Turkish Jews

This paper provides a critical insight in the uncommon history of the Turkish Jews in the Republican age: called to be testimonials of Turkish tolerance, they have been experiencing more troubles than in Ottoman age and look skeptical and uncertain about the possibility of real integration.

This chapter focuses on how the memory of Jews in Turkey is being constructed through the refurbishing of synagogues in areas of Turkey where Jews no longer exist. Some of these projects are carried out by agencies of the central state, others by local municipalities. More recently, the memory of Jews is also being constructed through historical surveys of the Jewish community, which are featured on municipal webpages creating virtual sites of memory. Initiatives aimed at bringing the Jewish past alive have also been launched by independent individuals such as architects and artists, contributing to a growing, if contested and fragmented sphere of Jewish memory in Turkey.

Geçtiğimiz yıllarda Türkiye' de, Soner Yalçın'ın Efendi: Beyaz Türklerin Büyük Sırrı veEfendi: Beyaz Müslümanların Büyük Sırrı adlı iki kitabının yüz binlerce kopyası satıldı. Kitapların ilki, yüzyılı aşkın süredir ülkenin gidişatına yön veren sektiler seçkinlerin gizli Yahudi kimliklerini ortaya çıkarmayı, ikincisi ise, önde gelen dindar Müslüman ailelere mensup gizli Yahudilerin maskesini düşürmeyi hedefler. 2007 yılında, Türkiye'de en çok satılan ikinci kitap olan, Ergün Poyraz'ın Musa'nın Çocukları Tayyip ve Emine adlı kitabın kapağında, Türkiye'nin dindar başbakanı Tuyyip Erdoğan ve türbanlı eşi Emine'nin fotoğraflan -Yahudi kökenli oldukları iddia edilerek- fotomontajla Davud Yıldızı içine yerleştirilmiştir. Bu kitapların iddialarına bakılırsa, Türkiye'deki önemli kimselerin tamamı Yahudi soyundan geliyor. Gizli Yahudilerle ilgili söylentiler Türk halkının hayal gücünü ele geçirmiş durumdadır. Kimi sektiler Türkler, Başbakan Erdoğan'ın, Türkiye'nin laik düzenini zayıflatmaya çalışan gizli bir Yahudi olduğuna 'inanırlar. Müslüman ve okuryazar Türk halkının giderek büyüyen bir yüzdesi, ateist Yahudilerin Osmanlı sultanını tahttan indirdiklerini, İslami imparatorluğu yıktıklarını, onun yerine "gizli Yahudi" Mustafa Kemal Atatürk'ün liderliğinde, İslam karşıtı, laik bir cumhuriyet kurduklarını ve hata ülkeyi kontrol ettiklerini düşünür.

Wherever Jews live, they have been organized into a community
structure. As we have discussed here, Jews have a very long history in Anatolia.
The structure of the said congregation has gone towards institutionalization
over time. The institutionalization process coincided with the Ottoman period.
It has also gained an official identity during this period. The Jewish community,
which was organized under the name of the Rabbinnate or Rabbinical
Institution, lost its legal basis with the establishment of the Republic. The chief
rabbi of the institution has also begun to perform his duties as a spiritual leader.
In this study, the process of historical development and functions of the
Rabbinical institution/Foundation and its subordinate institutions before and
after the Republic was explained. In addition, it has been tried to take an
objective view of the lives of the people connected to the Rabbinical institution
during this time. Thus, it is aimed to reveal the structural change that the
Rabbinical institution has undergone after the Republic.
Keywords: Jewishs, Jewish Community, Rabbi, Chief Rabbinate, Turkish
Jewry.

Trakya Yahudileri 1934 Haziran ayının sonundan itibaren ilk olarak Çanakkale'den başlayıp sonra-sında Tekirdağ, Edirne ve Kırklareli' de Trakya Bölgesi'nde yaşayan Türk halkı ile yaşadıkları sorun-lar sonucunda kitleler halinde ilk olarak İstanbul'a daha sonra Filistin'e göç etmişlerdir. Cumhuriyet dönemi azınlık politikalarını hedef alan bazı yayınlarda tarihi olaylar ve belgeler tek taraflı olarak yorumlanarak Trakya bölgesinde yaşayan Yahudilerin bu tarihte dönemin Türk hükümeti tarafından el altından desteklenen kasıtlı saldırılar sonucunda zorunlu olarak göçe tabi tutulduğu iddia edilmiştir. Çalışmada Trakya Yahudilerinin 1934 yılında Trakya'dan İstanbul'a ve daha sonrasında Filistin'e göçlerinin nedenleri, sonuçları bu konu ile ortaya atılan iddialar eleştiriyel bir bakış açısıyla ele alın-mıştır. Çalışmada, Türk basınında Trakya Yahudilerinin göç hareketi ile ilgili yer alan haberlerden, hükümetin yayınlanmış olan resmi raporlardan ve Trakya Olayları ile ilgili ortaya atılan iddialardan yola çıkılarak tahlillerde bulunulmuştur.

