Jewish Emigration from Turkey to Double
Experts expect Jewish emigration from Turkey to Israel to double this year. The reason for the surge is that anti-Semitism has increased tremendously in the majority-Muslim country after Israel attacked Gaza late last year. Followers of the ruling AK Parti especially have turned on their Jewish countrymen out of anger with Israel’s conduct in the war.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been asked to speak out against the rising anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic attacks by Jewish individuals and organizations but has neglected to do so. Many believe the prime minister quietly supports such attacks, others believe he’s simply too angry with Israel to realize the difference between an Israeli and a Jew.
Islamists in Turkey have also blurred the difference between the two kinds of people. They have made distinctly anti-Jewish comments during protests (‘Jews get out!’), and violence against Jews has increased significantly.
Nonetheless, the far majority of Turkish Jews wants to stay where they are rather than migrate to Israel. They generally love the country they live in; the ancestors of many came to the majority Muslim country five centuries ago when Jews were persecuted in Christian Europe. They were welcomed and protected in the Ottoman Empire; today’s Jews remember the way their parents, grandparents, etc. were treated by Turkish Muslims, and they consider Turkey rather than Israel their home.
Erdogan has the responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism. He has been critical of Israel, even passionately anti-Israel which is his right. It’s not his right to let Jewish citizens of Turkey be attacked and their places of worship vandalized, however. He’s prime minister of all Turks; Christians, Muslims and Jews.
It’s much worse in Venezuela; the Jewish community there believes it has no future in the South American country. Synagogues have been attacked, Jews have been beaten up. Experts say Hugo Chavez condones the attacks; he’s not merely anti-capitalism, but also anti-Semitic.
Jews are once again persecuted for who they are; Jew. The Palestine-Israel conflict is not the reason for anti-Semitism, it’s merely a convenient excuse. Attacking random Jews is just as useless as attacking Christian citizens when America does something wrong; we can only hope that Westerners won’t adopt the same attitude towards Muslims. If they do, we’ll all suffer whenever a Muslim country does something wrong (which happens frequently).
Anti-Semitism is a horrific evil, plaguing the world for centuries now. It won’t go away; we can, however, isolate and humiliate those who hate Jews for their religion (and ethnicity) and turn them into social outcasts.
Michael: It should be “Emigration From Turkey”. I read the title and was confused because immigration is always “to” a place and emigration is “from.”
“They generally love the country they live in; the ancestors of many came to the majority Muslim country five centuries ago when Jews were persecuted in Christian Europe. They were welcomed and protected in the Ottoman Empire; today’s Jews remember the way their parents, grandparents, etc. were treated by Turkish Muslims, and they consider Turkey rather than Israel their home.”
Approximately true, but not quite as benevolent as some Turks would like to believe.
My father grew up in Turkey, supposedly a secular Muslim country, known for its tolerance towards Jews and Christians. And he certainly remembers his country of birth with love, up to a point. Over the years he visited his native land many times. Turkish Jews speak Ladino amongst themselves. When he was out in the street walking with his brother, he was admonished to speak only in Turkish, and in a low voice, so as not to attract attention to his “Jewish” accent.
He was shocked when I told him about a friend of mine, a Turk, who had converted to Judaism. “We used to have good relations with the Muslim neighbours” he told me “they always respected my father and showed us great hospitality. But this is unheard of. It would never have been tolerated”.
Jewish Turkish woman I recently met told me that as she was growing up, her parents had forced her to speak only Turkish at home, so that their Ladino-Jewish accent would not expose them as Jews in school.
These anecdotes, such as they are, only re-enforce my understanding of what constituted the livable reality of that tolerant Muslim rule. Fear, intimidation, violence to your identity, when your private sphere is porous and totally dependent on the whims of a religiously volatile majority.
Erdogan is a shameless, self-exposed antisemite. The Turkish people ought to be ashamed for the disgrace of having elected him and his party. Whatever reputation Turkey has enjoyed as a Westernizing, modernizing Muslim country will be destroyed if he does not step up to the plate and do the right thing. His incontinent hostility was apparent for all to see in Davos. Any disaster that may befall Turkish Jewry will be blamed on him and his government.
Excellent article. I think Erdogan is an infantile anti-Semite and a hypocrite. I bet he’s hoping that blaming someone else might make the world divert its attention from Turkey’s human rights violations (Armenians and Kurds, does that ring a bell?)
