Jews of Turkey: Migration, Culture and Memory 0429507283, 9780429507281

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Jews of Turkey

Jews of Turkey: Migration, Culture and Memory explores the culture of Jews who immigrated from East Turkey to Israel. The study reveals the cultural values of their communities, way of life, beliefs and traditions in the multicultural and multi-religious environment that was the East of Turkey. The book presents their immigration processes, social relationships and memories of their past from a cultural perspective. Consequently, this study reconstructs the life of Eastern Jews of Turkey before their immigration to Israel. The anthropological fieldwork for this research was carried out over a year in Israel. The author visited eleven cities, where he found Jewish communities from the Ottoman Empire. The book examines their history and origins, personal stories of their immigration and different social aspects, such as their relationships with Muslims, other Jewish neighborhoods, the family, childhood, status of women, marriages, clothing, cuisine, religious life, education, economic conditions, Shabbat and holidays. This is the first book that discusses multiple Jewish communities living in Israel who moved from East Turkey. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers and students who are interested in Jewish and Israeli studies, Turkish minorities and anthropology. Süleyman Şanlı is the chair of the anthropology department at Mardin Artuklu University, Turkey. He was a visiting scholar at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, where he conducted the anthropological fieldwork on Jews who migrated to Israel from Turkey. His research interests are Ottoman Jews, Jews of Turkey, Jewish cultural studies and social and cultural anthropology.

Routledge Jewish Studies Series Series Editor: Oliver Leaman University of Kentucky

Jewish Studies, which are interpreted to cover the disciplines of history, sociology, anthropology, culture, politics, philosophy, theology, religion, as they relate to Jewish affairs. The remit includes texts which have as their primary focus issues, ideas, personalities and events of relevance to Jews, Jewish life and the concepts which have characterized Jewish culture both in the past and today. The series is interested in receiving appropriate scripts or proposals. The Bible and the ‘Holy Poor’ From the Tanakh to Les Misérables David Aberbach Violence and Messianism Jewish Philosophy and the Great Conflicts of the Twentieth Century Petar Bojanić Ethical Monotheism The Philosophy of Judaism Ehud Benor Nationalism, War and Jewish Education From the Roman Empire to Modern Times David Aberbach Nietzsche and Jewish Political Theology David Ohana Religious Zionism and the Six Day War From Realism to Messianism Avi Sagi and Dov Schwartz Jews of Turkey Migration, Culture and Memory Süleyman Şanlı For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/middleeaststudies/ series/JEWISH

Jews of Turkey Migration, Culture and Memory

Süleyman Şanlı

First published 2019 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Süleyman Şanlı The right of Süleyman Şanlı to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Şanlı, Süleyman, author. Title: Jews of Turkey : migration, culture and memory / Süleyman Şanlı. Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Routledge Jewish studies series | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018038468 (print) | LCCN 2018043924 (ebook) | ISBN 9780429507281 (master) | ISBN 9780429016868 (Adobe Reader) | ISBN 9780429016851 (Epub) | ISBN 9780429016844 (Mobipocket) | ISBN 9781138580541 | ISBN 9781138580541 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429507281 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Jews, Turkish. | Jews, Turkish—Israel. | Turkey— Emigration and immigration. | Israel—Emigration and immigration. Classification: LCC DS135.T8 (ebook) | LCC DS135.T8 S33 2019 (print) | DDC 305.892/40561—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018038468 ISBN: 978-1-138-58054-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-50728-1 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC

In memory of my late father Mele Qedri, my late brother Mele Âdil and dedicated to my mother, Feride Şanlı

Contents

1

List of figures List of tables Acknowledgments

ix x xi

Introduction: invisible or forgotten Jews of Turkey?

1

Origins and history

16

1.1 Origin through written sources 20 1.2 History of the Eastern Jews of Turkey 23 1.3 Eastern Jewish communities 26 2

Migration

51

2.1 Voluntary migration or compulsory? 53 2.2 Leaving the forefathers’ lands behind 58 2.3 The road to Jerusalem 61 3

Social life, culture and collective memory 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10

Jewish neighborhoods and Jewish community 69 Relationships with Muslims 71 Houses of the Jews 74 Clothing 76 Food 77 The family 81 Synagogues 90 Death and funerals 102 Economic conditions 104 Education 106

68

viii

Contents 3.11 Shabbat 108 3.12 Holidays 110 Conclusion: become visible and be remembered

124

Bibliography Index

127 137

Figures

1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

World Jewish Population Jews in the Ottoman State 1911–1912 Çermik Synagogue in Jerusalem First Page of Şorkaya Family Album Passports of Yusuf İçren, Yitzhak İşran’s Elder Brother and His Family Passports of Yusuf İçren, Yitzhak İşran’s Elder Brother and His Family Passports of Yusuf İçren, Yitzhak İşran’s Elder Brother and His Family Qaliya with Hummus and Pita Bread Lubiye (Turkish Lolaz) Before and After Cooking Traditional Foods of Eastern Jews Inscription on the Wall of Çermik Synagogue The Well: Last Remnant from Cizre Synagogue Shofars Belonging to the Urfa Jewish Community

17 20 36 60 63 63 64 78 80 80 94 97 111

Tables

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 2.1 3.1

Eastern Jews in the Ottoman State 1883–1914 Total Number of Jews in the Republic of Turkey 1927–1965 Population of the Eastern Jews 1927–1965 Yearbook of Aleppo Province, Antep District Population Registers Population of Jews of Gaziantep, 1927–1965 Yearbook of Aleppo Province, Urfa District Population Registers Population of Jews of Şanlıurfa, 1927–1965 Population of Jews of Siverek Jewish Population in Diyarbakır from the Sixteenth Century to the Twentieth Century Jews of Diyarbakır during the Republic Period Jewish Taxpayers between the Years 1518–1564 in Mardin Jewish Population from the Sixteenth Century to the Twentieth Century in Mardin Population of Jews of Mardin during Republic Period, 1927–1965 Population of Jews of Van, 1927–1965 Population of Jews of Cizre Jewish Communities That Once Lived in the East and Southeast of Anatolia Synagogues in the East According to Travelers’ Accounts

25 26 27 29 29 31 31 32 34 35 37 38 38 41 43 53 91

Acknowledgments

It gives me great pleasure at the end of this long journey to acknowledge those who offered the assistance, advice, criticism and encouragement that accompanied all of my steps along the way. I have many people to thank for this book and the research underpinning its completion. Additionally, it could not have been completed without the generosity of the many people and foundations that supported this study from its inception. First and foremost, I am very grateful to Mr. Bedreddin Dalan, president of the Board of Trustees of Yeditepe University (İ STEK Vakfı), for granting me the scholarship to study at the Yeditepe University, Department of Anthropology. Also, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Mehmet Bayrakdar, and to Assistant Professor Seyhan Kayhan Kılıç. And I am very much indebted to Assistant Professor Arif Acaloğlu for his valuable comments and support. Furthermore, this research would not have been possible without the Graduate Research Scholarship of Government of Israel. The field research was conducted thanks to this generous funding. As part of the research, I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to Tel Aviv University, The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and to the center’s faculty and staff for hosting me as a Visiting Scholar to benefit the center’s library and archives, including Sourasky Central Library for the generous use of their collection. Accordingly, I am very fortunate to have done my research under the supervision of Professor Ofra Bengio, senior research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center. Thanks to her I felt very comfortable while studying at the center, since she treated me as a long-time student of hers. Also, I would like to thank Hay Eytan Cohen Yanar Ocak, junior researcher at the center, who put me in contact with some interviewees. Besides that, Professor Amy Singer, faculty member of Tel Aviv University, Department of Middle Eastern and African History, and Professor David Katz from the History Department, deserve all my respect. Amy guided me as an unofficial second supervisor during my studies at the university. At this point I have to thank Professor M. Sait Özervarlı, head of the Department of Humanities and Social Science at Yıldız Technical University, who made the initial contact with Amy Singer and some academics in Israel who might be related to my research. Besides, I am very much indebted to my contact person Shoshana Noy, Manager of Foundations and Grants at Tel Aviv University, for helping me and especially

xii

Acknowledgments

granting the ULPAN Hebrew language course at the university. Shoshi opened the way of learning Hebrew faster. I am very grateful to Dr. Orit Abuhav, former head of the Israeli Anthropological Association, for introducing me to some Jewish students who originally came from Urfa, and her husband Yitzhak Abuhav for occasionally hosting me at their home. Additionally, I am very indebted to Dr. İ gal Israel, an archeologist at Israeli Antiquity Authority and a researcher on Eastern Jews like me, for helping me to find interviewees from the Siverek Jewish community and Zion Salay Suliman. In addition to that, words are inadequate to express how thankful I am to Tsameret Levy, a Jew of Diyarbakır origins born in Israel; beyond that she was a colleague and a friend who helped my research in many ways, especially by introducing me to the Diyarbakır Jewish community. Without her, the part of the book on the Diyarbakır Jewish community would never be complete. I would like to thank Rafael Sadi, former head of the Union of Jews from Turkey in Israel, for putting me in contact with some Eastern Jews of Turkey. I also owe many thanks to Eddi Anter, a famous Jewish author of Urfa origins, who lives in the United States, for his interest and kind advice regarding my research. I am very grateful to Avraham Nehmad for his contribution in completing the section on the Jews of Gaziantep by introducing me to the Gaziantep Jewish community. Additionally, I am indebted to Sara Nigri Niyevo, a Turkish Jewish friend in Israel, for putting me in contact with the Jews of Mardin. Also, I appreciate Mati Gill and Rina Barbut for their interest and help in finding interviewees for my research. I am extremely thankful to Professor Tuncay Zorlu of Istanbul Technical University, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, who generously read and edited earlier drafts of chapters. Additionally, I am very grateful to Aliza Marcus for her interest in my study and help in editing it. Also, I would like to thank to my colleague, Murat Küçük, research assistant at Mardin Artuklu University, Department of Sociology, for sharing his time and valuable conversations during our tea breaks in Nezir’s teahouse at Mardin. And, I wish to thank to Durnaz Yılmaz, Kadri Toncer, Cafer Gözel and the late Sebriyê Sêkeko for guiding me to Jewish sites in Cizre. Besides that, I am very grateful to the Center for Islamic Studies, İ SAM Library, for providing the researchers a comfortable study environment and for their kind and helpful staff. Finally, my thanks to my family, who continue to tolerate my absence and encourage me throughout my research. My mother never stopped supporting and believing in me. Special thanks to my brother and friend Muhammed Nurullah Şanlı. Any errors or omissions I have made are, of course, my own.