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Jews from Thrace emigrated firstly İstanbul then Palestine as a result of the problems with Turkish people living in Thrace Region starting from Çanakkale later to Tekirdağ, Edirne and Kırklareli. In some publications taken aimed at minority policies in Republican Periodd. Historical events and muniments are interpreted one-sided and Jews living in Thrace are claimed to subject to forced migration at the end of deliberate attacks that are supported clandestinely by Turkish Government. In this study, the reasons of Thrace Jews' migration firstly from Thrace to İstanbul then to Palestine in 1934, the results and the arguements put forward on this issue are handled with a critical perspective. Also, in this research by taking advantage to the news in Turkish Press related to the migration of Jews from Thrace; official reports published by the governments and the claims about Thrace Events are analyzed

Die erste Generation türkischer Migranten in Westeuropa war mehrheitlich jüdisch. 20 bis 30.000 Juden türkischer Herkunft lebten während der Zwischenkriegszeit in verschiedenen europäischen Ländern, wo sie eigene sephardische Gemeinden gründeten. Obwohl viele von ihnen Opfer der Schoah wurden, wurden sie in der internationalen Holocaustforschung bislang kaum berücksichtigt.

Die Autorin untersucht die wechselvolle Geschichte der Juden der Türkei. Noch gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts hatten die etwa 400.000 Juden des Osmanischen Reiches weltweit eine der größten und blühendsten Gemeinden gestellt. Die Kriege zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts sowie der forcierte Nationalismus der neu entstehenden Nationalstaaten trieb viele von ihnen in die Emigration. In zahlreichen europäischen Metropolen entstanden türkisch-jüdische Gemeinden, die ihre eigenen kulturellen und sozialen Strukturen hervorbrachten. Während des Nationalsozialismus wurden viele ihrer Mitglieder Opfer der Judenverfolgung, obwohl sie als Angehörige eines neutralen Staates speziellen Bedingungen unterlagen.

Das Buch geht dem Schicksal türkischer Juden in verschiedenen europäischen Staaten unter der NS-Herrschaft nach. Besonderes Augenmerk liegt dabei auf der widersprüchlichen Politik der Türkei, die zwar einerseits verfolgten deutsch-jüdischen Wissenschaftlern und Künstlern Exil gewährte, andererseits jedoch wenig unternahm, um ihre im NS-Machtbereich befindlichen jüdischen Staatsbürger zu retten. Auch innerhalb der Türkei wurden Juden durch eine Sondersteuer faktisch ihres Besitzes beraubt, sodass die Mehrheit der verbliebenen Juden der Türkei nach Gründung des Staates Israel dorthin emigrierte.

The so-called dönmes were (are?) Jews who followed (follows?) the messianic call of Sebbatai (or Shabbatai) Zevi, formally following Sunni Islam; in Turkey they, even more than "normal" Jews, have been classical objects of conspiracy theories nurtured by ultra-nationalistic and fundamentalist circles. In 1942, in the implementation of the Capital Tax Law, they were for the first and – so far as I know – the last time officially classified as a separate group with a special status.  In Ottoman age their main center was Salonica, where they had a great impact on social and economic life, so much so that they were called also Selanikli (Salonicans). In the context of the aforementioned hostile theories, Mustafa Kemal himself (who was born in Salonica) happened to be “accused” of having Jewish origins and/or to be a dönme. Indeed, in late Ottoman age they generally shared progressive views, many were freemason and many (often these same individuals) joined the movement of the “Young Turks”. They were compact towards the “others” and maintained strict secrecy about their religious practices. Therefore the problems scholars generally face in retracing the history of Turkish Jews are far greater with regard to the dönmes.

