Turkey’s Jews say anti-Semitism is a risk when Israeli-Turkish relations become strained

Turkey’s Jews urge calm after spat with Israel

ANKARA, Turkey — Disputes between Turkey and Israel must be resolved courteously, or they could inflame anti-Semitism, Turkey’s main Jewish group said Thursday.

“There might be ups and downs in relations between the two countries, there may be mutual anger, but all these have to be settled in a diplomatic way and in line with rules of courtesy,” said Silvyo Ovadya, president of Musevi Cemaati, or Jewish Community.

On Wednesday, Israel complied with Turkey’s demand to apologize for its treatment of Turkish Ambassador Oguz Celikkol.

Two days earlier, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, summoned Celikkol to complain about “The Valley of the Wolves,” a Turkish television drama that shows Israeli security forces kidnapping children and shooting old men. During the meeting, Ayalon forced Celikkol to sit on a low sofa without a handshake and explained to cameramen that the humiliation was intentional.

The incident further strained the complex relations between Israel and Turkey, its closest Muslim ally. Their close military alliance and economic ties already had been hurt by the fury that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed about Israel’s war in Gaza a year ago and by what he considers Israel’s aggressive treatment of its neighbors.

Ovadya said in a telephone interview on Thursday that his group’s 23,000 Jewish members have no immediate fears, but that further tensions could “turn into anti-Semitism” in Turkey, a country of more than 70 million Muslims.

Before the standoff over Celikkol, Erdogan had said his criticism of Israel does not refer to Jews or amount to anti-Semitism. However, Jewish groups have reported hundreds of anti-Semitic articles in the Turkish press in recent months.

On Wednesday, a major Jewish American group raised concerns about rising anti-Semitism in Turkey, criticizing statements by Turkish government officials and the “hateful depiction” of Jews and Israel in the media.

“We continue to be concerned about a new environment in Turkey which permits and even encourages extreme expressions regarding Jews and Israel,” Abraham H. Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League said in a statement. “While we have celebrated Turkey’s history of coexistence with Jews and the protection Turkish society provides for its Jewish community, we cannot ignore this new atmosphere and its potential consequences.”

Security has not been stepped up at Jewish sites, but it already has been tight since 2003, when al-Qaida-linked suicide bombers attacked a British consulate, a British bank and two Jewish synagogues in Istanbul. The attacks killed 58 people.

In 1986, gunmen attacked Istanbul’s main synagogue, the Neve Shalom, killing 22 people.

Most Jews in Turkey are descendants of people who were expelled from Spain in 1492 for refusing to convert to Christianity and welcomed in Turkey by the Ottoman Sultan Beyazit. Other Jews found refuge in Turkey after fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II.

The community flourished throughout the centuries, but a special wealth tax imposed on Jews and other minorities during World War II devastated some businesses, and when Israel was created in 1948 many Turkish Jews began to emigrate.

Erdogan frequently praises the Turks’ helping hand to the Jews when he defends his criticism of Israel’s leaders.

“For centuries we have shown the necessary tolerance toward the Israeli people and the Jewish people. History is a witness to this. If Israel displays the same approach, then of course this will always be reciprocated by Turkey,” Erdogan said this week.

Associated Press Writer Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects Turkish leader’s name to “Tayyip,” sted “Tayyid.”)