Robert Jones in the Algemeiner confirms that the decline of the Turkish Jewish community continues apace: 450 have left, mostly young people.
“Due to deaths and emigration, there are now 450 fewer Jews [in Turkey] this year,” wrote Mois Gabay, a columnist for the Turkish-Jewish weekly, Salom.
This, he said, is not only because the community is aging and has a decreasing birthrate, but as a result of “the traumas that every Jewish generation has endured” in the country.
“Our community has got even more uneasy due to the terror attacks to which they are exposed every 10 years and has been suffering due to the rising antisemitism,” he wrote. “Add to that the economic circumstances that are getting even more difficult, and a considerable section of our community is looking to raise their children in a different country. Thus, most of this year’s emigrants have been young people.”
The rise of militant Islamist groups in the region is another factor. According to a Sky News report in March, ISIS terrorists were planning an attack on Turkish-Jewish kindergartens, schools and a synagogue that doubles as a community center.
As if all of the above were not enough, the antisemitic outbursts from many Turkish politicians and journalists are making life even harder for the country’s Jews.
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also 2009 http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/turkish-jewish-community-concerned-10794413
ReplyDeleteThe photo taken is Ynot Ahridaambol Synagogue
ReplyDeleteThe photo taken is Yambol Synagogue not Ahrida
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