A group of eleven members of the Jewish community of Seattle, took a two-week
individualized guided tour of Turkey in September, 2005.  Of these, eight were members of Congregation Sephardic Bikur Holim (SBH) who were therefore fulfilling their dreams by visiting the land of their ancestors.  In addition to Istanbul, the tour included stops in three Turkish cities having special meaning to the SBH members, namely Bursa, Tekirdag and Marmara.  Bursa is the birthplace of the parents of several SBH members and Tekirdag is the city where the families of those same SBH members as well as of two others also lived.  The mother of one tour member grew up in the town of Marmara on the island of Marmara within the Sea of Marmara, so the tour also stopped at Marmara.

This chapter focuses on how the citizenship experiences and daily life practices of Turkish Jewish individuals have changed in the last decade. I argue that Turkish Jews' feelings of insecurity have considerably intensified during the turn to religious conservatism in everyday life that has occurred under AKP governments and with the rise of anti-Semitism especially after the 2013 Gezi Park Protests and the July 15, 2016 coup attempt which gave way to deepening authoritarianism. Democratic backsliding and significantly increased anti-Semitism has led younger Jews to question their future in the country. The chapter discusses the main strategies and performative repertoires that Turkish Jews have adopted in response to this adversarial social and political environment.

CULTURAL IDENTITY, MINORITY POSITION AND IMMIGRATION: TURKEY’S JEWISH MINORITY VS. TURKISH-JEWISH IMMIGRANTS IN ISRAEL
Abstract
The foundation of the state of Israel attracted masses of Jewish immigrants from all over the world. Turkey’s Jews joined in these waves of migration and there remained only a small minority community in today’s Turkey. The migratory flow of Jews from Turkey to Israel resulted in the formation of a distinct immigrant community in Israel – namely the Turkish Jews – who has maintained their cultural ties with the home country. Cultural identity formation, in these cases of a specific minority and an immigrant group, is relevant to ethnic and immigrant studies especially with respect to nation-state formations and constructions of national identities in Turkey and in Israel. This article highlights on the complexity of cultural identity for minority and immigrant groups in the processes of assimilation/integration comparatively. It deals with the identity questions that Turkey’s Jews and Turkish Jews in Israel face with regards to the definitions imposed by the nation building structures in both countries respectively. The discussion utilizes the results of field research composed of in-depth interviews with Turkish Jews in Turkey and in Israel. It also makes a comparative assessment of the interviewees’ interplay with their identities from the pool of ‘Turkish’, ‘non-Muslim’, ‘Jewish’, ‘Israeli’, ‘El Turco’, ‘Sephardim’ or ‘Oriental’ categories.
Keywords: Turkish Jews, Jewish, Minority, Immigrant, Identity, Israel

The Jewish community in Turkey today is very diverse with extremely different views as to whether Jews are reluctant or enthusiastic about living in Turkey. Many see themselves primarily as Turks and only then as Jews, while some believe quite the opposite. Some deny there are any expressions of antisemitism in Turkey while others would call it xenophobia and would claim that the other non-Muslim communities in Turkey share the same antagonism.

‘Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism in Turkey’ provides a comprehensive history of the extent of antisemitism in Turkey, from the time of the Ottomans, through the establishing of the Turkish Republic, and up to recent times and the AK Party. It also provides an in-depth analysis of the effect of Israeli military operations on antisemitism, from the Second Lebanon War in 2006 to Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Much emphasis is given to the last decade, as scholars and local Jews assert that antisemitism has increased during this period. An illustrated overview of antisemitism in Turkish media, covering newspapers, books, entertainment, and education, is provided. The book also analyses Turkish society’s attitude towards Jews in contrast with other minorities, and examines how the other minorities see the Jews according to their experience with Turkish society and government.

A unique poll, data collected from personal interviews and the use of both Turkish and Israeli research resources, all help to provide a fresh insight into antisemitism in Turkey. This book will therefore be a key resource for students and scholars of antisemitism and anti-zionism studies, Turkish Studies and Middle East Studies.

https://www.routledge.com/Antisemitism-and-Anti-Zionism-in-Turkey-From-Ottoman-Rule-to-AKP/Aviv/p/book/9781138231795

Zum Buch

Die erste Generation türkischer Migranten in Westeuropa war mehrheitlich jüdisch. 20 bis 30.000 Juden türkischer Herkunft lebten während der Zwischenkriegszeit in verschiedenen europäischen Ländern, wo sie eigene sephardische Gemeinden gründeten. Obwohl viele von ihnen Opfer der Schoah wurden, wurden sie in der internationalen Holocaustforschung bislang kaum berücksichtigt.