A lot of people say, “anti-Zionism doesn’t equal anti-Semitism,” but that’s false. Anti-Zionism stems from anti-Semitism, whether you want to admit it or not.
Was my comment deleted or did I imagine writing a comment in response to another comment which is no longer here?
In accordance with the comments policy below, we periodically delete comments that contain anti-semitic and/or off-topic material. When necessary in order to avoid giving those violators inadvertent publication by proxy, we may also delete comments that respond to or quote the deleted comment.
OK, thanks.
“Erdogan has the responsibility to speak out against anti-Semitism. He has been critical of Israel, even passionately anti-Israel which is his right. It’s not his right to let Jewish citizens of Turkey be attacked and their places of worship vandalized, however. He’s prime minister of all Turks; Christians, Muslims and Jews.”
I agree Michael, but he has been doing this exact thing.
It’s easy to blame him for the rise in anti-Semitism in Turkey, but why not scrutinize the actions of the Israeli state as the main factor in the rise of anti-Semitism?
Face it, just like how anti-Muslim hysteria is caused directly by the actions of Muslims, anti-Semitism in the wake of Gaza can also be directly attributed towards the actions of the IDF.
@Noga
Dear Noga, I have read the above comment with a heavy heart.
Please let me explain my perspective on your conclusions by using my family history.
My mother came to Turkey from Bulgaria and my father from Azerbaijan in the 50’s. We lived in a neighborhood of immigrants from the Balkans, Europe and points East.
WWII had ended, and there were many people who were again seeking refuge in Turkey, many, as my mother’s family, could not take the ethnic baiting any longer. Then there were others like my father who had been conscripted into the Soviet army forcefully and had suffered in slave camps after capture by the Nazis.
Growing up, I heard so many languages and became adept in several of them because I was guided by these remarkable survivors.
My father’s Turkish accent was atrocious since he had learned Azeri while in the army in Baku. His native language was Lezgin and an old version of Persian mixed with some Hebrew and others.
I don’t know if he was “admonished” for his accent, yet people did laugh at him at times. I think my brother and I were more embarrased when we were outside of our neighborhood. Dad stood out when people couldn’t understand him too well.
Yet, so did the parents of my Crimean, Turkish Cretan, and Circassian friends. Many never could speak Turkish without one of their kid’s translating.
As for my mother’s family, my aunt’s grandchildren would beg her not to come to school because of her Balkan accent. They were also embarrassed.
Growing up with so many non-Turkish speakers and Turkish speakers from other countries, I was never aware of any real differentiation according to religion or ethnicity. However, there was the saying “Turkce konus vatandas”. Speak in Turkish citizen is the translation, much like speak English in the US to be understood.
The person who financed my dad’s business was an Italian Jew, and he was our uncle as much as his other friend’s were.
My husband’s cousin converted to Judaism from Baptism and there are still ramifications on that side of his family.
I personally would be upset if my child converted from Islam, as my nephew apparently did to Evangelical Christianity, while my sister is not.
While I respect your family history, I am also presenting mine as a comparison to point out that not everything is as black and white as it appears in a larger perspective.
I totally reject that at the time you are writing about, that there was anything to suggest “Muslim rule” in Turkey whereby, there was any “fear, or violence to your identity”.
As time went on, I have seen the changes, unfortunately not for the better. I cannot in all good conscience, accept anti-semitism or any anti anything remembering the people I knew and knowing why they had sought refuge in Turkey.
That is the reason I am writing, your father seems to have loved his homeland, and its people.
What we have seen in the US is just as shocking to us. How mass hysteria from the top can have devastating results on the value of life and limb if the person is a Muslim.
I have also watched the video of Davos and know that the translation was quite faulty and very stilted when translated into English.
I may not like Erdogan personally, yet saw baiting by Peres and his obvious contempt. Erdogan did not deserve that after putting so much effort to establishing peace. The forum was badly prepared and has created the present situation.
The Israeli and western press should present the issue fairly about Gaza.
I don’t believe that Erdogan is anti anything, he only stated an inconvenient truth and opened up a hornet’s nest. We all need to move beyond the words and seek actions to help those who have been left to suffer in the aftermath. Unfortunately, that is not what I see from the Israeli press and certain individuals and organizations.
Their Turk bashing has supplanted all the good work that was done towards peace in the region.
Neni