Turkey's Jews seek equal democratic rights

PanARMENIAN.Net - The biggest problem of Jews in Turkey is that most people perceive them as foreigners and not citizens of this country, according to the leader of the Jewish community in Turkey.



"Turkey's Jews ask for equal democratic rights while the concerns of the Jewish community in Turkey about possible antagonism over Israeli attacks in Gaza remain. We want equality and democracy, not tolerance," Silvyo Ovadya said.



"Everybody can criticize Israel's policies and we respect that. However, any anti-Israel statement can easily turn into a condemnation of Jews," Ovadya told Milliyet daily in an interview. "What we are concerned about is the Jewish part, not the Israel part. We do not want people to insult our religion," he said.



"Whenever there is a war in the Middle East anti-Semitism goes up in the world. One reason is the inability to distinguish between an Israeli national and a Jew who is a citizen of another country. This is exactly our problem in Turkey, people see us as part of Israel," Ovadya said.



Explaining that their biggest problem was that people saw them as outsiders, Ovadya said they had no problems worshiping or holding religious services. "Of course there are restrictions. For example have you ever seen a Jewish ambassador or military officer? However, our problem is something else. We do our military service, we fulfill all our civic responsibilities and we are raised with Turkish culture and language. When somebody calls us foreigners despite all that, it offends us," he said.



Referring to the protection afforded by the Treaty of Lausanne to minorities, Ovedya said they wanted the Turkish Constitution and democracy to protect their rights as they would any other citizen. "Today Jews in France or Britain do not go to the synagogue or Jewish schools because of a Lausanne-like treaty. They do so based on their democratic rights. I am not a guest or a foreigner. I am a Turkish citizen just like you. All we want is acknowledgment," he said. "I do not ask for tolerance. If this is my country, why should anybody tolerate me?" he added.