Introduction Invisible or forgotten Jews of Turkey?

Since ancient times Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Anatolia were a home for the Jews. During the Roman and Byzantine period there were small Jewish communities known as Karaite and Romaniot in Anatolia. With the establishment of the Ottoman Empire they continued to exist. Afterwards, Ashkenazim (Medieval Hebrew for Germans), Yiddish-speaking Jewish communities from central and Eastern Europe, began to immigrate to the Ottoman Empire during the fifteenth century. With the expulsion of Jews from Spain, Anatolia became the new home of Sephardim.1 As a result of the flow of these immigrations, Sephardim became the dominant Jewish community among other Jewish groups. Thus, Jews were scattered in different parts of the Ottoman Empire. They were recognized as a “millet”, or religious community, by the nineteenth century, which came to mean “nation and nationality”.2 According to the millet system, religious minority groups had religious and cultural freedom and legal autonomy under the authority of their own religious chief. The majority of the Jews in the Empire were concentrated in the western regions, especially in Istanbul, Izmir and the provinces of Bursa and Edirne. They made important contributions to the development of the Empire’s trade and industry, and they especially played important roles in Istanbul, helping it become a major imperial economic center.3 In addition, they had roles in science and medicine and in political and diplomatic affairs.4 There were also considerable Jewish communities that lived in the eastern part of the country in provinces such as Gaziantep, Urfa, Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van. I call these communities “Mizrahi Jews of the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey”, since they lived for many centuries in the east and emigrated first from the eastern Ottoman Empire and later from Turkey to Israel. Lexically, “Mizrah” means “east” in Hebrew.5 However, Mizrahi literally means “Easterners” or “Orientals”,6 and it has a common usage in Israel. It refers to the Jews who emigrated from Middle Eastern (Iraq, Syria, Yemen, etc.) and North African countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, etc.) to Israel. After the emergence of the new state they become one of Israel’s “subaltern groups”.7 According to Galit Saada Ophir:

2

Introduction The east-west dichotomy was employed by the founders of the state – Zionist Jews from especially Eastern Europe, and from America, who are defined as Ashkenazim- to ‘Orientalize’ Mizrahim and acquire a hegemonic position in Israeli Jewish society. Thus, the Orientalist discourse and practices as performed by Ashkenazim define Mizrahim both as part of the Israeli collective, but also as an ‘other’.

In this way, it was expected that Mizrahi Jews would deconstruct their disdained eastern/oriental identity and adopt the western Israeli Ashkenazi identity. In accordance with that, Ella Shohat believed that the creation of the term Mizrahim should be located in the Zionist ideology,8 the political movement that advocated the return of the Jewish people to its own historical land and the idea that Jews should have a homeland – Eretz Israel.9 Shohat claims that “Mizrahim”, as an “imagined community”, are a Zionist invention. By provoking the geographical dispersal of the Jews from the Muslim world, by placing them in a new situation on the ground by attempting to reshape their identity as simply “Israeli”, by disdaining and trying to uproot their Easternness, by discriminating against them as a group, Zionism obliged Arab Jews “to redefine themselves in relation to new ideological polarities”. In addition to that, “Jews in the Muslim world always thought of themselves as ‘Jews’, but their Jewishness was assumed as part of the Judeo-Islamic cultural fabric. With Zionism that set of affiliations changed, resulting in a transformed semantics of belonging”. During my research and interviews with sources, I noticed some similarities between Mizrahi Jews of Turkey and Mizrahi Jews of Israel, in other words Eastern Jews of Turkey and Israel. This was not in political or ideological terms, but in social, cultural and economic conditions. Both groups of Mizrahi Jews were neglected and not highly skilled people. Socio-economic disadvantages were much more prevalent than among the Ashkenazi brethren. Most of the Mizrahi Jews were illiterate agricultural laborers.10 However, while this could be said for the initial newcomers to the newly founded state, this was not the case for the generation born in Israel. Contrary to their parents, who were born in the diaspora, the children of these Mizrahi Jews were literate and highly educated. They were no longer farmers, shopkeepers or peddlers; they were lawyers, teachers, doctors and even members of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. In contrast to what happened in Israel at the outset, in the Ottoman Empire and subsequently in Turkey, Eastern Jews and Western Jews were not viewed differently by the state structure. But it is clear that Western Jews of Turkey were better educated and wealthier than Eastern Jews. The condition of Jewish communities was not the same everywhere in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. There were significant differences among cities and towns and between the urban and rural areas.11 Among those who lived in Istanbul, Izmir and Edirne, for example, there were many differences from those who lived in Diyarbakır and Mardin. Indeed they, meaning the Mizrahi Jews, were different. They were not Sephardim who had been expelled from Spain, and they were not Ashkenazim, Jews from Eastern Europe. They were

Introduction 3 Jews who lived in the east of the Ottoman Empire and later in Turkey. In Israel, the term Mizrahi, or easterner, refers to Jews “belonging to, or originating from, communities that lived for centuries in Muslim countries”.12 Thus, Eastern Jews are also considered Mizrahim because they emigrated from Turkey. Yaakov Malkin explains that most Jews who live within Jewish society and culture in the diaspora simultaneously live within the culture of the people and of the nation in which they reside. In Israel most Jews live only within Jewish Israeli society and culture, which, like all contemporary national culture, is influenced by cultures of other peoples.13 The establishment of Israel made fundamental changes in the situation of the Jewish Diaspora. Prior to the state’s establishment Jews constituted a “classical stateless diaspora”; afterwards Jews who lived or settled outside Israel showed similarities to other classical diasporas and they have been regarded as a “classical state based diaspora”.14 Basically, the term diaspora is defined as the “dispersal of a people from its original homeland”.15 Originally, the concept of diaspora referred to the “dispersal of the Jews from their historic homeland”.16 However, the term has now been used to encompass a broad range of groups such as refugees, migrant workers and roma. Noted scholar on diaspora issues, Robin Cohen, outlines five different types of diasporas: victim, labor, trade, imperial and cultural.17 Accordingly, William Safran defines a list of characteristics of diasporas. He claims that communities that contain at least three out of four features from the following list can be considered a diaspora (ibid.): • • • • •

Dispersal to two or more locations Collective mythology of homeland Alienation from host land Idealization of return to homeland Ongoing relationship with homeland

Throughout history of the Jews “the collective memories of the homeland remained vivid in the hearts of Diaspora Jews”.18 Therefore, according to Sheffer, because the “spiritual and emotional ties of the homeland” constitute a sense of “national solidarity”, the land of Israel became a “crucial element in the ethno-nationalreligious identity of Diaspora Jews”.19 Khalid Khayati20 summarized the theoretical meaning of the concept of diaspora for the Kurdish diaspora in Europe in three points. These can also be applied to Eastern Jews. First, diaspora must begin with people voluntarily or forcefully scattered to a location.21 After the destruction of the first and second temple in Jerusalem, Jews were dispersed all around the world. According to one tradition, Eastern Jews are believed to be descendants of these dispersions and exiles. Their migration from the original homeland was not made voluntarily, but forcibly. Second, “The scattered people do not completely merge with the culture they live among. They still have some bonds to their homeland and culture. They try to keep their relationship alive with their homeland”.22

4

Introduction

Eastern Jews were different from the people they lived together with only in terms of religion. They were Jews and prayed in the synagogue, while their Muslim neighbors prayed in mosques. However, culturally and socially they were integrated with the local community. Their customs, traditions, cuisine, clothing and behaviors were the same as their surroundings. They were keeping their relationship alive with the Holy Land, Jerusalem, especially during the everyday prayers by saying L’shana Haba’a B’Yerushalayim ‫“ לשנה הבאה בירושלים‬Next year in Jerusalem”. The Jews researched in this study had never been to Jerusalem until their migration, but through everyday prayers and psalms in Hebrew, they imagined and dreamed of the holy city. They deeply believed that one day, they would be in Jerusalem. Third, “there must be an entity that the group of people can define their identity within”.23 This identity is the identity of being Jewish. The Jews described in this study do not exist anymore in the east of Turkey. Oral historians Daniel Bertaux and Martin Kohli emphasize that collecting and analyzing life stories can provide precise descriptions of interviewees’ life trajectories in the social context, which can uncover the patterns of social relations and the sociopolitical processes that shaped them.24 Therefore, this research aims also to revive their forgotten “memories” lived on these lands for centuries. We cannot keep our “memory” away from ongoing events. Wittgenstein says, “Many very different things happen when we remember”.25 The concept of “memory” especially cultural or collective memory (also known “social memory”) has recently occupied social science theory and research with an emphasis of different explanations.26 Many scholars have pointed out that memory is not one process but “a constellation of process”.27 Thus, memory has recently become an interdisciplinary area of investigation.28 For instance psychology, history, sociology, anthropology etc. are analyzing the term “memory” within their purview. Daniel Schacter has shown that memory depends on “a variety of neutral activities that converge to create recollective experiences”.29 Halbwachs, a prominent scholar in the study of memory, preferred the term “recollection” to “memory” since it underlines the collective or social aspect of memory.30 According to him, “individuals do their remembering as a part of society. Society provides the location or framework where individuals transform vague images and inchoate memories into clearer recollections”.31 Following that he points out that it is in society that people normally acquire their memories and it is also in society that they recall, recognize and localize their memories.32 In the concept put forward by Assmann, the notion of culture is close to the standpoint of those cultural anthropologists who use the differentiating concept of culture as always being “the feature of a certain group”, so the concept in fact refers to “cultures in plural”.33 According to Assmann’s concept, cultural memory remains an exclusive feature of a certain group – the part of shared knowledge that articulates the group’s identity.34 In contrast to Assmann’s notion, George Mead says, memory cannot be reduced only to sets of ideas about the past and to ways of commemorating that past, because it is closely linked with action, and thus with an orientation towards the future.35 However, in this research I dealt with

