Turkey’s Jews feel targeted in wake of Gaza conflict

Jewish community fears a rise in anti-Semitism as Ankara raps Israel

Posters condemning Israel and the air strikes on Gaza are seen hanging on a wall outside a shop in Istanbul on Wednesday. The Jewish community in Turkey has seen attacks increase against synagogues following the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

By Nicholas Cheviron - Agence France-Presse

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s Jews fear that anti-Semitism is creeping into the country following the conflict in the Gaza Strip, blaming it on the unprecedented vehemence with which the Islamist-rooted government criticized Israel.

In almost daily outbursts during the 22-day conflict, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of “savagery” as thousands of people staged anti-Israeli demonstrations across Turkey, the Jewish state’s main regional ally.

The tiny Jewish community – about 23,000 people, mostly descendants of Jews who took refuge in the Ottoman Empire in 1492 after their expulsion from Spain – has reported several incidents of hostility.

While no violence has taken place, their worries are on the rise. “All my Jewish friends are very concerned. They fear that some bomb attack, some violence may happen,” said Avi Haligua, a journalist at Istanbul’s Acik Radio.

“Since the 2003 bombings, the Jews have been in constant fear that anti-Semitic rhetorics will turn into acts of terrorism,” added Rifat Bali, a specialist on Turkish Jews’ history.

In the deadliest terrorist attack in Turkey so far, a-Qaida suicide drivers detonated truck bombs in November 2003 at two synagogues, the British Consulate and a British bank here, killing 63 people and causing massive destruction.

During Israel’s offensive in Gaza, a sign reading “Jews cannot enter, dogs can” was put at the door of a civic group’s office in the central city of Eskisehir and removed only after a media outcry, while hardline Islamist newspapers routinely blamed the drama in Gaza on Jews as a whole.

Anti-Semitic graffiti appeared on two synagogues in Istanbul and the western city of Izmir, while a Jewish conscript was threatened with death by a sergeant, a Jewish community representative, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

The mounting sense of insecurity was discussed at a recent meeting of the Jewish community in Istanbul, which normally attracts about 100 people, but the last time drew more than 1,000 participants, he said.

Besides Erdogan’s harsh criticism of Israel, Ankara’s contacts with Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian movement which the West considers a terrorist group, is also a source of Jewish concern.

During the Gaza crisis, a top aide of Erdogan acted as a mediator between exiled Hamas leaders in Syria and Egyptian officials seeking to hammer out a ceasefire deal in Cairo.

Five US Jewish organizations last week sent a letter to Erdogan, warning that his government’s policy is helping breed anti-Semitism in Turkey.

Haligua, however, cautioned that the accusations against the government need fine-tuning.

“With each crisis in the Middle East, anti-Semitism in Turkey resurfaces,” he said. “The new element this time is that the government abandoned its traditionally Western-oriented policy and decided to play an active role in the region.”

Turkey’s activism in the Middle East is a positive development, he said, but slammed the government for “playing with the emotions” that the Gaza conflict provoked ahead of local elections in March.

In response to the criticism, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek stressed after a cabinet meeting Monday that Ankara’s anger targeted only the Israeli government.