Free Republic

Picking through the rubble at one of the synagogues, searchers Monday found the upper torso of an elderly Jewish worshipper, a doctor at the government health department said. That raised the total death toll in the two bombings Saturday to 24 from 23. Of those, seven were Jews, including the woman's granddaughter whose body was found the day of the attacks. Security cameras outside the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul managed to record the face of the suicide bomber who perpetrated the attack, Israel Radio quoted Turkish investogators as saying. Turkish authorities said the video was "not clear" but that...

The Turkish daily Radikal reported that the Israeli intelligence service Mossad had warned Turkish intelligence units twice about an attack on synagogues in Turkey. The first warning came in April, when Mossad reportedly said that al-Qaida was planning to attack the Neve Shalom and other synagogues, as well as U.S. British and Israeli consulates in Turkey, Radikal said. A second Mossad warning, that al-Qaida was planning attacks on Israeli citizen and U.S. citizens in Turkey, came in September, Radikal reported. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom flew to Istanbul to show solidarity to the small Jewish community in this predominantly Muslim...

(IsraelNN.com) Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa issued a statement condemning the dual car bombing attacks against synagogues in Istanbul but held Israel responsible for inciting terrorism. According to Moussa, Israel’s track record of “ignoring and violating international resolutions” has created an atmosphere that “everything may be violated” and this is “one of the repercussions”. Moussa made his comments to the media from Arab League headquarters. While adding the attacks in Istanbul were “unacceptable”, Moussa added, "ignoring Israel's constant aggressions will, unfortunately, only lead to more civilian victims."

EU Found No Room on Terror List for Turkish Synagogue Bomb Group Turkish IBDA-C terrorists - Islamic extremists and... Trotskyists ***************************************************************** European Commission President, Romano Prodi hurried Saturday November 11 to condemn the terrorist car bombings at two Istanbul synagogues, Neve Shalom and Beit Israel, even before the final tally of the dead. The Italian official made the gracious gesture of visiting the central Milan synagogue and bringing the condolences of "the entire European Union" to Milan Rabbi Giuseppe Laras. After the meeting, the Italian official said: "There is no Europe without tolerance and these episodes are incompatible with our...

ISTANBUL (AP) - Israeli and Turkish investigators combed the wreckage of two bombed synagogues Sunday, with early evidence showing the explosions during Sabbath morning prayers were highly organized suicide attacks - possibly the work of al-Qaida or other international terrorist groups. Forensic experts found more human remains among the rubble, raising the death toll for Saturday's truck bombings to 23. Of the more than 300 wounded, 71 people remained in hospital Sunday afternoon. One forensic specialist, Dr. Keramettin Kurt, said two bodies were found with wire contrivances on them, according to the daily Millyet newspaper. That suggests suicide attackers might...

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom will leave for Istanbul tomorrow. He will meet with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul and with the Jewish community. He will also visit the bombed synagogues.

Jerusalem, November 16, 2003 Cabinet Communique (Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), November 16, 2003: 1. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon sent condolences in the name of the Government and people of Israel to the families of those who were murdered in the double terrorist attack yesterday (Saturday), November 15, 2003, in Istanbul, and also sent his best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to those who were wounded. The Prime Minister said that we have seen yet again that terror knows no boundaries, does not differentiate between religion or blood and that its purpose...

November 15, 2003 The Bombing of Synagogues in Istanbul: An al-Qaida Operation or a Revival of Turkish Islamist Terrorism? Ely Karmon ICT Senior Researcher Background On November 15, 2003, two nearly simultaneous carbomb attacks targeted Istanbul synagogues, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 255. The Neve Shalom synagogue, where most of the deaths reportedly occurred, was the scene of an earlier attack in 1986, when Palestinian terrorists members of the Fatah – Revolutionary Command (better known as the Abu Nidal organization, or ANO) killed 22 worshippers and wounded six others during a Sabbath service. On March 1,...

Terror Massacre in Turkey: MK Calls on Jews to Come Home 08:42 Nov 16, '03 / 21 Cheshvan 5764 Foreign Minister Shalom is in Turkey today, following a day of terror in Istanbul. MK Gila Finkelstein (NRP) said that the attacks "are just another reminder that there is only one place for Jews under the sun, and that is in the State of Israel." Terror Massacre in Turkey: MK Calls on Jews to Come HomeForeign Minister Silvan Shalom is in Turkey today to meet with Jewish community leaders and his counterpart Abdullah Gul, following a day of terror in Istanbul....

Nov. 16, 2003 Turkey remains top destination for Israelis By TAL MUSCAL Yivli Minare, Antalya Photo: Turkish Tourism Board While the deadly terrorist attacks in Istanbul Saturday have caused some Israelis to delay their holidays to Turkey, tour operators did not report a wide scale cancellation of vacations. "Turkey is still the number one tourist destination for Israelis, and if these horrible bombings are isolated events then we won't see a major shift," said Ronen Carasso , Vice President for marketing at Issta Lines. "We did not have any new bookings for Turkey today, but lets not forget that it...

