Video: Erdogan in speech condemns murder of Israelis, but says Israel is committing massacre in Gaza/Photo: Reuters
"We don't really know, because we don't really ask, because we know they couldn't really tell." This is the complex, but honest, answer of Rina (not her real name), who grew up in Turkey and made aliyah to Israel for her academic studies, when asked whether her Jewish relatives living in Turkey have felt a change since the beginning of the war, and especially since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements.
As reported yesterday in Walla!, the Turkish president warned Israel against carrying out the Shin Bet chief's threat to assassinate Hamas members in his country. Turkey accuses Israel of "genocide" and Erdogan has returned to his aggressive rhetoric against Israel that characterized him in the past, recently announcing the severing of relations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he describes as a "butcher of Gaza" who will have to stand international trial for "war crimes." This rhetoric later echoes from the throats of pro-Palestinian demonstrators across Europe and, of course, in Turkey, where in recent weeks he himself has called for demonstrators.
"We believe they are well. We know that relatives from Europe will go out to them for the holiday there and maybe we will hear more from them when they return," Rina added, her ambiguity stemming from the fear that any conversation with relatives could be eavesdropping and complicate them.
They call Netanyahu "the butcher of Gaza." Turkey/Social Media Documentation under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
Israelis have left Turkey, and no wonder: Turkey's ambassador to Israel has been called in for consultations in Ankara. Israel's Foreign Ministry called it "another step by the Turkish president siding with the Hamas terrorist organization." Foreign Minister Eli Cohen ordered the recall of Israel's diplomatic representatives from Turkey "in order to reassess Israel-Turkey relations." The travel warning to Turkey was raised to the highest level 4, and the National Security Council called on all Israelis staying in Turkey to leave as soon as possible.
For Israelis who have not yet left Turkey, the NSC recommended taking all recommended precautions and minimizing gatherings and staying in public spaces as much as possible, downplaying Israeli and Jewish characteristics, and avoiding places identified as Jewish or with Israeli affiliations. The leaders of the Jewish community condemned themselves to media silence. "We will talk after the war," one message, but whether explicitly or implicitly, between the lines, this is what everyone is saying.
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A store in Turkey where a sign was hung prohibiting the entry of Jews/documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law
Maxi (not his real name), a 67-year-old Istanbul-born and resident of the city, a married father of two who spoke to Walla!, clarifies, "There is no government pressure on the Jews. The change is reflected in street demonstrations and anti-Semitism is rising. I understand that it is not only here but all over the world. Here since the beginning of the war, once I have already encountered such a demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy, I was in the car and it was very unpleasant."
Maxey adds, "People feel more stress at work, in offices, in banks. They are afraid to identify themselves as Jews. There has always been hatred towards Jews, it happened in the past whenever there was a problem with Gaza or Israel and all Jews will tell you that they felt hatred in the past as well, but it has erupted especially now. You really feel the hatred that erupts on social media. Any publication that is somehow connected to Jewish institutions is immediately attacked."
He said most synagogues in Istanbul had been closed for security reasons. Out of about twenty workers, five. "There is a strong police guard over the synagogues and Jewish community centers that are usually adjacent to them," he said, "My synagogue works, buses of police officers come to guard during the Arab Mincha. At the end of the prayer, people hurry to disperse and go home. We hope we will return to normal life. That when the war is over, people will forget. As always."
Stepping on the Israeli flag in the market. Turkey/Social Media Documentation under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
He said he no longer sees Israelis in the city. "About a month ago, a young Israeli couple who were staying on a Turkish island in the Mediterranean came here, they had to come to Israel, they were a little afraid to go around alone and go to the hotel, so we hosted them for the night until they arranged a flight through Greece. There are no more direct flights to Israel. Until a few months ago, there were thirty a day. So no one should come either. Those who need to arrive or leave Israel usually fly through Greece or Romania."
Meanwhile, the scenes in the media and social media are harsh. People deploy an Israeli flag and step on it in the market, billboards supporting Hamas, posters of Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, graffiti of "Hamas heroes," a bookstore salesman who hung a sign saying "No entry for Jews," and a taxi driver who announces in a note he hung on his windshield - "Does not transport Israelis." In a tweet by Dr. Hai Eitan Cohen Yanarocak of the Dayan Center - Tel Aviv University, a native of Turkey who immigrated to Israel, he showed how in a school yard, dozens of students, perhaps hundreds, screamed "Death to Israel" and wrote, "This should bother Israel, these are tomorrow's decision makers."
A store displaying a boycott of Israel sign/documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law
Boycott of Israel in Turkey/Social Media Documentation under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
"The Jews are in the middle of a sandwich," Dr. Yanarocak explains the situation, while not attributing the wave of hatred present to President Erdogan's statements, "not only the president, but you can say that all the politicians and all the wall-to-wall media speak with one voice, show only the Palestinian side, and a day or two after the massacre even began to question the Israeli version and do everything to present it as cheap and recruited propaganda." He says, "An ordinary citizen who is not an expert receives this one-dimensional review accompanied by statements by his politicians, and it is clear that as a result the image of Israel has changed in his eyes since the beginning of the war."
Regarding the Jews, he added, "The situation of the Jews is complex and they are in a very uncomfortable place for them now. Everyone looks at them and they are in friction between their sentiment for Israel and what Turkey's politicians and media are broadcasting. They lower their profile, try not to speak in the public arena and hope for better days. They have already seen crises like after the Mavi Marmara flotilla, and remember that afterwards there was normalization."
Yanarocak notes that "Erdogan held back for two weeks, and his entire opposition was ahead of him." He mentions the earthquake and the Israeli aid that helped improve the image and relations, "We saw bilateral visits, somehow everything went well. Now everything has been turned upside down." However, in his opinion, "Erdogan's statements leave an opening of hope for a return to relations by concentrating his arrows of criticism on Netanyahu."
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