TURKEY 2008/9

 

Some articles published in fringe right-wing newspapers during 2008 were extremely antisemitic. From the start of Israel’s Gaza operation, the virulently antisemitic atmosphere fomented by the fundamentalist press was exacerbated by emotional speeches made by state officials. From mid- January they began condemning antisemitic manifestations.

 

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

The Jewish community numbers approximately 20,000 out of a total population of 70 million. Some 18,000 live in Istanbul, 1,800 in Izmir and the rest are scattered throughout the country.

The Jewish community is represented by the Chief Rabbinate. There are 23 active synagogues in Turkey, more than half of which are located in Istanbul, which also has Jewish social clubs, a Jewish school, two homes for the elderly and a Jewish hospital. The community publishes a weekly newspaper, Shalom, in Turkish and a one-page bulletin in Ladino.

 

Political ideologies and parties

The National View (or Milli Görüş, in Turkish) is an Islamist ideology and movement developed in 1970 by Necmettin Erbakan and now continued by the Felicity Party. The National View promotes Islamic values and opposes Israel, Zionism, the EU, the western world, the US and globalization.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP) split from the National View movement in 2001. While it defines itself as a conservative democratic party its ideology is influenced by Islam. The “nationalist” stream generally opposes the umma (extended Muslim community) concept and imposition of Shar`ia law, although a few of its adherents may be both nationalist and Islamist. It consists of: the traditional Nationalist Action Party (Milliyetçi Hareket), the second largest opposition parliamentary party; left-wing groups (such as the Workers Party − İşçi Partisi, which is socialist in its economic agenda, but supports nationalist values), which oppose the EU, the US and globalization; and various small groups. Nationlist supporters attack the allegedly pro-Israel and pro-US line of the Justice and Development Party led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The main opposition party is the secular, socio-democratic Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi − CHP), which is a strong upholder of Ataturk’s legacy. It also has nationalist traits, in that it views foreign and economic affairs though a nationalist prism.

 

ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITIES

The Media

Until the start of Israel’s war in Gaza on December 27, most antisemitism in Turkey was expressed in the media. Some articles published in the Islamist Vakit and Milli Gazete (semi-official organ of the National View), and the ultra-nationalist Ortadoğu and Yeni Çağ, were extremely antisemitic. A few columnists writing for the more mainstream Yeni Şafak also wrote antisemitic articles. Some antisemtic references were in the context of criticism of Israel: labeling Israeli attacks against civilians as genocide; comparing Zionism with Nazism and Israeli leaders with Hitler; and cursing Israel and praying for a world without it. Jewish conspiracy theory themes, such as “Jews rule the world” and quotations from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion; the claim that Israel is buying up land through Jewish Turkish citizens in southeast Turkey for colonization as part of the biblical Eretz Israel Project, whose borders are the Euphrates and the Nile; and the allegation that Israeli soldiers are cooperating with the Kurds in northern Iraq against Turkey, since Jews and Kurds are “relatives” − were also frequent themes in those newspapers.

Another subject that continued to figure in 2008 was the “Shabtaists,” the followers of Shabetay Zvi, Jews who converted to Islam in the 16th century. Today’s alleged followers are branded secret Jews and are accused of having hidden agendas aimed at harming Turkey. Some surnames and families are clearly identifiable as “Shabtaists”, but they try never to expose themselves. Many years ago a certain “Ilgaz Zorlu” applied to the judicial authorities claiming that he was Shabtaist and converted to Judaism by court decision.

Articles praising Hitler and denying Holocaust sometimes appeared in fundementalist newspapers such as Milli Gazete or Vakit. TV stations such as the Islamic Mesajtv, although not major channels, take advantage of every news item concerning the Middle East to attack the Jews through derogative religious statements and quotes from the Qu’ran. Furthermore, a significant number of the thousands of local radio channels in Turkey incite to hatred against Jews.

 

Israel’s Gaza Operation

As soon as Israel’s Gaza operation began, the focus in Turkey was on Israel’s cruelty.

Articles praying for a world without Israel became very common in the fundamentalist press, and blatantly antisemitic articles were published without the cover of criticism of Israeli policies.

The fundamentalist press such as Vakit warned the chief rabbi of Turkey that it was time for the rabbinate to leave the country because he did not condemn Israel. Comparisons with the Holocaust were rife, with articles branding Israel’s operation a “holocaust” and comparing Israel to Hitler or claiming it was worse than Hitler. They also quoted verses from the Talmud, declared Jews were a cursed nation that fed on blood and stated it was no longer a mistake to declare that all Jews were enemies. A columnist in Milli Gazete hoped that eventually no Jew would walk on Turkey’s streets ever again.

This virulently anti-Jewish atmosphere was fanned by emotional speeches by state officials, who harshly condemned Israel and supported the Hamas, without calculating the antisemitic effect they might have.