Introduction 5 cultural memory in the framework of Assmann’s perspective as truly “sociocultural phenomena”. In the cultural perspective proposed here, the term “memory” refers to traditions, culture as well as social, economic and political situation of those communities during their life in Turkey. Traditions and culture refer to values, beliefs, ways of behavior such as habits, customs practiced by members of a community as well as the ways of maintaining all these and “their transmission in time and space”.36 It also includes their relationships with Muslim neighbors, marriages, wedding ceremonies and religious rituals. Thus, through these elements we can trace societal codes of peoples. If it is admitted that37 “we are made of our memories”, then it follows, as Fentress and Wickham have pointed out, that “study of the way we remember is a study of the way we are”.38 Hence as Halbwachs argued, “all memory is structured by group identities that one remembers one’s childhood as part of a family, one’s neighborhood as part of a local community, one’s working life as part of a factory or office community and/or a political party or trade union and so on”.39 So, our experience of the present mainly depends upon our knowledge of the past. As Connerton pointed out, “we experience our present world in a context which is casually connected with past events and objects, and hence with reference to events and objects which we are not experiencing when we are experiencing the present”.40 In accordance with this idea, this research is an attempt to uncover the social structure of a forgotten minority group, Jews who once lived in the eastern of Turkey, by recalling their memories through collecting life stories. Hence, while this study follows the methodology of anthropology it also benefits from the discipline of history and related methods such as oral history. Historians and scholars who have dealt with Jewish communities in Turkey neglected the Eastern Jewish communities and usually investigated Ottoman Jews, Jews of Istanbul, Izmir or Thrace. Probably, one of the two reasons is the difficulty of reaching out to the inhabitants of east and southeastern Anatolian Jewish communities. Secondly, the Eastern Jewish communities did not have a significant population or remarkable trade or cultural activities when compared with Western Jews, Thracian Jews and Jews who lived in port cities.41 This research tries to explore an anthropological account of a particular community who once lived in the eastern part of Turkey that immigrated compulsorily or voluntarily to Israel. When beginning this research, I had never come across any information regarding Judaism as one of the religions practiced in the east of Turkey in any major references I had read. Likewise, I did not know any people of Jewish faith. In fact there were indeed a number of people who believed in Judaism, which is significant in showing the variety of faiths in the east of the country. Based on this information, the present study aims to examine, through anthropological methods, the culture of Eastern Jews, who once lived in the east of Turkey and later moved to Israel and settled there. Anthropology examines culture through a multi perspective approach. By “Culture of Eastern Jews” as mentioned in Rapoport’s definition of culture, I mean that culture

6

Introduction is a way of life typical of a group; a system of symbols, meanings and cognitive schemata transmitted through symbolic codes; a set of adaptive strategies for survival related to ecology and resources. Culture can be said to be about a group of people who have a set of values and beliefs which embody ideals and are transmitted to members of the group through enculturation.42

Therefore, one of the main objectives of this study is to describe the culture of a community that once had a way of life, values, beliefs and encultured in a multicultural and multireligious environment of eastern Turkey but no longer exist there anymore and now lives in Israel. Hence, this research should be seen as an explorative study following the methods of anthropology. As mentioned in the previous pages, Eastern Jews of Turkey were a less-known religious minority group when compared with other groups. In accordance with that, this research will answer the following questions and will thus attempt to contribute to filling the gap in this field. • • •

Who are the Eastern Jews of Turkey? Why and how did they leave their forefathers’ lands? What are the codes of their culture?

Methodology and chapter overview Anthropology researchers may want to go deeper in their studies. In this respect, it is necessary to choose a proper method to have successful results. I tried to conduct this fieldwork by adhering to the methodology of anthropology, meanwhile benefiting from ethnography. In Doing Ethnographies, Crang and Cook43 describe ethnography as “participant observation plus any other appropriate methods”. What is included in the “other” are also predominant research methods employed in this study such as in-depth interviews, collecting life stories, personal narratives and attending cultural events, archival research and written sources. I was conducting the fieldwork in a difficult region. Sometimes it was not easy to find people and it was generally time consuming to contact people. In such circumstances for an anthropologist in the field, it could be useful to apply the snowball method. According to H. Russell Bernard,44 “snowball is a sampling method for studying hard to find or hard to study populations”. Apart from the key interviewees’ connections, during some interviews I asked interviewees if they could recommend someone else for me to interview. I only managed to find a few people this way because interestingly many did not have any links with other members of their congregation except immediate family. Bernard Russell states three reasons for “populations (that) can be hard to find and study”: first, “they contain very few members who are scattered over a large area”; second, “they are stigmatized and reclusive”; and third, “they are members of an elite group and don’t care about your need for data”.45 My research group can be taken up in the first category. Each community’s population varies from 30 to 80 in terms

Introduction 7 of number of families prior to emigration from Turkey and they were spread out in different parts of Israel. In finding people spread over such huge area I also benefited from some Jewish associations. One of them, İsrail’deki Türkiyeliler Birliği, ‫( התאחדות יוצאי תורכיה בישראל‬Union of Jews from Turkey in Israel), was helpful in finding some interviewees, especially Jews of Gaziantep. Their objective as written on their website is to represent immigrants from Turkey living in Israel. The association helps Turkish immigrants with the integration into Israeli life and tries to provide their particular needs. Additionally, they assist in maintaining good relations between the State of Israel and the Republic of Turkey and promote knowledge about and positive attitudes toward the State of Israel in Turkey and the Republic of Turkey in Israel. The other is Arkadaş Derneği, ‫( ארקאדאש – קהילת יוצאי טורקיה בישראל‬Association of Arkadaş: The Turkish Community in Israel), pronounced as Arkadash, which literally means “friend”. The Arkadaş association has similar objectives to the union of Jews from Turkey in Israel. They are also organizing various cultural and social activities for the Turkish Jewish community in Israel and other people who are interested in participating in such activities. In addition, the association organizes tours to İzmir and to Istanbul. Unfortunately members of this organization were mostly Jews of Thrace, Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Hatay and Bursa. I could not find any Jew from my research area. As I mentioned, earlier life stories and personal narratives formed the main body of this study. Through in-depth interviews I tried to collect various life stories and experiences to focus on cultural codes, symbols, rituals and social and political relations of Jewish societies when lived together with Muslim neighbors. Therefore, my case consists of a “nonprobability sample not a random one”46 which means I chose on purpose the east of Turkey, especially the provinces Gaziantep, Diyarbakır/Çermik, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Siverek, Cizre, Başkale/Van, Hakkari and Cizre, because these areas were the only places where Jews once lived. Therefore all interviewees interviewed during the fieldwork were from these regions. In accordance with the research topic, anthropologists use different types of interviews. In consequence, during the fieldwork, as Bernard pointed out, “These different types of interviews produce different types of data”.47 In anthropology literature generally four types of interviews are employed during fieldwork, such as informal interviewing, unstructured interviewing, semi-structured and structured interviewing.48 Since “semistructured interviewing and observations offer us the most systematic opportunity for the collection of qualitative data”,49 this study was conducted through this material gathering method, which worked well. I was aware of the fact that I had chosen a fieldwork area that was unfamiliar to me. Therefore, as a Muslim doing anthropological research on Jewish culture, I situated my position as an “outsider” anthropologist because it was the first time I was living in a culture strange to me. As I progressed, “more and more insider phrases like a native”50 were used in conversation. I was learning a lot and my

8

Introduction

familiarity with the culture increased. Interestingly, during some interviews in the field I had dilemmas of being “insider-outsider”. In the course of interviews some of the life stories being narrated made me feel as if I were in my hometown. Generally, they did not let me leave after the interviews were finished, especially at meetings made at the interviewees’ houses. They insisted that I stay for lunch or dinner. Once, during an interview with a family from Jews of Urfa, I asked them whether they still do their traditional food çiğ köfte, a traditional food in the southeastern region of Turkey, made with raw meat but some made with scrambled eggs instead. The answer was “Yes!!” It was the second and the last session of the interview with them. Unexpectedly, I received an invitation to visit them again the next week – not for an interview but just to chat during lunchtime. When I entered into the house I could not help smelling something very familiar. While I was trying to figure it out, they brought çiğ köfte. I was surprised and I did not believe that it was çiğ köfte. My astonishment made them smile. Soon I tasted it and it was really delicious like the one made in Urfa, its homeland. I was so happy. It was one of the unforgettable moments during my fieldwork. In some cases I felt like an “outsider” to the Jewish community who tries to live as an “insider”. This approach can take us to the question “Is it an emic or etic study?” my answer would be, “Why one cannot conduct an anthropological research with having a bit of both?”51 I prepared for fieldwork by starting to learn Hebrew, first from the secretary general of the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Turkey for two months, and then from the son of the Chief Rabbi of Turkey for about six months. While defining ethnographic research as “a long conversation, not only words are exchanged but from time to time also things, animals, people, gesture and blows, but where nonetheless language plays a most prominent part”,52 noted anthropologist Malinowski also reminds us the importance of the language in use during the fieldwork. In this regard, as a researcher doing anthropology, speaking the language of the community that I examined is the “key to understand the culture”.53 Interestingly, prior to fieldwork I had imagined that I would conduct the interviews in Hebrew. However, although many of interviewees were able to speak Hebrew, they preferred to speak in Turkish. Of course I did not give up on learning Hebrew. Because sometimes “language is more than culture and culture is more than language”.54 In Israel I kept learning Hebrew for six months with courses in Ulpan, the name for studying, teaching and learning Hebrew in Israel, at Tel Aviv University. At last I had an upperintermediate level of Hebrew before leaving the country. During my fieldwork I felt comfortable in knowing the language of people I worked with. Furthermore, speaking Hebrew helped me reinforce my reliability in the eyes of interviewees throughout the fieldwork. Therefore as Brock-Utne states, “when you learn a new language you also learn much about a new culture”.55 On the other hand, speaking in their language enabled interviewees to express their feelings freely during interviews. My visit to Israel coincided with a very unfortunate time, when Turkey and Israel began to have the worst relationship in their history. Journalist Tovah

