Posted on 12/06/2003 7:33:48 PM PST by Destro
December 7, 2003
Bombings and Waning Number of Jews Sap Turkey's Synagogues
By CRAIG S. SMITH
ISTANBUL — Leon Brudo, a fabric merchant, paused outside the pink walls of the Ahrida Synagogue, the city's oldest, and waited for Korin Sori to arrive to open up. "It's beautiful inside," Mr. Brudo, 80, said.
But the city's 17 synagogues are suffering, and not only because two were bombed on Nov. 15. Those bombings, outside synagogues crowded with families at bar mitzvahs, killed at least 20 people and wounded hundreds.
Just five days later, the British Consulate and a British-based bank were attacked. Dozens more died, and Turkish officials linked the series of attacks to Al Qaeda.
Ahrida is the only synagogue operating regularly, and it draws just a handful of worshipers. Jews here have twice as many funeral ceremonies as birth celebrations each year.
The local Jewish population has been withering away, sapped by emigration, assimilation and the low fertility rates that affect affluent, educated populations around the world.
True, the Jewish population of Turkey is the largest of any Muslim country, but it is only 20,000, far below its peak of 70,000 before World War II. "In 50 years, there won't be more than a few thousand Jews left," Rifat Bali, a Jewish writer and researcher, said in his book-lined office across town.
Most of Turkey's Jews are the descendants of Sephardim expelled from Spain in 1492. The Ahrida Synagogue was built a half century before the Spanish Inquisition drove Mr. Brudo's ancestors off the Iberian peninsula and into the welcoming arms of the Ottoman sultan, Bayazid II.
For 500 years, the Turkish Jews thrived. But the numbers began dropping after anti-Jewish riots in the 1930's, and about half of the country's Jews left for Israel. In 1986, Palestinian terrorists opened fire at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, killing 22.
The Jews of Istanbul reflexively keep a low profile. "It has became institutionalized," said Mr. Bali, the writer and researcher, adding that if Jews "want to be happy in this country, you don't speak too much in the public space."
Ms. Sori and her dogs arrived with the keys, and she eyed Mr. Brudo's guests suspiciously. When she learned they were journalists, she was not happy. "It will only give the terrorists more targets," she said.
The interior of the synagogue is dominated by a large chandelier suspended from a modest maroon dome, and the only signs of age are some faded bits of 17th-century frescoes that survived a renovation of the building a decade ago. The synagogue's main feature is its teva, or pulpit, which is shaped like an ark. Some people say it was built to commemorate the ships that brought the Sephardim from Spain.
Out of their caution, Mr. Bali and others said, there were no public reports of two recent execution-style killings of Jewish men here until the synagogue bombings of November. But many people said the killings had put the city's Jews on edge.
"The community was expecting something," said Rosita Igual, 55, sitting in the lounge of the Ciragan Palace Hotel overlooking the sparkling Bosporus. She wore a lapel pin bearing the face of Kemal Ataturk, the revered secularist father of modern Turkey.
"With bombings increasing in the region, it was apparent that they weren't going to skip us," she said.
Back in his shop, amid bolts of bright cotton flannel, Mr. Brudo said, "I don't know where I'll go now."
Blood Libel - A History of Groundless Anti-Semitic Fables
Quotation from a deluded, American, 19th century Vice-consul:
"A most barbarous secret for a long time suspected in the Jewish nation...at last came to light in the city of Damascus, that of serving themselves of Christian blood in their unleavened bread...a secret which these 1840 years must have made many unfortunate victims." Jasper Chasseaud, US vice-consul, [Turkish ruled] Beirut, Lebanon, 1840 CE.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.