Turkey's Main Synagogue Reopens

AP ^ | Tue Oct 12 | JAMES C. HELICKE

[Turk2]

Turkey's Main Synagogue Reopens

Tue Oct 12, 2:43 AM ET Middle East - AP

By JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Hundreds of Turkish Jews chanted hymns and a religious leader blew a ram's horn during the reopening of this predominantly Muslim country's main synagogue nearly a year after a suicide bombing.

Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva marked the reopening Monday by carrying a Torah scroll into the Neve Shalom synagogue, one of two synagogues bombed in a string of November 2003 suicide attacks that killed more than 60 people in Istanbul. The attacks were blamed on al-Qaida.

"I want to state here once again that I am fundamentally against the association of the terrorist attacks we suffered 11 months ago ... with the name of a religion," Haleva said.

Turkey, with about 25,000 Jews, has one of the largest Jewish populations among Muslim countries. Many trace their roots to Spain, where Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th Century and were welcomed by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

The bombings aimed "to damage the peaceful social fabric of Turkish society and to upset and derail Turkey, a country with a Muslim population, a secular democratic state that has continued to develop its relations with Israel and USA, and aims to be part of the European Union (news - web sites)," said Silvyo Ovadya, president of the Jewish community.

In a message read at the ceremony, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim, vowed that the attacks "will never hurt Turkey's national unity."

Leon Esim, 51, who had been at a bar mitzvah at Neve Shalom at the time of the blast, welcomed the reopening.

"This is my second home," Esim said, with tears in his eyes. "Today is a very happy day."

The November attacks raised questions about the synagogue's future and the safety of the Jewish community.

Neve Shalom had been targeted in two earlier attacks: In 1986 gunmen opened fire, killing 22 people, and in 1992 the Iranian-backed Turkish Hezbollah organization set off a bomb; no one was killed.

Ovadya said the community was looking for a new plot of land to build a more secure community center and synagogue. He said the prime minister had expressed support.

In July, the synagogue held a private ceremony to mark the return of the Torah scrolls. Monday's ceremony, though, was considered the official reopening.

Foreign diplomats from Israel, the United States, and European countries and Muslim and Christian religious leaders also attended.

"This is a very happy and important day for us all," said Emmanuel Nahshon, deputy chief of mission at the Israeli Embassy. "This proves that the terrorists lost."

Turkish officials have charged 69 suspected members of a Turkish al-Qaida cell in connection with the bombings at Neve Shalom, the Beth Israel synagogue, the British Consulate and a London-based bank.

Beth Israel reopened in December.

[Turk2]

Turkey's Chief Rabbi Izak Haleva (C) gives a speech at Neve Shalom synagogue, during the reopening of traditional center of the city's 25,000-person Jewish community in Istanbul October 11, 2004. Neve Shalom and Beit Israel synagogues were devastated in twin suicide car bomb attacks by groups linked to the Al-Qaeda network on November 15, 2003, killing around 30 people. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Turkey's Chief Rabbi Izak Haleva (C), accompanied by rabbis, enters Neve Shalom synagogue during the reopening of the traditional center of the city's 25,000-person Jewish community in Istanbul October 11, 2004. Beit Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues had been devastated in twin suicide car bomb attacks by groups linked to the Al-Qaeda network on November 15, 2003, killing around 30 people including Jewish people praying as well as Muslim passersby. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Turkey's Chief Rabbi Izak Haleva (C), accompanied by rabbis, enters Neve Shalom synagogue during the reopening of the historical synagogue in Istanbul October 11, 2004. Beit Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues was devastated in twin suicide car bomb attacks on November 15, 2003, killing around 30 people iy. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Turkey's Culture Minister Erkan Mumcu, far right, makes a speech at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 11, 2004, during a ceremony to mark the official reopening of the synagogue. Neve Shalom Synagogue, Turkey's largest, reopened after repairs from bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Nov. 15, 2003. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)

Members of Turkey's Jewish community listen as Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas makes a speech at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 11, 2004, during a ceremony to mark the official reopening of the synagogue. Neve Shalom Synagogue, Turkey's largest, reopened after repairs from bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Nov. 15, 2003. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)

Silvyo Ovadya, leader of Turkey's Jewish community, makes a speech at Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, Oct. 11, 2004, during a ceremony to mark the official reopening of the synagogue. Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva marked the reopening Monday by carrying a Torah scroll into the Neve Shalom synagogue, one of two synagogues bombed in a string of November 2003 suicide attacks that killed more than 60 people in Istanbul. The attacks were blamed on al-Qaida. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)

[bayourod]

Is it still true that the Pope of the Greek Orthodox Church must have been born in Turkey?

[ktt52krabbidake]

That is wonderful!
Good news for Turkey and Jews everywhere.

[Turk2]

Yes. The Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church has to be a Turkish citizen.

[Turk2]

Its Ahmet not Achmed and noone's put a knife on any Chief Rabbi's throat in Istanbul since the beginning of Turkish rule there in 1453.