Zafer Çağlayan. Photo: Wikipedia.

Former Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan on Monday apologized to the Turkish Jewish community after denigrating “Jews, Zoroastrians and atheists” in a speech on Saturday to which Turkey’s chief rabbinate protested with a statement on Sunday.

Turkey’s Jewish newspaper, Salom, on Monday published Çağlayan’s apology that if he “unwillingly caused resentment, I express my sorrow.”

The apology came after the chief rabbinate on Sunday said, “We have sadly learned about… Zafer Çağlayan’s remarks. We share with the public our concerns about the existence of such incidents and statements which attack our religion and cause such views to penetrate society whether intentionally or not,” according to Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News. “We expect all to avoid such a situation at a time when we need peace in the world and in our country most and the anti-Semitism and similar statements are regarded as crimes against humanity by all of us.”

On Saturday, Çağlayan, who stepped down from the government in December because of allegations against him of corruption, was at a political rally, where he tried to intellectualize about why a Muslim would attack his party.

“This nation is aware what kind of a mentality we are struggling with,” he said, according to Hurriyet. “I have many things to tell you. But if Jews, Zoroastrians or atheists do this to us, I would understand it. But if the one who does these [against us] is passing himself off as a Muslim, shame on him.”

The incident is among others that point to an increasingly hostile environment for Turkey’s Jews.

Earlier this year, two Jews were chased out of a restaurant in the North of the country as the owner shouted anti-Semitic slurs.

Late last year, a group of supporters of Turkey’s Islamist Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, shouted “are you Jewish” as they attacked a woman as she was walking in the streets of Istanbul, according to a report. The woman posted pictures on Twitter which showed bruises on her face and body.

Erdoğan and his allies have blamed “international groups” and the “Jewish diaspora” for unrest that recently rocked the country.