Introduction 9 Lazaroff outlined the situation through an online article in the Jerusalem Post, a well-known e-newspaper in Israel: Relations between Israel and Turkey what was once its only Muslim ally crumbled after Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Gaza strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board.56 In addition to that she was emphasizing relations between Israel and Turkey hit a low when Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador and froze military cooperation after a UN report into the Mavi Marmara incident released in September last year largely exonerated Israel. Then Turkey has demanded a formal apology, compensation for victims and the families of the dead and for the Gaza blockade to be lifted. Israel has voiced ‘regret’ short of the full apology demanded and has offered to pay into what it called a ‘humanitarian fund’ through which casualties and relatives could be compensated.57 Shortly a week after an apology demand by Turkey in the presence of the UN in September, I was in Israel for the fieldwork. Within this period of political tension I was granted a scholarship by the government of Israel in May 2011 to do my research in Israel. I received many criticisms from many people, even some academics in my circle. They kept saying, “isn’t there any country except Israel to study?” or “being in Israel at that time!! Are you out of your mind!”, and day by day I started to feel pressure. Even so, it was an important opportunity and I believed the study needed to be done. I was very determined to go and no one could change my mind. I was very lucky because my family, especially my mother, encouraged me throughout the research. I talked to a total of 77 people during the fieldwork; 37 people gave permission for an in depth-interview using a voice recorder. Some of them allowed me to use a camera. All interviewees were born in Turkey. Out of 37 interviewees, 11 were female and 26 were male. The interviewees generally had a lower socioeconomic status. Almost all female respondents were illiterate except a member of the Gaziantep Jewish community. Some male interviewees were primary school graduates, and some had not finished primary school. Only one interviewee had a bachelor’s degree. After starting the study and starting to get in contact with people, I realized that the fieldwork was not going to be so easy. Some people responded quickly to my requests for meetings, but sometimes it took them weeks to make a decision and respond or simply weeks to find the time. Additionally, a couple of interviewees did not believe that I had come from Turkey and had been granted a scholarship by the Israeli Government to study at Tel Aviv University as a visiting scholar to do research on Eastern Jews. They were suspicious. “Why are you doing research on Jewish culture?”, “Why Jews?”, “What is so impressive in Judaism that makes you want to study?”, “Is Judaism

10

Introduction

taught in Turkey?” they asked. I tried to explain but they did not understand or did not want to. Still, I was almost never asked for my permission documents for the study, except from a few interviewees. I was cautious and always had an official letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and one from the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Tel Aviv University, to persuade them. None of the interviewees were forced or pushed to participate in the study. They agreed on their own. I have to stress that at the beginning of the research, I quickly realized that it was going to be rough fieldwork due to difficulty in convincing people to participate in the study. I was already a patient person but I had to learn how to be more patient. As I mentioned before, my informants were skeptical. Therefore, I did not get in touch with any of them directly, which could make them suspicious about me. I had four key informants, each representing one of the communities I studied. Since these interviewees had strong ties with the communities, I could make contact with other people through them. They arranged the initial connections and introduced me to the people. The age of male and female interviewees varied from 35 to 104. During fieldwork, I mostly wanted talk to the first generation of immigrants, since they could probably have more memories to share with me compared with the second generation. Interestingly, some of them were still able to speak in Turkish and during the interview they preferred to talk in Turkish and they shifted to Hebrew when they couldn’t remember the suitable Turkish words. However, I did not ignore the second generation. I had many informal conversations with them and learned about their families and heard the life stories they had heard from their grandfathers and grandmothers. They could not speak in Turkish so I spoke to them in English. I can clearly state that a good rapport developed with the interviewees during the fieldwork. We had productive social interactions. They were cooperative and made me feel comfortable during the interviews. They responded to my questions smoothly and expressed their feelings freely without any insistence and pressure. It would be unfair to ignore the active role of my key interviewees in achieving this. As Russell Bernard emphasizes, “good key informants are people whom you can talk to easily, who understand the information you need, and who are glad to give it to you or get it for you”.58 The credibility, trustworthiness and representativeness of my key interviewees among the community members built this relationship. It could not have been achieved on my own. As a male researcher I did not feel any disadvantages in communicating with female interviewees. They were very candid. They always prepared some food and served coffee during the course of the interviews. It is easy to understand why they were doing so. First of all, I was their guest. Second, since sometimes the interviews lasted for two hours, they needed to drink tea, coffee or have a snack. Once I interviewed six sisters, including their mother, from the same family. Actually they were seven sisters, but one I had met one earlier and so she did not attend this meeting. The sisters were all married and lived in different

Introduction 11 parts of Israel. On the occasion of research and my interview request they came together and we met in their mother’s house. After they introduced me to their mother, I asked permission to start the interview with the mother. Everybody agreed and I began to ask my questions one by one. She was 104 and one of the sisters told me she might be the oldest woman in Israel. The sisters often reminded their mother to tell certain stories to me during the interview. As far as I understood, it was a kind of “nostalgia” for the sisters to hear stories again and again by their mother. The interview was long and exceeded four hours. I also interviewed the sisters as well. As I mentioned earlier, I did not only interview them, but I also ate with them. Some of the sisters made traditional cookies and pastries. Even when I was not asking questions I did not stop recording, because sometime you can get unique information during improvisational conversations. At the end of the interview, before leaving, I kissed the mother’s hand to show my respect. Suddenly, all the sisters shouted “wavvvvv!!!” for joy as they did not expect such a reaction from me. They knew what it meant to kiss a hand since they used to do the same before coming to Israel. However, the new generation born in Israel is not aware of such customs. My kissing the hands of the elderly came to be my routine after each interview during the fieldwork. I was so happy to see their smiling faces and they were so happy to remember that such a custom still exists. During the fieldwork I talked to everyone who accepted the interview request, because I believe that each individual has a unique life experiences, different stories and memories. As far as I was concerned, I needed to meet with and talk to everyone, without considering their social status and socio-economic backgrounds. Mostly, I met them in their houses, sometimes in their offices or coffee shops when appropriate. I had a long questionnaire that was divided into seven parts. Prior to starting the fieldwork, I prepared the questions by taking prominent scholars’ works in the field of oral history into consideration.59 I believed that an unrecorded culture could be revealed through oral methods such as life stories, personal narratives and in-depth interviews methods. Therefore, the questions were designed to discover a forgotten community’s culture among the Jewish societies that once lived in the eastern Turkey. Through these questions I tried to explore first their personal historical background, and following that, their material culture such as houses and clothes, then family, gender, marriage, education and religious beliefs. Questions were structured so as not to violate the interviewees’ privacy. Nevertheless, they did not mind whether their identities were disclosed or not. I did receive their permission to write their original names in this study. Despite the fact that, due to ethical codes of the discipline of anthropology, predominantly pseudonyms were used except for the names of Şorkaya family members and Yitzhak İşran, I had to use their real names with their courteous permission. Since I had such a long questionnaire, it was impossible to get the information I needed from only one meeting. As a matter of fact “an average life story interview may need two or three sessions”.60 Because of the length of the questionnaire, I

12

Introduction

interviewed all interviewees at a minimum two times, and sometimes three times. More than half of the interviews took place in Jerusalem, where a majority of the interviewees lived. I also traveled to other cities such as Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion and Ashdod for meetings. It is inevitable for anthropologists in the field to use different types of note taking such as field notes, a diary and jottings.61 During the fieldwork, alongside daily field notes, I also kept writing regularly weekly reports of writing methodology, description and analysis. The most wide-ranging method form in this study is the collection of life story apart that as a participant observer casual conversations, in-depth interviews, informal and semi-structured interviews were utilized as well.62 Within this framework the book is divided into three parts. In Chapter 1 I examined historical backgrounds of the Eastern Jews by scrutinizing various references such as travelers’ records, annuals and Ottoman and Hebrew sources. I investigated the annals and Ottoman sources in Turkey and Hebrew references in Israel during the research. I have already mentioned the oral sources. Jews were concentrated in seven main provinces throughout the east and southeast of Turkey. I sought the answers to the following questions; “Who are Eastern Jews? Are they originally Jewish or converts to Judaism? Where do they come from? When did they come to these regions?” I try to define the emigration process of the Eastern Jews of Turkey in Chapter 2. I analyze the migration in three periods: (1) Pre-Emigration Period, from 1898 to 1980, (2) Emigration Process and (3) Post-Emigration Period. Accordingly I examine economic, social and political conditions of Turkey and the Middle East and its possible effects on the immigration of Turkey’s Jews, particularly of Eastern Jews. By tracing the personal narratives and life stories of people I interviewed, I try to uncover the reasons behind the emigration and answer whether it was a voluntary or forced dispersal. In addition, I examine, with the emigration experiences, the pain as well as its psychological and emotional impacts on their lives. Their feelings after leaving behind forefathers’ lands are also taken into consideration in this regard. Since the main objective of the study is to reveal the culture of a neglected community in many aspects, I examine the findings of this research in Chapter 3 under the title of Social Life, Culture and Collective Memory. Quoting Adrian Parr, “genuine memory determines whether individual can have a picture of himself whether he can master his own experience”.63 In accordance with this statement I tried to collect data relevant to Eastern Jewish communities’ culture through personal narratives, life stories and written sources. I analyze their material culture, such as houses, their costumes, their foods and their relationships with Muslim neighbors. Also, I discuss gender issues and the status of Jewish women. Additionally, I explore their life trajectories starting in childhood and moving on through marriage and ending in death. I explore how the locals welcomed them while they were celebrating their religious holidays. In terms of economic conditions, I examine if there were obstacles in trading or business for these non-Muslims.

