Thomas Barrack, a billionaire friend of Donald Trump who chaired the former president’s inaugural fund, exits following a not guilty verdict at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, US, Nov. 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed Thomas Barrack, a private equity leader and long-time supporter of President Donald Trump, as the new US ambassador to Turkey, a country which has had a tumultuous relationship with Washington in recent years despite their shared membership in the NATO alliance.

Barrack’s confirmation passed with a 60-36 vote, largely supported by Republican senators, who control 53 out of the Senate’s 100 seats.

In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month, Barrack highlighted Turkey’s strategic significance as a US ally and emphasized Ankara’s position within NATO.

“Sitting at the most strategic crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Turkey’s NATO contributions are numerous,” he told lawmakers.

While speaking to committee members, he underscored the strength and size of Turkey’s military, the second largest in NATO.

Barrack’s confirmation comes as Turkey has continued to support the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and be one of the world’s most vocal critics of Israel, Washington’s closest ally in the Middle East, amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Turkey has long hosted senior Hamas officials, such as Marwan Muhammad Abu Ras, who in recent months has spread pro-terrorist propaganda in speeches and on the country’s state-controlled media outlets. 

“The Qassam Brigades [the military wing of Hamas] are at the forefront of the war and the jihad. … You must support the Qassam Brigades — with your prayers, your wealth, your politics, your weapons, with everything you have, you must support the Qassam Brigades,” Abu Ras said during a rally in southeastern Turkey earlier this month, according to the Nordic Research and Monitoring Network.

Several Hamas leaders have established residence in Turkey, often accompanied by their families. Some have acquired Turkish citizenship and passports, integrating further into the country. Many have even invested heavily in the real estate sector and now operate multi-million-dollar businesses. In addition to their commercial activities, these individuals remain actively involved in fundraising efforts that support Hamas’s international network.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been one of the most vocal anti-Israel voices during the Gaza war. In February, for example he demanded that Israel pay reparations “for the harm it inflicted through its aggressive actions in Gaza.”

Last year, Erdogan made an explicit threat to invade Israel, leading Israel’s foreign minister to call on NATO to expel Turkey. Ankara also called on the United Nations to use force if it can’t stop Israel’s military campaign against Hamas.

Turkey has reportedly blocked cooperation between NATO and Israel since October 2023 because of the war in Gaza and said the alliance should not engage with Israel as a partner until the conflict ends.

Last year, Ankara also ceased all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing the “humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories as the reason.

Erdogan has frequently defended Hamas terrorists as “resistance fighters” against what he described as an Israeli occupation of Palestinian land. He and other Turkish leaders have repeatedly compared Israel with Nazi Germany and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Adolf Hitler

The day after Barrack’s confirmation, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) released a report arguing that the Trump administration should keep Turkey out of the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program, calling the country a “potentially threatening regional power” and citing Ankara’s extensive ties to Hamas. 

“The United States must carefully consider whether Turkey, a rising, and potentially threatening, regional power led by the authoritarian, pro-Hamas, neo-Ottoman President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, can be trusted with this advanced jet,” the report stated.

JINSA noted Turkey’s decision to acquire the Russian S-400 air and missile defense system, despite repeated warnings from US officials. Washington ultimately blocked Turkey from procuring and producing the F-35 as a result. Ankara has sought to be readmitted into the program, and the Trump administration has reportedly been working on a deal to sell Turkey the jets if it relinquishes the S-400.