The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) today (Sunday) issued a forceful condemnation of what it called a grotesque public display in Antalya, Turkey, last week, that resurrects some of the most poisonous anti-Semitic blood libels in modern form, warning that the incident reflects a deeply troubling normalization of anti-Jewish incitement in the public sphere.
The installation, placed outside a school and educational center, depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump portrayed as consuming the organs and blood of Palestinian Arab children, surrounded by dolls representing bloodied infants beneath an Israeli flag. The imagery "unmistakably mirrors medieval blood libel myths that falsely accused Jews of murdering children for ritual purposes, lies that historically fueled massacres, expulsions, and centuries of persecution."
CAM CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa warned that the display should serve as a wake-up call.
“In today’s reality, seeing public displays of this kind indicates a society that is sick from within at a very deep level," Roytman Dratwa said. “The combination of all the historic antisemitic motifs into one public exhibition shows just how severe and alarming the radicalization processes in Turkey have become. The lack of response from local authorities only worsens the situation. It is time to take developments in Turkey seriously, to understand that this is a hostile environment toward Israel and Jews, and to exercise great caution in light of what is happening there."
The installation was reportedly organized by the Anadolu Youth Association (AGD), which claimed it was intended as political protest, CAM stressed that the use of classic blood libel imagery crosses a clear red line from political expression into dangerous antisemitic incitement. The organization expressed particular alarm that the display was positioned near an educational institution, warning that exposing children and the broader public to such imagery risks further entrenching hatred and conspiracy myths.
CAM called on Turkish authorities to immediately and unequivocally condemn the display, launch a full investigation into those responsible, and take concrete preventive measures to ensure that public spaces are not used to disseminate antiSemitic propaganda. Failure to act decisively, the movement warned, will only embolden extremists and contribute to the accelerating global surge in Antisemitism seen since the October 7 Hamas massacre and the ensuing conflict.
“The resurrection of medieval blood libels in the modern public square is not a legitimate protest; it is the recycling of historically lethal hatred," Roytman Dratwa continued. “Responsible leaders everywhere must treat such incitement with the urgency and seriousness it demands."