Introduction 13

Notes  1 İ. Ortaylı, Ottomanism and Zionism During the Second Constitutional Period 1908– 1915. In A. Levy (Ed.), The Jews of the Ottoman Empire. Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 1994, pp. 527–539; B. Lewis, The Jews of Islam. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984; A. Levy, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire. Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 1994; S. J. Shaw, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic. London: Macmillan; A. Shmuelevitz, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire in the Late Fifteenth and the Sixteenth Centuries. Leiden: Brill Publishers, 1984; B. Braude, Foundation Myths of the Millet System. In B. Braude & B. Lewis (Eds.), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire. New York, NY: Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1982, pp. 69–89.  2 See, Levy, ibid.; Braude, ibid., pp. 69–89.  3 Levy, ibid.; Lewis, 1984, ibid.  4 Braude, ibid., pp. 69–89; Lewis, 1984, ibid.  5 R. Grossman, Compendious Hebrew-English Dictionary. Tel Aviv: Dvir Publishing, 1938, p. 184.  6 E. Shohat, The Invention of Mizrahim. Journal of Palestine Studies, 1999, 29(1), 14.  7 G. Saada-Ophir, Mizrahi Subaltern Counterpoints: Sderot’s Alternative Bands. Anthropological Quarterly, 2007, 80(3), 732.  8 Ibid., p. 6.  9 See, J. Neusner & A. J. Avery-Peck, The Routledge Dictionary of Judaism. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2004, p. 181; R. Z. Werblowsky & G. Wigoder, The Oxford Dictionary of Jewish Religion. New York, NY & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 761. 10 See, Y. Sabar, The Folk Literature of the Kurdistani Jews: An Anthology. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1982; E. Brauer & R. Patai, The Jews of Kurdistan. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1993; M. Zaken, Jewish Subjects and their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan. Boston, MA: Brill Publishers, 2007. 11 Shmuelevitz, ibid. 12 E. E. Gil & M. Machover, Zionism and Oriental Jews: A Dialectic of Explotation and Co-Optation. Race & Class, 2009, 50(62), 62–76. 13 See, Y. Malkin, Humanistic and Secular Judaism. In N. D. Lang & M. F. Kandel (Eds.), Modern Judaism (pp. 106–114). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 107. 14 G. Sheffer, Jewish Diaspora. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008. Retrieved from www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3045301213.html. 15 K. D. Butler, Defining Diaspora, Refining a Discourse. Diaspora, 2001, 189–219. 16 Ö. Wahlbeck, The Concept of Diaspora as an Analytical Tool in the Study of Refugee Communities. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2002, 2(28), 221–228. 17 R. Cohen, Global Diasporas: An Introduction. London & New York, NY: UCL Press, 1997. 18 Sheffer, ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 K. Khayati, Diaspora as Instance of Global Governance: The Case of Kurds in Sweeden. In H. Moksnes & M. Melin (Eds.), Global Civil Society: Shifting Powers in a Shiftin World. Uppsala: Uppsala University, 2012, p. 181. 21 Ibid. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. 24 D. Bertaux & M. Kohli, The Life Story Approach: A Continental Review. Annual Review of Sociology, 1984, 10, 215–237. 25 L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Grammar (R. Rhees Ed. & A. Kenny, Trans.) Oxford: Blackwell, 1974. 26 See, J. Assmann & J. Czaplicka, Collective Memory and Cultural Identity. New German Critique, 1995, 125–133; M. Halbwachs, On Collective Memory. Chicago, IL: The

14

27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Introduction University of Chicago Press, 1992; K. W. Foster, Aby Warburg’s History of Art: Collective Memory and the Social Mediation of Images. Daedalus, 1976, 105(1), 169–176. S. Engel, Context Is Everything: The Nature of Memory. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1999. D. Middleton & D. Edwards, Collective Remembering. London: Sage Publications, 1990. D. L. Schacter, Searching for Memory: The Brain, the Mind and the Past. New York, NY: Basic Books, 1996, p. 42. See, M. Halbwachs, On Collective Memory. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992, p. 38; G. L. Uehling, Having a Homeland: Recalling the Deportation, Exile and Repatriation of Crimean Tatars to their Historic Homeland. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Michigan, 2000, p. 9. Ibid. Ibid. J. Assman, Collective Memory and Cultural Identity. German Critique, 1995, 65, 125–133; E. Halas, Time and Memory: Cultural Perspective. Trames, 14(64/59) (4), 2000, 307–322. Ibid. G. H. Mead, The Nature of the Past. In A. J. Reck (Ed.), Selected Writings George Herbert Mead. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1964, pp. 345–354; Halas, ibid., p. 314. H. Jason, Study of Israelite and Jewish Oral and Folk Literature: Problems and Issues. Asian Folklore Studies, 1990, 49(1), 69–108. S. Radstone & K. Hodgkin, Regimes of Memory. New York, NY & London: Routledge, 2003, p. 2. J. Fentress & C. Wickham, Social Memory. Oxford, UK & Cambridge, USA: Blackwell Publishers, 1992. Ibid. P. Connerton, How Societies Remember. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, p. 2. R. Bali, Diyarbakır Yahudileri. In Ş. Beysanoğlu, M. Koz & Others (Eds.), Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 1999, p. 367. A. Rapoport, House, Form and Culture. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1969, p. 9. M. Crang & I. Cook, Doing Ethnographies. London: Sage Publications, 2007, p. 35. H. Bernard, Research Methods in Anthropology. Oxford: AltaMira Press, 2006, p. 192. Ibid. Ibid., p. 186. Ibid., p. 211. Ibid., p. 212. S. Schensul & Others, Essential Ethnographic Methods: Observations, Interviews and Questionarries. Plymouth, UK: AltaMira Press, 1999, p. 164. Bernard, ibid., p. 381. H. W. Wolcott, Ethnography: A Way of Seeing. Plymouth, UK: AltaMira Press, 1999, p. 135. M. Bloch, The Past and the Present in the Present. Man, 12 (2), new series, 278–292. E. Jenkins, The New Ethnography: Language as the Key to Culture (Vol. 10). London, UK: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1978, pp. 16–19. B. Brock-Utne, The Interrelationship Between Language and Culture. Institute for Educational Research, Beitostolen, Norway, 2005, pp. 1–13. Ibid.

Introduction 15 56 T. Lazaroff, Israel Slams Turkey’s “Show Trial” of IDF Commanders. Jerusalem Post, 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012 from www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle. aspx?id=290677. 57 Ibid. 58 Bernard, ibid., p. 196. 59 See L. Neyzi, Ben Kimim? Türkiye’de Sözlü Tarih, Kimlik ve Öznellik. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2004; P. Thompson, The Voice of the Past: Oral History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000; S. Caunce, Oral History and the Local Historian. London: Longman, 1994. 60 H. Slim & P. Thompson, “Ways of Listening” in The Oral History Reader. London: Routledge, 1998, p. 116. 61 Bernard, ibid., p. 389. 62 D. L. Jorgensen, Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1989, p. 22. 63 A. Parr, Deluze and Memorial Culture Desire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008, p. 8.

1

Origins and history

According to a report issued by American Jewish Year Book, the estimated world Jewish population was 14,310,500 at the beginning of 2015. The Jewish populations of Israel and the United States together constitute more than 82 percent of the total. Of this, more than 50 percent of Jews are concentrated in these five metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, New York and Los Angeles. Another 16 countries each have more than 18,000 Jews.1 Due to the fact that the Jewish population of Turkey is less than 18,000, Turkey’s Jews are not included in Figure 1.1. Many scholars who studied the concept of diaspora have agreed on the definition of the term as the dispersal of a people from its original homeland, specifically the Jews. Historically Jews were exiled from their homeland through the destruction of their temples and by the plundering of their holy city, Jerusalem.2 The term now encompasses a broad range of groups beyond the Jews, such as refugees, labor workers and Roma. Accordingly Jewish migration, due to forced exiles and dispersions, led to Jewish population in different parts of the world. Jews ended up living in many different countries. Historically it is accepted that the deportation of Jews from the Holy Land by the Assyrian King of Jews made Jews the first diaspora community.3 Over time they grew and embraced many different ethnic and linguistic groupings and different cultural richness in their resettled new lands.4 These scattered Jewish communities borrowed customs and culture from their nonJewish neighbor societies and countries while continuing to preserve their essential traditions based on the sacred texts.5 While these different customs and cultures distinguished Jewish communities from one another, their common Jewish religion and a history of shared past and destiny acted like strong cement binding them to other Jews.6 It is very difficult to give one definition of Judaism that would be universally acceptable. As Martin Sicker points out, modern times have produced several Jewish schools of religious thought that established “contemporary Judaism” such as Orthodox, Conservative, Reformist and Reconstructionist.7 In this study, Judaism is understood as Sicker describes it

