A Turkish-Israeli citizen was released after being detained in Turkey for serving in the Israeli army, following intervention from the US and Israeli governments.
Jessica Bachar, who emigrated to Israel at 17, was visiting family members in Istanbul in February when she was detained by police.
Bachar was the target of a campaign by pro-Palestinian groups in Turkey to expose Turkish citizens suspected of serving in the Israeli army.
Israel’s N12 outlet reported that after Israeli officials learned of her arrest for “serving in a foreign army”, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar exerted heavy pressure, including for American intervention, and she was eventually released in a what N12 described as a “covert operation” and brought to Israel.
According to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) by the outlet Declassified UK in February, there are 112 Turkish-Israeli citizens currently serving in the Israeli army.
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Military service is compulsory for all men in Turkey and all men and women in Israel. Under Turkish Penal Code article 320, to serve in a foreign army without the explicit approval of the government can lead to one to three years in prison.
Bachar’s case was first highlighted by activists with the Freedom Watch Platform who accused her of involvement in the Israeli genocide in Gaza and posted pictures of her in military uniform.
The images, posted on her Instagram account, appear to have since been deleted.
🔴Acil! Bu Bir İhbar ve Suç Duyurusudur!
Şuanda İstanbul’da bulunan Siyonist çifte vatandaş IDF askerini ifşa ediyoruz!İsrail’de askerlik yapmış çifte vatandaş Jessica Bachar (Jessy Bahar) şuanda İstanbul Acarkent’te ikamet etmektedir.
Herkese açık Instagram hesabında… pic.twitter.com/1qLx5vMS5U
— Özgürlük Nöbeti Platformu Freedom Watch (@ozgurluk_nobeti) February 16, 2026
“We do not want these scoundrels who serve genocide in our country. We will hold each one accountable before the law and expose these scoundrels everywhere,” they wrote on 16 February, demanding an arrest warrant under Article 76 of the Turkish Penal Code, which punishes the crime of genocide.
Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognise the state of Israel in 1949, and has enjoyed largely cordial security and trade ties throughout most of their modern history.
However, since the 2010 attack on the Mavi Marmara flotilla, when Israeli forces raided a Turkish ship delivering aid to Gaza and killed 10 of those on board, tensions have been strained and the government has increasingly hit out at Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
The most recent attempt to restore relations in September 2023 – which saw Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting and shaking hands for the first time in New York – collapsed the next month after the 7 October Hamas-led attacks on Israel and the subsequent genocide in Gaza.
Since then, the rhetoric has escalated from politicians in both countries, with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in March describing Turkey as potentially the “next Iran”.
Turkey has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel and their historically cordial relations has made travel between the two countries relatively smooth for both Israeli and Turkish citizens for purposes of tourism, business or emigration.
Middle East Eye contacted the US State Department and the US embassy in Ankara for comment, but received no response at time of publication.