the names of hundreds of real estate development companies owned by Jews as well as their Turkish Cypriot partners under the headline "Zionists Among Us". The Jews named in the post were mostly citizens of the unrecognized Turkish Cypriot state, which gives them the right to reside, buy property and work freely in the north. Anti-Semitic sentiment was reinforced by a number of Turkish media outlets with stories about the issue. Sabah newspaper, one of Turkey's largest, claimed that there are 35,000 Jews living in northern Cyprus who have bought 25,000 donums of land. The daily added that there are about 2,000 construction companies owned by Jews who are building''real estate and sales are being made exclusively for Jews in the north. "Israel is conquering the TKRS (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus)," Sabah newspaper said. Another Turkish daily, the Islamist Milli Gazete, said "Zionists are accumulating land in Cyprus, especially in areas that are aimed at Tel Aviv," and said an "unarmed invasion" was taking place.

Professor of International Relations Yonja Ozdemir warns against such a mentality. "If there are any concerns about the environmental, social or any other consequences of selling land, it should apply to all sales," she says. "It doesn't matter who is buying the land.

The uproar over Jewish ownership of land

was prompted by remarks by a right-wing Turkish politician in the Turkish parliament, where he asked Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan about "allegations that tens of thousands of donums of land in the north were acquired by intermediaries linked to Israel." Fidan downplayed Israel's real estate holdings, but said that land purchases''to the newspaper Yenidüsen after the announcement. "And now foreigners are buying these lands. And the hype is especially about some Israeli individuals or companies..... Is there a problem if the resulting stolen territories are bought by Turkish companies and not Israeli companies? No... We are being racist.... We did not steal the land in dispute, to be anti-Semitic, dishonors us ourselves? The crux of the problem is very simple, "Turkish fascists can't get over the fact that the stolen land is now being sold to a few Israeli companies. "

In recent years, northern Cyprus has seen a surge in construction and real estate sales. In the first ten months of 2023, 4,600 foreigners were granted permission to buy property. However, many more properties''are bought in the north by foreigners who have been granted Turkish Cypriot citizenship, by lawyers on their behalf or by Turkish Cypriot companies with 'silent foreign partners' to avoid the restrictions imposed on foreigners. Official records do not show such transactions and it is believed that about 50% of them are not recorded. -An official Israeli statement reads:

"Israel said Sunday last week that it was "alarmed" by the use of northern Cyprus "both for terrorist purposes and as an operational and transit zone." The statement called the north "an area of operation and transit for attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets. This presents a disturbing issue." The statement was issued after,''how Israel helped the Republic of Cyprus thwart an Iranian-ordered attack against Israelis and Jews on the island and detained two Iranians. They were believed to have come to the Republic from the north. Turkish Cypriot officials were quick to brush off Israel's claim, with Assembly Speaker Zorlu Tore calling it 'an attempt to cover up the genocide it is committing in Palestine'.