5,425,000

7,000,000 6,000,000

17

6,014,300

Origins and history

5,000,000 4,000,000 World Jewish Population (2015) 130,000

93,500

29,900

18,500

28,100

40,000

30,000

65,000

48,000

92,200

70,000

118,000

112,500

190,000

181,500

1,000,000

380,000

478,000

2,000,000

291,000

3,000,000

Un

ite

dS

tat e Fra s nc Un C a e ite d K nad ing a do Ru m Ar ssia ge n Ge tina rm Au any str ali a So Bra uth zil Afr Uk ica ra Hu ine ng a Me ry xic o Be lgi um Ne the Italy rla Je ws nd s (b/ Ch w. ile Je 10.0 Isr ws 0 (b/ 0–19 ael w. 1– .999) 9.9 99 9)

0

Figure 1.1 World Jewish Population Source: DellaPergola, Sergio. 2015. World Jewish Population, 2015. In Arnold Dashefsky and Ira M. Sheskin (Eds.), The American Jewish Year Book, 2015 (Vol. 115, pp. 273–364). Dordrecht: Springer.

the framework that encompasses the central religious beliefs and values that most of the Jewish people have considered normative from antiquity to modern times which can be referred to as “traditional Judaism” to make a distinction between the other schools of religious thought. In addition, while Judaism refers to a religious value system, the term “Jewish” also means a national or ethnic identity. Thus, according to Sicker, while Theodor Herzl, Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein can be characterized as “Jewish thinkers”, they cannot be called “Judaic thinkers” since their ideas and notions are not derived from the sources of traditional Judaism.8 Jacob Neusner explained this simply as “all those who practice the religion, Judaism, by the definition of Judaism fall into the ethnic group, the Jews, but not all members of the ethnic group, the Jews, practice Judaism”.9 Additionally, to him, because it also accepts conversions, Judaism cannot be seen solely as an ethnic religion.10 Following that he states,

18

Origins and history but a religion more than its creed interpreted through liturgy that we cannot conceive the faith as a set of discrete notions that separated from the life of people who refer to those notions. The Jews as an ethnic group, wherever they resided, shapes issues facing Judaism, the religion.11

To better illustrate, Neusner cites the Holocaust as an example. He wrote that the Holocaust was a “demographic catastrophe” for the Jewish nation. As a consequence of this, Judaism faced a “principal theological dilemma” in the twentieth century and beyond.12 The demographic decline of the Jews also had influences on the life of the synagogue as well, so he concluded “we cannot draw too rigid distinction between ethnic and the religious in the context of the Jewish people and Judaism”.13 Hence, a definition of who is a Jew needs discussion and clarification. However, the perception of Jewishness as both a religion and ethnicity and the “distinctive social stratification” of Jews have made this task difficult.14 According to the halakhic criteria, the Jewish law, a Jew is defined as “who is born of a Jewish mother or who has converted to Orthodox Judaism” which is also followed by Conservative and Orthodox Judaism.15 In Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism; “a Jew is a person born of a Jewish mother or of a Jewish father or who has converted to Judaism”.16 As seen, status is gained through birth or by conversion, which represents the “melding of the ethnic and genealogical with the religious and theological”. Thus, there is no clear-cut distinction to separate the ethnic from the religious since the word Jew and Jewish stress “the ethnic character of the Jews as a group”.17 Abraham Malamat claimed that the history of the Jews cannot be narrowed down to the boundaries of Palestine solely but was also tied to the ancient Near Eastern lands including Mesopotamia, “land of the Hebrew’s origin” and the land of Nile, Egypt, a flourishing refuge for Jews.18 In the earliest time of Jewish history the people were exposed to two dreadful incidents destruction and exile. These are, first, the exile of “ten tribes” of Israel by the Assyrian King and the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE by the Babylonians.19 Afterwards, as Hayim Tadmor pointed out, Jewish history adopted a new pattern as “a vital diaspora coexisting in a symbiotic relationship with the community in the homeland”.20 With the destruction of the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in 70 CE, the expulsion and political and religious oppression, in addition to the economic bonanza of wealthy countries, made a huge influence on the demographic expansion of Jewish Diaspora. The political, social and economic conditions of the Jewish Diaspora varied according to the country in which they lived. Nevertheless, the common destiny of the Jewish nation, despite being dispersed in different parts of the world, was “closely united”, and any serious limits on religious freedom had an effect among other Jewish communities.21 Jews of the diaspora always kept strong ties with the Land of Israel. After the fall of the temples, an extensive period of proselytism occurred.22 According to Safrai, the majority of the proselytes were originally non-Jews and they embraced Judaism in the eastern and western lands of the diaspora.23

Origins and history

19

Generally the proselytes were not from one social class but from different parts of society, some urban and some rural. According to Safrai: Some converted individually leaving their homes and families; in other cases, entire families or even entire districts became Jewish. The Rabbis encouraged proselytism and promoted it both directly and indirectly in the course of travels. Only later, particularly after Christianity had come to power, was the trend reversed, not only because of the legal prohibition against proselytizing but also because the Jews preferred to live in a closed world of their own and no longer expected the fulfillment of their aspirations in the immediate future.24 In line with this, Eastern Jews might be descendants of the Ten Tribes who were exiled by the Assyrian king. After being exiled, some Jewish communities ended up resettling in Babylonia and Mesopotamia.25 In addition to that some Jewish communities might live in Anatolia as well. Following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the Ottoman Empire became a central location especially for the Sephardi Jews (or Sephardim) and for thousands of Jewish refugees during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.26 The Sephardim became the predominant community among the Jews in the Empire because of their ancient cultural tradition and large population. By the end of the seventeenth century, Sephardi Jews became powerful enough to assimilate other Jewish congregations.27 However, when the Ottoman State was in its early formative stages Jews had already been long settled in the Balkans, Anatolia and Mesopotamia, where they had lived for centuries. Some were known as Greek speaking Romaniot Jews whose traditions and culture had been in place since Byzantium. Some were Jews from east Europe, known as Ashkenazim, and they came to the Ottoman Empire during the fifteenth century, mainly from a German-speaking area. Another Jewish community was that of the Italian Jews, who had their own distinguishing religious rituals that they practiced before being forced out of the Iberian Peninsula into Italy.28 At the same time, there were also Jews in Mesopotamia and Arab lands who spoke Arabic, Kurdish and Aramaic.29 Scholars studying Ottoman Jewries usually focused on these four main communities – Romaniot, Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Musta’arab (Arabized Jews).30 The Eastern Jews were generally ignored in the research, despite the fact that these communities were in place before the establishment of the Ottoman Empire. A demographic expert on Jewish populations in the late Ottoman Period, Justin McCarthy, has pointed out that estimates for the Jewish populations in the Empire were usually published either by travelers or officials of the consulates and statisticians who compiled their works.31 In a census of the Ottoman capital Istanbul in 1477, there were 1,647 Jewish households (11,529 people).32 The population increased over the centuries due to the forced Jewish migration from Spain, population movements from western and central Europe and the conquest of new territories by the Ottoman Empire. However the numbers and population of the Jews changed from one time to another. The number of the Jews in the last decade of the Empire can be seen in Figure 1.2.33

20

Origins and history

Number of Jews

Ottoman Europe (89.000)

19% 33% 3%

Istanbul Province (Vilayeti) (54.000) Western Anatolia (54.000)

5%

Southern Anatolia (15.000) Remainder of Anatolia (8.000) Greater Syria (52.000)

20% 20%

Figure 1.2 Jews in the Ottoman State 1911–1912 Source: McCarthy Justin, Jewish Population in the Ottoman Period, pp. 385.

1.1 Origin through written sources The main obstacle to studying this subject was the lack of written sources. This led me to adopt different sources and methodologies. Apart from interviews, observations and life stories, I also searched for references regarding Eastern Jews in archives, records and Hebrew sources. Besides that, primarily I employed the methodology of oral history. Traveler’s records Among Jewish groups, Eastern Jews of Turkey are the least known community. Most of our initial knowledge is based on the accounts of travelers who visited the Eastern Jewish communities and mentioned them in their travel writings. They usually gave the number of the Jews who lived in the places visited, note the head of the Jewish community and describe the economic condition of Jewish society. The earliest descriptions come from the accounts of the two twelfth-century travelers, Benjamin of Tudela and Ratisbone of Petachia.34 They may have been traveling in search of the lost ten tribes35 because they frequently refer to “tribes of Israel” and “captivity” and “exile” in their writings. Both travelers note the prosperity of Eastern Jewish communities in the areas of what are now parts of Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, and make reference to the many synagogues and

