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Istanbul's Jews re-open synagogue after bombing
Shielded by police and steel doors, hundreds of Turkish Jews celebrated the re-opening of Istanbul's main synagogue on Monday, nearly a year after suicide bombers shattered the tiny community's relative peace. In Turkish, Hebrew and their Ladino dialect, they prayed for peaceful co-existence with their Muslim neighbours -- and for a new temple where they might worship in greater safety. Police cordoned off streets leading to the Neve Salom synagogue, which means "oasis of peace" in Hebrew, and visitors entered the temple through a series of thick steel doors. Chief Rabbi Isak Haleva carried the Torah scrolls into the hall after the plaintive call of the Shofar, or ram's horn. "In every part of the world and in every cultural setting... houses of worship have been spared acts of violence," Haleva told the crowd, which included members of the Islamist-leaning government and Muslim and Christian leaders. "The few exceptions are rare acts (and) have always been condemned, sometimes by justice, sometimes by history, but always by the collective conscience. That this remains so is of the utmost importance for the future of mankind." Twenty-four people, mainly Muslim passers-by, were killed when truck bombs struck Neve Salom and the Beit Israel synagogue across town almost simultaneously on Nov. 15, 2003. Five days later, two suicide bombers killed 33 people at the British consulate and the offices of the London-based HSBC bank. A Turkish cell with links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network claimed responsibility for the four attacks, and 69 people have gone on trial for their suspected roles in the bombings, one of peacetime Turkey's worst episodes of violence. Muslim yet constitutionally secular, Turkey's strong military and diplomatic ties with the United States and Israel have made it a target for Islamic extremists, observers say. Fewer than 25,000 Jews remain in Turkey today, mainly the descendants of Sephardim who fled the Spanish Inquisition half a millennium ago for the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. Thousands left amid economic and political instability after the secular Turkish Republic was formed in 1923. Those whose families stayed behind are now among Turkey's most prosperous, including businessmen, professors and artists. "The re-opening of this synagogue, made world famous by terrorist attacks, is a valuable symbol of the vitality of this small community," said columnist Sami Kohen, who is Jewish. Kohen grew up near Neve Salom in Istanbul's ancient Galata district, once the Jewish quarter but now a dilapidated zone. The rabbinate has difficulty preserving the area's handful of synagogues, and security is poor in the maze of narrow streets. Neve Salom had been attacked twice before. In 1986, Arab gunmen stormed the synagogue and killed 22 Jews, and six years later Turkish bombers bungled an attempt to blow up the temple. Silvyo Ovadya, president of the Jewish community, reminded the government of the promise it made following the bombings to provide land for a new synagogue. "Realities demonstrate that we urgently need a new synagogue and community centre," he said. In its quest to join the European Union, Turkey this year eased restrictions on opening houses of worship other than mosques to enable some religious minorities to establish the first new churches or temples in a half century. "Turkey's Jews are the linchpin in the EU bid," said one diplomat at Monday's service. "The government's response as they seek a new synagogue will serve as a a test of the reforms." |
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