Die Autorin untersucht die wechselvolle Geschichte der Juden der Türkei. Noch gegen Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts hatten die etwa 400.000 Juden des Osmanischen Reiches weltweit eine der größten und blühendsten Gemeinden gestellt. Die Kriege zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts sowie der forcierte Nationalismus der neu entstehenden Nationalstaaten trieb viele von ihnen in die Emigration. In zahlreichen europäischen Metropolen entstanden türkisch-jüdische Gemeinden, die ihre eigenen kulturellen und sozialen Strukturen hervorbrachten. Während des Nationalsozialismus wurden viele ihrer Mitglieder Opfer der Judenverfolgung, obwohl sie als Angehörige eines neutralen Staates speziellen Bedingungen unterlagen.

Das Buch geht dem Schicksal türkischer Juden in verschiedenen europäischen Staaten unter der NS-Herrschaft nach. Besonderes Augenmerk liegt dabei auf der widersprüchlichen Politik der Türkei, die zwar einerseits verfolgten deutsch-jüdischen Wissenschaftlern und Künstlern Exil gewährte, andererseits jedoch wenig unternahm, um ihre im NS-Machtbereich befindlichen jüdischen Staatsbürger zu retten. Auch innerhalb der Türkei wurden Juden durch eine Sondersteuer faktisch ihres Besitzes beraubt, sodass die Mehrheit der verbliebenen Juden der Türkei nach Gründung des Staates Israel dorthin emigrierte.

Bar-Ilan University
The Aharon and Rachel Dahan Center for Culture, Society and Education
in the Sephardic Heritage

Call for Papers
You are cordially invited to participate in a Dahan Center International Conference:
“Between Coffee and Ayran” –
Jews and Culture in the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey

To take place on Monday-Tuesday, 14-15 Sivan, 5778 (May 28-29, 2018)
at Bar-Ilan University

The aim of the conference is to present a picture of daily life in the Ottoman Empire and in modern Turkey, through different aspects of the various ethnic, religious and social groups, with emphasis on their connection to the Jewish communities throughout the Ottoman lands, and subsequently in the Turkish Republic.

The Conference seeks to address the following questions:
Can we identify a specific “Ottoman Jewish culture”? If so, from what did it derive? What are the expressions of this “Ottoman Jewish culture” up to the Turkey of today? In what way does Jewish Ottoman culture differ from Islamic or Christian Orthodox culture? What was the status of women in traditional Ottoman Jewish culture, as compared with their status under the other two Ottoman cultures? How did the Ottoman ethno-confessional groups differ in terms of their attitude toward modernity? Did they view Westernization as a form of de-Ottomanization? Was one culture viewed as superior to the other? How did social and economic structure shape the consumption and existence of Ottoman Jewish culture?

The Conference will also look to present new research perspectives on Turkish Jewry, their intellectual output, the Ottoman-Turkish Rabbinate, attitudes toward tradition in the modern era, and the perception of the Jewish community in the eyes of the Ottoman majority: were the Jews a desirable minority, a tolerated group, or perhaps a threat to the supremacy of the Moslems? The Conference will also include discussion of intra-Jewish processes, such as the relationship between the established Sephardic Jews of Istanbul and the Jewish newcomers from Turkey’s Kurdish region, or changes taking place in recent years in the attitude of the Jewish community toward the Sabbateans. Other relevant topics are the contribution of Turkey’s Jews to the culture and economy of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Turkish Republic, and relations between the community in Turkey and Jewish communities elsewhere in the world, and particularly the ties between this community and the community of Turkish Jewish immigrants in Israel.

Topics not listed above will also be considered by the Academic Committee.
Papers may be presented at the conference in either English or Hebrew.
Researchers specializing in any of the relevant areas are invited to submit a proposal for a paper, accompanied by a one-page abstract.
Final date for proposal submission is Wednesday, 15 Shevat, 5778 (January 31, 2018).

Proposals/abstracts should be sent to: dahan.center@mail.biu.ac.il


Sincerely,
Conference Academic Committee:
Dr. Efrat Aviv, Prof. Yosef Drori, Dr. Eliezer Papo, and Dr. Shimon Ohayon

The chapter offers a wide array of cultural phenomena to include Ladino, Turkish, and aspects of early modernization. Yet the main concern here is with the influence of Ottoman Turkish musicians and theatrical performers on Izmir's Jewry in the final decades of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century.