Origins and history

21

rabbis. “Compared with the Jews of Iran, Ottoman Jews were living in paradise”, says Bernard Lewis.36 Famous Jewish traveler Benjamin II described the condition of Eastern Jews as becoming more tolerable under Turkish domination.37 He pointed out that Jews of Mardin, who lived in their own quarter, were tolerably free and noted their wealthy condition.38 However the condition of Eastern Jews was unsteady and frequently changed depending on external circumstances. According to Feitelson: These relations must have been subject to change with political upheavals. It is clear that the Jews were very much closer to their Muslim neighbors than the other religious minority group, the Nestorian. Nowadays the Jews like to exult in the memory of the social ties which existed between the two groups. It seems clear that mutual visiting took place, and while the Muslims are said to have adored the kasher food, the Jews also ate in Muslim houses, abstaining on these occasions from meat and sometimes preparing part of their meal themselves.39 In the years 1166–1171, Benjamin of Tudela visited Jewish communities who lived in eastern regions. He started his journey in Palestine than continued through Damascus, Nisebin (todays Nusaybin in Turkey) and Aleppo, from where he went to Mosul by way of Jezirat al-Omar (Cizre in Turkey).40 A contemporary of Benjamin of Tudela, the traveler Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbone (Pethahiah of Regensburg), set out his journey in 1175. During his trip first he went to Russia, crossed the Black Sea and then he visited Nisebin (modern Nusyabin), going on to Hisn-Kepa (Hasankeyf in Turkey) and returning to Palestine by way of Mosul through Baghdad.41 In addition to mentioning the Jews in Anatolia and Mesopotamia, the biggest part of his account has to do with Babylonia, Syria and Eretz Israel. According to Erich Brauer, the observations of Rabbi Pethahiah were better than those of Benjamin and the “descriptions are more vivid”.42 A few decades after Benjamin of Tudela, the Spanish Poet Judah al-Harizi visited Eastern Jewish communities in about 1230.43 His observations of Eastern Jewish communities’ customs and tradition is recorded in his Maqâmât (rhymed prose narratives) entitled Tahkenmoni.44 The importance of his work has to do both with the poems and the information about thirteenth century Jewish life and the culture he provides.45 According to Brauer, after the “upheavals caused by the Mongol invasions”, there is no information about Eastern Jews for about three centuries until the Yemenite Jewish poet Yihya al-Zahiri (Zechariah al-Dahiri) set down a book similar to Judah’s maqâmât titled Sefer ha-Masur (Book of Instructions), which dealt with his journey to the cities Baghdad, Arbil, Kerkuk, Mosul, Kalne (Rakka), Nisebin (Nusaybin) and Urfa.46 After Benjamin of Tudela and Pethahiah of Ratisbone, another prominent Jewish traveler who is also considered one of the main sources for first-hand observations on Eastern Jewish communities and other “oriental sects and religions” is David d’Beth Hillel.47 He is author of the book Travels from Jerusalem through Arabia, Kurdistan, Part of Persia and India to Madras 1824–1832.48 From his writings, it

22

Origins and history

is clear that he was looking for the “Remnants of Israel” in remote lands. There are many references in his writings to “forgotten remnants and lost tribes”. Whenever he encountered a Jewish community if any form or size, he looked signs or symbols in their customs and languages that might be relevant to one of ancient Israelite lost tribes. He often writes, “therefore I conceive that they are . . .”, “they must be . . .” and “some of the lost ten tribes . . .”.49 His observations on social and economic conditions, language and dialects of oriental Jewish communities are significant and played an important role as a reference on the Oriental Diaspora in the early nineteenth century.50 David d’Beth Hillel, also known as ḥakham (sage, wise man), set out on his travel to the east in 1824. He journeyed through Palestine, Syria, remote regions and the highlands of the Eastern Anatolia and Persia. He went through Mardin to Diyarbakır and back to Nisebin, then on to Peshkhabur and Zakho. From Zakho he went to Mosul and visited Duhok and the Jewish villages of Sundur and Amadiya. He also went to Arbil and Kerkuk. Afterwards he went to visit Sulaimani, Bana, Sakis, Sabhlakh and Tazqala, and then by the way of Bashqala over Urmia and Van Lakes he went to Baghdad.51 The itinerary of Joseph Israel Benjamin, called Eight Years in Asia and Africa from 1846 to 1855,52 occupied a significant place among travel books that referred to Eastern Jews.53 Because he saw himself as influenced by and a follower of the medieval Jewish traveler Benjamin of Tudela, he called himself Benjamin II.54 Benjamin II began his journey in 1845, going first to Egypt and from there to Eretz Israel and Syria, then to Iraq, eastern of Turkey, Persia, India and China. He went to Afghanistan and then through Vienna, going on to Italy, Tripoli, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. During his travels to the east he visited Urfa, then Siverek and Çermik. Through Diyarbekir, Mardin and Nisebin he went to Cizre and Zakho. He came to Sandur, Duhok, Betanure, Alqosh and Mosul. He visited Barzan and Arbil. On his third journey he visited Rowanduz and Khoi Sanjak and ended at Kerkuk.55 Ottoman Archives Jewish scholar Avigdor Levy claims that researches on Ottoman Jews in Turkey reached “a measure of recognition” by the beginning of the twenty-first century, yet it is still in the “early stages of a full appreciation” for the history of these Jewish communities.56 This book is based on the methodology of the discipline of anthropology. It is not a historical study but benefits from its methods. As already mentioned, the research led me to apply different methods to find materials that might be relevant to the subject of this study. In order to establish the foundation for the research and utilize as many sources as possible I did research in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives57 BOA (Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri). Some might say that for such an anthropological study it is not necessary to do archival investigation. However, for a study of a people living in recent history it was important. I sought to add the historical background in order to understand the ancient past of the Jewish communities who once lived in the eastern Empire and later in Turkey. This would allow me to better understand and explain their lives in modern times.

Origins and history

23

The presence of Jews is reflected in various Ottoman archival documents. Earlier researchers mainly found material in the registers of the Public Affairs (Mühimme Defterleri), in the registers of the finance department, in proceedings of the imperial council, in registers of non-Muslim places of worship and in the court records.58 Most of these documents were translated into French by Abraham Galante59 and came from the Mühimme Defterleri and registers of non-Muslim places of worship. He gathered all these archival researches in an encyclopedia containing nine volumes. This made it accessible for western Jewish scholarship.60 Scholars had limited access to archival documents at that time, in contrast to today, when technological developments allow researchers to reach registers without being present at the archive center. During my research in the archives more than half of the documents that I came across were about the residents of the Western Jewish communities of the Empire, while perhaps 10 to 15 percent related just to Eastern Jewish communities. However, this study is directly concerned with Jews who mainly lived in the eastern part of the Empire in the archival documents. Thus, regarding the Jewish communities in today’s eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey, I found separate documents on different subjects ranging from firmans ( ferman) to minutes. Mainly they were about religious and public matters, particularly on conversion or on taxation, renovation of a synagogue, commercial disputes and a few conflicts among Jews and Muslims. A document61 dated 24 June 1913 tells the story of an application for the repair of a synagogue. The Jewish community of Cizre, a district once administratively attached to the city of Diyarbekir, wanted to increase the height of their local synagogue up to 10 zira (an Ottoman measurement ranging from around 69 to 87 cm), repair the surrounding walls and make three new windows and two doors. They applied to the Dahiliye, Adliye and Mezâhib Nezâretleri (Ministries of Internal Affairs, Justice and Sects) and after some correspondence they are eventually allowed to carry out the repair process.62 Another document63 (7 March 1909) written by Ferdi, the governor of the city of Van, to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, deals with the religious case of a Jewish woman in the city of Hakkari. As far as the document is concerned, upon some complaints of her conversion and loyalty to Islam, a committee is decided to establish in Sheikh Hamid Pasha’s house to investigate the issue and overcome the suspicions. Cella Effendy, a member of the Assembly of Local Administration, Semashe Effendy of the Jewish community, and Panas Effendy, a former Jewish member of the assembly, meet. The woman in question says that she does not know anything about the complaints and petitions against her and expresses her loyalty to Islam. Members of the small jury conclude that the woman in question has continued to remain loyal to Islam since her conversion, so there is no room for any further questioning and proceedings.64

1.2 History of the Eastern Jews of Turkey Since Eastern Jewish communities of Turkey did not have any of their own written sources regarding their background, what we know comes primarily from travelers’ accounts. We learned from their itineraries that Benjamin of Tudela,

24

Origins and history

Rabbi David Pethahiah, David d’Beth Hillel and Benjamin II paid visits to Eastern Jewish communities of Turkey. For instance, Benjamin of Tudela visited Nisebin (Nusaybin) and Jezirat al-Omar (Cizre).65 Rabbi Pethahiah of Ratisbone traveled to Nisebin and Hisn-Kepa Hasankeyf.66 Then David d’Beth Hillel went to Nisebin, Mardin, Diyarbekir and Bashqala (Başkale) and Benjamin II visited to Urfa, Siverek and Chermuk (Çermik). Through Diyarbekir he went to Mardin, Nisebin and Jezire (Cizre).67 Particularly after the expulsion from Spain, the Ottoman Empire was a peaceful refuge for the Jews. In time, Ottoman Jewry became the most culturally diverse religious minority group and, in terms of geography, also the most widely distributed community in the Empire. Elsewhere, Jews lived throughout most of the Arab provinces, and in different parts of Anatolia.68 Each non-Muslim religious minority was subject to “its own laws in matters of religions and personal status under the authority of its own religious chief” in accordance to what is known as the millet system. Accordingly, the Jews were recognized as a millet under the authority of the Hakhambashi, the chief rabbi, and granted by the Ottoman administration with the same status as the Greeks and Armenian churches.69 Jews started to made important contributions to the development of the Empire’s trade and industry but especially played important roles in Istanbul, helping it to become a major imperial economic center by the second half of the fifteenth century. As successful merchants, bankers and entrepreneurs, they started to dominate the city’s commercial life, operate the customhouses and the docks.70 With the growth of their intellectual life, they had roles in science and medicine, in political and diplomatic affairs as well.71 However, this prosperous and wealthy Jewish history under Ottoman rule existed only during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, starting to change by the eighteenth and nineteenth. Compared to the Western Jews, Eastern Jews were the smallest minority in the east of the Empire. Eastern Jews were the smallest non-Muslim religious group in the east. The description previously of the position of Jews in the Ottoman Empire and the conditions of Jewish communities in the millet system is not applicable to all parts of the Ottoman Empire. There were significant differences among the cities, towns, urban and rural areas and it is not possible to discuss Istanbul, Aleppo, Bursa, Edirne, Salonica, Diyarbakır, Mardin and Mosul as all equal. They were in different regions and most of them had different cultural and administrative backgrounds.72 The majority of Jews who were settled in the eastern regions lived in urban areas and a smaller number of Jews lived in rural villages. Muslim Kurds usually belonged to the tribal class, the powerful group in Kurdish society. Jews who lived in villages and some rural areas usually belonged to non-tribal class of society, which was dependent on the protection of tribal chieftain.73 Mordechai Zaken pointed out that “the patronage of the Kurdish chieftain was one of the key instruments that made Jewish survival possible in Kurdish towns and villages through generations”.74 Eastern Jews are different from their religious fellows in other regions of the Empire, especially when comparing those who lived in villages and urban centers. Urban Jewish communities who were settled in the eastern part of the Ottoman