That being said, during all those tense days, no physical attack or incident took place against the Jews of Turkey. It should be also emphasized that from the first day of the operation, the Turkish police took steps to protect Jewish institutions. It should be noted, too, that many liberal journalists writing for papers such as Hürriyet, Milliyet and Vatan wrote balanced columns, advising people to avoid antisemitism and not distress Turkish Jews, and frequently stating that criticism of Israel should never turn to hostility against Jews.

The announcement made by the Chief Rabbi of Turkish Jews Isak Haleva on January 6, stating that he and his fellow Jews felt deep sadness about the death of innocent people, was read by Prime Minister Erdoğan at a party meeting and applauded

            Following are the most striking events that took place during this period, demonstrating the initial emotional response and gradual attempts to tone down its antisemitic aspects. A cultural association, the Federation of Osmangazi Culture Associations in Eskişehir, organized an anti-Israel press conference, at which it displayed a banner stating, “Jews and Armenians cannot enter but dogs can.” A complaint was lodged and legal proceedings were to follow.

Banners appeared around the city of Istanbul in two versions; “This does not exist in your book [the Torah] either,” and “You cannot be the child of Moses.” They were removed following intervention by the Turkish Jewish Community.

The Ministry of Education circulated a directive to all schools urging students to stand for a minute’s silence in memory of the children killed in Gaza. An essay and painting competition about the war it also organized was canceled by the minister the following day, on the grounds that it might incite antisemitism among children.

Following a visit by the leaders of Turkish Jewish Community, the mufti of Istanbul who, along with other imams in the mosque had delivered emotional speeches denouncing Israel, softened his tone on the following Fridays and urged his followers to behave fairly toward Jewish citizens.

Further, awareness of increasing tensions by the state’s leaders, led Prime Minister Erdoğan to begin a campaign on January 13 to condemn antisemitism. From then on, the media, too, began criticizing antisemitism and emotions began to cool. On January 15, the Turkish Jewish Community issued a press statement emphasizing the right of its members to equality with Turkish citizens and stating that they had nothing to do with what was going on in the Middle East. A day later, Erdoğan made a stronger statement condemning hatred against Turkish Jews, also noting they had no connection to the events in Gaza.

After the operation ended, a letter by a prominent Turkish Jewish psychologist explaining the feelings experienced by the Jews of the country during that period was published in a leading newspaper. She said that as a Turkish citizen with equal rights, she was embarrased by the atmosphere created in her homeland Turkey against Turkish Jews. Subsequently, she received a phone call from President Gül, who expressed his sympathy.

There followed a series of declarations both by Turkey’s leaders, condemning antisemitism and assuring the Jews of their status as citizens with equal rights, and by representatives of the Jewish Community, including a demand for legislation against hate speech.

 

Books

Many of the best-selling antisemitic books of 2007 remained popular in 2008. These included Moses’ Kids, about Prime Minister Erdoğan and his wife, and Moses’ Rose, about President Abdullah Gül (see ASW 2007). Translations of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion were sold under new names, such as Being a Jew in the Mind, although the tract is less popular and not highly visible at bookstores.

Books by Turkish authors that promote Jewish conspiracy theories continued to be sold in Turkish bookstores. These included two older works The Code of Israel and The Hidden Laws of Talmud by “Hakan Yılmaz Çebi.” Both describe the secret plans of Israel and the Jews to conquer the world. Two new books appeared in 2008. The History Of the Jew by “Mahmut Nana” claims that the Old Testament is distorted by the Jews; as an example, the author provides an alleged quote: “Only the Jews are human; all the others are different type of animals; only the Chosen People deserve eternal life; all the others are donkeys…” The second, a modern version of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, is titled The People Who Run the World and Their Systems, by “İsmail Tokalak.”

Many Turkish websites promote anti-Jew hatred and racism. Examples include www.vahdet.com.tr; www.kudusyolu.org and www.kudüsyolu.com

 

Attitudes toward the Holocaust

Although following Turkey’s signature of the UN agreement denoting January 27 as Holocaust Memorial Day, the foreign ministry issued a declaration in 2006 and 2007, no pronouncements were made in 2008 (see ASW 2007).

As in previous years, the Independent Cinema Group, with the support of the Jewish community of Turkey, held a Holocaust cinema week in Istanbul in April, during the week of Israel’s Yom Hashoah. Some leading journalists invited to the gala night wrote about the event in their columns. An exhibition of Holocaust photos was also set up in the Istanbul mall housing the cinema.

Another project carried out, together with the History Foundation and Bilgi University, took place on December 18, when a full-day conference discussed the contributions made by Jewish German professors who fled Nazi Germany to the development of modern Turkish universities.