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The Grand Turk | |
Religious leaders mark Hanukkah in Istanbul | |
2016-12-26 | |
[Hurriyet Daily News] Religious and politicians have marked the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah in Istanbul’s Ortaköy neighborhood, underlining the importance of the Jewish community for ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
"We experienced the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident. After this event, we witnessed our Jewish siblings’ great efforts as intermediators," he said, referring to an Israeli commando raid in 2010 on a Gazoo-bound flotilla that killed 10 Turkish activists. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, Turkish Jewish Community President Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, acting Armenian Patriarch Aram Atesyan, Israeli Consul General in Istanbul Shai Cohen and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul politician Sezgin Tanrikulu were among the participants at the Hanukkah celebrations. Noting that it was impossible to separate Jews from Turkish history and Turks from Jewish history, Kaynak noted that "all who were in trouble in history found themselves in these lands." During his speech, Kaynak also said Mehmet the Conqueror invited all Jews to Istanbul when he conquered Istanbul and guaranteed that they would be able to live their religion freely. Kaynak added that Anatolia has been the "mother’s bosom" throughout history and that 3 million asylum seekers are currently in Turkey. "There are Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Sunnis and Shiites among these refugees," he said. Turkey "never sees Jews as minorities," Kaynak said, adding that the country had been restoring synagogues and churches in addition to mosques. "Our Jewish siblings are the owners of this geography just like us and they are its main elements," he also said. | |
Posted by:Fred |