President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told a group of Jewish leaders on Monday in New York that he plans to visit Israel soon.
Erdoğan received the president of the World Jewish Congress in New York on Monday.
The meeting with Ronald Lauder took place at the Turkish House (Türkevi) in Manhattan. It was closed to the media.
In a Twitter post, the World Jewish Congress said: "Straddling the divide between East and West, Türkiye has an essential role to play in bridging divides as we work to build a better future for all." It also thanked Erdoğan for "the productive meeting."
Earlier, Erdoğan met with representatives of various Jewish organizations, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
Erdoğan told the room full of leaders of Jewish American organizations that anti-Semitism is a “crime against humanity,” a meeting participant told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Erdoğan is also expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, as relations between the two countries thaw.
The meeting will follow the announcement by Israel Monday that it has decided to appoint the Israeli charge d'affaires in Ankara Irit Lillian as the new ambassador to Türkiye as the two countries recently announced the full restoration of diplomatic ties following years of strained relations.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a written statement regarding the appointments of diplomats in foreign embassies.
"Currently working in Ankara, Irit Lillian has been appointed as Israel's ambassador to Türkiye," it said.
The statement stressed that these and other appointments are "subject to government approval."
Career diplomat Lillian is believed to have played a crucial role in the normalization of ties between Türkiye and Israel.
She was already serving as Israel's charge de affairs in Ankara, appointed to the post in February 2021 by former Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. Lillian was the ambassador to Bulgaria from 2015 to 2019.
In August, Türkiye and Israel agreed to restore full diplomatic ties and reappoint ambassadors and consuls general after a four-year hiatus.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said last week that a new decree, including the appointment of the ambassador to Tel Aviv, was ready to be presented to the president.
The two countries expelled ambassadors in 2018 over the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in West Jerusalem.
The move, which comes as Israel has sought to improve ties with regional powers, was agreed upon two years after the so-called Abraham Accords, which saw relations normalized between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco.
In May, Çavuşoğlu became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years.
A visit to Türkiye by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in March, followed by visits by both foreign ministers, helped warm relations after more than a decade of tensions.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the fence-mending visit to Ankara by Herzog in March as "a turning point in our relations."
The announcement follows months of bilateral efforts to mend ties that began to fray in 2008, following an Israeli military operation in Gaza.
Relations then froze after the deaths of 10 civilians following an Israeli raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship, part of a flotilla trying to breach a blockade by carrying aid into Gaza in 2010.
A 2016 reconciliation agreement that saw the return of ambassadors all but collapsed in 2018-2019, when more than 200 Gazans were shot dead by Israeli forces during border protests.
