19.09.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Anti-Semitism ("International Religious Freedom Report 2008") [ID 24864]

" Additionally, nationalist sentiments sometimes contained anti-Christian or anti-Semitic overtones. Jewish community members reported a significant rise of anti-Semitic language in newspapers and websites that began in the summer of 2006 and continued through the reporting period. There were growing numbers of media stories about Israeli offenses against Palestinians and U.S. misdeeds in Iraq and pieces containing anti-Semitic stereotyping. Jewish leaders in the country believed the anti-Semitism is directly related to events in the Middle East, and Jewish community members reported that they are held responsible for these events.

[...]

On August 28, 2007, the Middle East Media Research Institute published excerpts from an interview given on July 1, 2007, by former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. These interviews and more expansive speeches were rife with allusions to Zionists/Jews (deliberately conflated) as "bacteria" and "disease," conspiring to dominate the contemporary Islamic world. Erbakan stated that modern Jews/Zionists ultimately wished to establish a world which depended on them."

Document(s): Open document

10.10.2006 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Recognized minority: Jews (history of Jews; around 26,000 Jews in the country) ("A Minority Policy of Systematic Negation") [ID 18246]

"The history of the Jews in Anatolia can be traced back to the 4th century BCE in the Aegean region. Synagogue ruins dating back from the 3rd century BCE have been discovered near Sardis and Bursa and along the Aegean, Mediteranean, and Black Sea. When the Ottomans captured Bursa in 1324 and drove the Byzantines away, the Jewish community was liberated from centuries of Byzantine oppression and prospered through the Turkish conquest. As Jews from Europe were being persecuted and expelled from Hungary, France, Sicily, and Bavaria in the early 14th century, many found a safe haven in Turkey. In 1492, the Sephardic Jewry expulsed from Spain and Portugal experienced a cordial reception in the Ottoman Empire. This trend continued in the 15th century as more Jews who were expelled from Italy and Bohemia also settled in the empire.

From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the Jews prospered in Turkey and enjoyed the relatively tolerant Ottoman attitude towards them. During the Second World War, as the Third Reich and its accomplices persecuted and exterminated Jews, Turkey became, once again, a safe haven for persecuted Jews.

Today, there are around 26,000 Jews in Turkey. The majority of them live in Istanbul, but there also are important Jewish communities in Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Çanakkale, Iskenderun, and Kirklareli. Ninety-six percent of Turkey's Jewish population are Sephardic Jews, while the other 4% are Ashkenazic Jews."

Document(s): Report
Press Release

10.10.2006 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Situation with regard to religious activities of Jews, Armenian Orthodox Christians and Greek Orthodox Christians is far from favorable ("A Minority Policy of Systematic Negation") [ID 18409]

"Despite the fact that the Jews, the Armenian Orthodox Christians, and the Greek Orthodox Christians are the only three officially recognized minorities in Turkey, the situation with regard to religious activities of these minorities is far from favorable.

In fact, since the establishment of the Minority Assessment Board and despite attempts at reforms, Forum 18 recently reported that all religious minority leaders appear to remain under government surveillance, forcing them to be very cautious in everything they say, convinced that their telephones and mail are occasionally intercepted. Minority representatives have also reported that secretive officials – believed to be members of MIT secret police – occasionally come to visit them to ask questions."

Document(s): Report
Press Release

10.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Status of the jewish minority; Hitlers "Mein Kampf" sold 100,000 times in 2 months ("Country Report - October 2005") [#40563],  [ID 13776]

"6.150 As outlined by the Council of Europe European Commission against Racism and Intolerance in its ‘Third report on Turkey - Adopted on 25 June 2004 and made public on 15 February 2005’:

“The Jewish community in Turkey is not very large. Until recently, it enjoyed a relatively peaceful existence in Turkey, aside from a few isolated antisemitic (sic) incidents. In the opinion of representatives of the Jewish community, the climate has suddenly changed, mainly in the wake of a series of international terrorist attacks in November 2003, targets of which included two synagogues in Istanbul. There is now a feeling of insecurity in the Jewish community because of these and other incidents, such as physical assaults on individuals purely because they are Jewish, at least one of which proved fatal. Anti-Semitic propaganda continues to appear in certain sections of the media and it is apparently not unusual to come across sweeping statements in the press in which Turkey’s Jewish community is equated with the policies of the state of Israel. It also appears that legal proceedings are not always instituted under Article 312 in order to punish those who make antisemitic remarks in public, although this article prohibits incitement to racial hatred. However, ECRI notes with satisfaction that the police are working with the Jewish community to improve security and that antisemitic remarks made by the son of one of the perpetrators of the aforementioned attacks have been condemned by the government and that legal proceedings were instituted against him by the judicial authorities.” [76] (p25)

6.151 As reported by The Guardian on 29 March 2005:

“Mein Kampf, the book Hitler wrote in prison before he rose to power in 1933, has become a bestseller in Turkey, provoking consternation…Its publishers believe that more than 100,000 copies have been sold in the past two months. Its sudden appeal has alarmed Turkey’s Jewish community and is causing concern in the EU…’Obviously we’re very concerned’ Ivo Molinas, one of Turkey’s 25,000 Jews, said in Istanbul. ‘This is a democratic country and the book can’t be banned, but it would be good if the Turkish government openly said they don’t like it being sold. Unfortunately, there has been no such approach.’ Although Jews have been assured by booksellers and the publishers that their motives are ‘purely commercial and not ideological’, Jewish officials say the book’s popularity has coincided with a wave of anti-semitic articles in the press.”

6.152 As recorded by the European Commission 2005 report “In October 2004 Istanbul’s main synagogue was reopened following last year’s bombing, with an official ceremony attended by the Prime Minister.” [71e] (p30)"

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: Jews account for the smallest religious population in Turkey ("Country Assessment - October 2002") [#9887],  [ID 13777]

"6.161 Jews account for the smallest religious population in Turkey. In 1996, it was estimated that there were about 25,000 remaining in Turkey. It is reported that Sephardic Jews still play an important and respected role in business and the professions."

Document(s): Open document

15.04.2002 - Source: Council of the European Union

Netherlands delegation to CIREA: Jews enjoy full freedom of religion and are not bothered by any harassment or similar problems ("Note from the Netherlands delegation to CIREA: Official general report on Turkey, January 2002" Rf. 7838/02") [#7991],  [ID 13778]

"Estimates of the number of Jews in Turkey range from 3 000 to 25 000. Some of the predominantly
Sephardic Jews still speak Judeo-Spanish, the language of their country of origin, sixteenth-century
Spain. Turkish Jews live mainly in Istanbul and Izmir. Small numbers of Jews live in Ankara and
Bursa. Some Jewish businessmen play an important role in the Turkish commercial world. They
enjoy full freedom of religion and are not bothered by any harassment or similar problems. Radical
Islamic publications sometimes contain anti-Semitic statements."

Document(s): Open document

04.03.2002 - Source: US Department of State

US State Department: Jews report little discrimination in daily life ("Annual report 2001") [#5813],  [ID 13779]

"Jews and numerous Christian denominations are generally free to practice their religions and report little discrimination in daily life. However, some incidents against religious minorities still occur, and extremist groups or individuals target minority communities from time to time. In April the Jewish community in Istanbul received a phone threat against a 500-year-old synagogue. Police provided additional security upon request."

Document(s): Open document