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - An Arabic-language newspaper received a claim of responsibility from the Al-Qaida terrorist movement for the car bomb attacks that killed 23 people in two Istanbul synagogues Saturday, the paper's editor said Sunday. The statement received by the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, said the group carried out the attack because it learned that agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad were in the synagogues.

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Two Arabic-language newspapers received separate statements Sunday claiming the Al-Qaida terrorist network carried out the car bombings outside two Istanbul synagogues — attacks that killed 23 people. A statement received by the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, said a unit of al-Qaida executed the attack on Saturday because it learned that agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad were in the synagogues. Abdel Bari Atwan, the newspaper's editor, told the pan-Arab cable station Al-Jazeera that the claim was received by e-mail from the Abu Hafs al-Masri brigades, which...

An Arabic newspaper says it has received a statement purportedly from al-Qaeda saying it carried out the attacks against synagogues in Istanbul. The editor of the London-based al-Quds newspaper, Abdel-Bari Atwan, says the claim was sent by al-Qaeda in an email. "The statement said that they carried out the operations after they found out that (Israeli) Mossad agents were working at the synagogues," he said. At least 23 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in the twin bombings.

LONDON (Reuters) - London-based Arab language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi said on Sunday it had received a statement from al Qaeda claiming responsibility for the attack on two Istanbul synagogues which killed at least 23 people. Abdel-Bari Atwan, the editor of the newspaper, told Arab satellite television Al Jazeera from London, that the statement was sent in an email from an al Qaeda division called Brigades of the Martyr Abu Hafz al-Masri. "The statement said that they carried out the operations after they found out that Mossad agents were working at the synagogues and therefore they bombed them," he said. Political...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish and Israeli security officials picked through wreckage on Sunday after two car bombs killed 20 people at Istanbul synagogues in an attack on a Muslim nation closely allied with Israel and the United States. Officials said international groups -- possibly including al Qaeda -- might have had a hand in the Saturday morning blasts, which wrecked cars and buildings over wide areas surrounding the heavily protected synagogues. The explosions killed 11 Muslims and nine Jews, a Jewish Agency worker said. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attacks, which dealt NATO (news - web sites)-member Turkey...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 11/16/03 ] 20 die when synagogues bombed in Turkey Al-Qaida link suspected in attacks during worship By JAMES C. HELICKE Associated Press ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Car bombs exploded outside two synagogues filled with worshippers Saturday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 300. The government said the attack had international links, raising suspicions that al-Qaida was involved. One blast tore apart the facade of Neve Shalom -- Istanbul's biggest synagogue and the symbolic center of the 25,000-member Jewish community -- just as hundreds of people inside were celebrating a bar mitzvah. Three miles away in...

Police here have arrested three people, including a veiled woman, in connection with twin car bomb attacks that devastated two Istanbul synagogues, killing 20 people and wounding 300, the Hurriyet daily's website reported on Sunday. The intelligence and anti-terrorist services brought the three in for questioning on possible links with Saturday's attacks, according to the report. Their nationalities were not released, nor was there any information on which, if any, organisation they belong to. After the attacks, an unidentified caller to the Anatolia news agency claimed they were the work of a radical home-grown group called the "Islamic Front of...

A Turkish newspaper reported on Sunday morning that local police had arrested three suspects in connection with Saturday's bomb attack on two synagogues in Istanbul. Israel Radio reported that the paper, Jumhuriet, had identified the suspects as two men and a woman. The woman was also said to be wearing a traditional Muslim headscarf, which is quite uncommon in the mostly secular Muslim state. A spokesman for Istanbul police would only say that the investigation into the bombing, which killed at least 23 people and wounded some 308, was continuing. He refused to comment on the report of the arrests....

Nov. 15, 2003 Israel links attacks to anti-Semitism in Europe By JPOST.COM STAFF Photo: AP Nations and organizations around the world have reacted to the bombing of two synagogues in Istanbul on Saturday morning. Israel tied the deadly attacks to anti-Semitic incitement in the Arab world and the recent anti-Semitic and virulently anti-Israeli statements heard in Europe. France and Italy acknowledged the Jewish aspects of the attack, with Italy linking it to the killing of 19 Italians in Iraq on Wednesday. Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expressed "shock and outrage" at the attacks and sent Israel's condolences to the Turkish...

Nov. 15, 2003 Jewish Agency sends relief to Istanbul By JENNY HAZAN The Jewish Agency for Israel sent a delegation of seven Turkish-speakers - among them two psychologists who are terror specialists and two youth leaders who are familiar with the Istanbul Jewish community – to Istanbul on Saturday night, after hearing of the simultaneous bombings of two Istanbul synagogues, that took the lives of at least 20 and wounded over 260. "In the case of the Istanbul community, they called us to request post-trauma assistance to children, as well as educational activities for young people," said Director General Giora...