Origins and history

25

75

Empire usually lived in their own quarters known as mahalle. As my interviewees told me, and Zaken mentioned it as well, the social and cultural life of the Jewish community was usually structured around the Jewish quarter. Each community had its own synagogue, rabbis, elementary schools called Talmud Torahs, cemeteries and in some areas, hospitals. However many rural Jewish communities had a low population compare to urban centers. They consisted of a small number of families, usually close relatives. Rural communities had difficulties in terms of community life and religious organization. In contrast to urban Jews, in rural areas the synagogue was the most central part of Jewish life, not only for ritual prayers but also as a school for Jewish children of the community for education and social experiences.76 The number of Jews in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire, which also constitutes the research areas of this study, is shown in Table 1.1. Compared to their brethren in the West, the lives of Eastern Jews of Turkey appear to have been ignored. The reason appears to be that they were at a disadvantage because they lived in remote areas that were difficult to reach, with relatively small populations and limited economic and cultural activities.77 The statistics of the Eastern Jews of the Ottoman Empire are unusual. For instance, the Jews in Van province did not seem to exist in 1912, although there were many Jews in 1883. They were not recorded. McCarthy argues “statistics for Van were the worst in Anatolia”.78 This was similar for the Jewish residents of the Hakkari sancak (district). They may have resided for centuries unregistered until the Ottoman enumeration of the population of the east. According to McCarthy this may have been true for some of the Jews of Diyarbekir and some rural districts in the south of the province.79 We should note that because Turkey’s geographical borders changed in 1908, 1914 and 1927, the numbers from these years varied and may not be comparable.80 Turkey was established in 1923 and first official census was conducted in 1927, four years following proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. According to statistical data of the American Jewish Year Book published in 1930, there were 55,592 Jews in European Turkey, 26,280 Jews in Asian Turkey, for a total of 81,872 Jews.81 The Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistic of Turkey stopped counting people by religion in the 1970 census by the order of the Council of Ministers.82 Table 1.1 Eastern Jews in the Ottoman State 1883–1914 Year

1883 1908 1914

Area and Jews Population Diyarbekir Province (include Mardin, Siverek, Viranşehir)

Van

Urfa (include Birecik, Rakka, Hawran)

Aleppo Province (Aleppo, Antep, Antakya, İskenderun, Kilis)

1,051 1,165 2,008

? ? 1,383

? ? 865

9,913 11,664 12,193

Source: Stanford J. Shaw, The Jews of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, pp. 272–285.

26

Origins and history Table 1.2 indicates the general population of the Jews in Turkey until 1965:

Table 1.2 Total Number of Jews in the Republic of Turkey 1927–1965 Year

1927

1945

1955

1960

1965

Number of Jews

81,872

76,965

45,995

43,926

38,198

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955–1960–1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı 1964–65/ Statisque de la Turquie, no: 510, (Ankara, no date).

Shaul Toval, the consul general of Israel in Istanbul, went on two journeys in 1977, lasting 49 days, in search of Jewish communities of Turkey that still existed. He listed the existence of 14 Jewish communities throughout the country. The communities were as follows: Istanbul, Edirne, Tekirdağ, Kırklareli, Gelibolu (Gallipoli), Çanakkale, Bursa, İzmir, Ankara, Mersin, Adana, İskenderun, Antakya and Gaziantep.83 Shaul Toval also visited Urfa city on June 1977 but he did not find anyone except one Jew who had converted to Islam. Only one city on Toval’s list is part of my research area, Gaziantep. Toval counted 122 Jews in the city in the year 1977. After Shaul Toval’s travel to these Jewish communities we knew that between 1984 and 1989 Laurence Salzman, an American ethnographer, and his wife Ayse Gursan Salzman, a Turkish born anthropologist, visited 32 towns and cities in four geographical regions, including eastern and southeastern Anatolia in search of Jews.84 They went to the eastern cities of Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır, Nusaybin and Başkale. Unfortunately, they could not find any Jewish community still existing in the eastern parts by that time. Families I interviewed during the course of my fieldwork from the Gaziantep Jewish community described how they immigrated in 1979, just a year before the 1980 military coup. Eighty families all left for Israel in one year. The population figures of Eastern Jews between the founding of the Turkish Republic and 1965 can be seen in Table 1.3.

1.3 Eastern Jewish communities After the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Turkey was divided into seven geographical regions for the purposes of demography, climate, flora and land in 1941 at the first Geography Congress.85 The region under examination in this book is East Anatolia and South East Anatolia in Turkey. As of the year 2012, there are 81 provinces across Turkey. Of them nine provinces – Gaziantep, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Şırnak, Batman and Siirt – are in the southeast; 14 provinces – Van, Hakkari, Malatya, Elazığ, Erzurum, Muş, Ağrı, Erzincan, Bingöl, Iğdır, Kars, Hakkari, Bitlis, Ardahan and Tunceli – in the east of Turkey.

Origins and history

27

Table 1.3 Population of the Eastern Jews 1927–1965 Provinces

Gaziantep Diyarbekir Hakkâri Mardin Urfa Van Total

Year of Census 1927

1945

1955

1960

1965

742 392 43 490 318 129 2,114

327 441 34 17 234 132 1,185

151 21 2 7 11 76 268

141 12 1 12 2 9 177

152 34 0 9 14 91 300

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, General Statistical Office), 23 Ekim 1955 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu, (23 October 1955 Census of Population: Population of Turkey), (Ankara, 1961). 1960. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, 23 Ekim 1960 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistics, Census of Population, 23 October 1960 Population of Turkey) (Ankara 1965). 1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, 23 Ekim 1965 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistics, Census of Population, 23 October 1965 Population of Turkey) (Ankara 1970).

During my visits to the regions where Jewish communities once lived in Turkey, I could only find a few tablets in Hebrew, some dwellings of local Jews and a ruined synagogue. Jewish population does not exist anymore in the regions I studied. They had all migrated and they all live in various Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion and Ashdod. Jews of Gaziantep Throughout history the city of “Hantab”, “Entab”, “Hamtab”, “Hatab”, “Ayntab”, “Antab”, “Antep” or modern day Gaziantep changed hands many times between Muslim, Byzantine, Crusaders and Turcoman states until it finally was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1516.86 Today, historical remnants still remaining indicate that the city was established during the reign of Byzantine Empire. It is not exactly clear when the city started to be called Antep. Even though Arab geographers often mentioned the city as Duluk; it can be said that the name Antep (Ayıntab) was given by Arabs. In other words, the city took the name Antep with the spread of Islam in the region.87 Kevork Avedis Sarafian, an Armenian of Antep, states that the city was called Hantab, Hamtab or Hatab by the Crusaders; however the name Ayıntab was given by Arabs.88 The official name of the city was changed to Gaziantep on 6 February 1921 by honoring it with a prestigious title Gazi (the veteran), due to its

28

Origins and history

struggle and defense against the allied powers’ occupation during the independence war. As of this date the city is being called by the name Gaziantep.89 Geographically, Gaziantep is a city in the southeast of today’s Turkey located on the Turkish-Syrian border. We do not have evidence that documents about when they came or from where Jewish people came to Gaziantep. The city always had a multireligious social structure. The existence of a non-Muslim population of Orthodox and Catholic Greeks, Assyrians, Armenians and Jews continued in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.90 However the presence of Jews in Gaziantep did not appear in the cadastral or court registers of Ottoman Archives until the seventeenth century. Hülya Canbakkal, referring to a document numbered E9284/4 dating 1647–1648 from the Topkapı Palace archives, claims that “a mid-seventeenth century firman distinctly refers to Jews, but these are more likely to have been villagers”.91 When I asked about their origins, the Jews of Gaziantep that I interviewed said that they had emigrated from Aleppo: As far as my father narrated to us I learned that, we, Jews of Gaziantep are descendants of the Babylonian Exiles after the destruction of Bet Ha-Mikdash, our first temple. 90 percent I am sure about that. By deportation from Jerusalem some Jews came to Iran, some to Iraq and some to Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. Our people first came to Aleppo then to Anteb through Syria.92 Another interviewee confirmed their origin of Aleppo while telling their story of immigration to the city of Gaziantep: My grandfather came from Aleppo, Syria. Rabbi Nissim Cohen93 was my grandfather. He came from Syria. During the war (Çanakkale War), my grandfather did not see my grandmother for seven months. At the end of the world he said to my grandmother “let’s go to the Anteb!” My grandmother said “We have nothing, not even a (new) dress to wear! Let me work! and we’ll buy new clothes for both of us. Then we can go to Turkey to Anteb”.94 Aleppo, Arabic Halab, is described in the Bible and called by the Jews AramZoba. According to Jewish tradition, stated by Rabbi Abraham Dayyan, historical roots of the community go back to the time of King David (1000 BCE).95 Jews continued to settle in Aleppo during Roman times. During the Muslim period, the Jewish community of Aleppo had a certain autonomy and had organized institutions. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, Sephardic Jews immigrated to many cities in Islamic lands, including Syria and Aleppo.96 By virtue of the Ottoman conquest of Anteb, the city first became a part of the province of Şam and then was annexed to the province of Aleppo.97 The center of the region that includes Antep was the city of Aleppo. The importance of Aleppo as an international trade center comes from being a crossroads for the caravans from the east. This commercial relation continued to develop and grew during Ottoman Period. Due to this link, Antep has had strong ties with the neighbor cities such as Halep (Aleppo), Kilis, Maraş, Urfa, Kâhta, Malatya, etc.98 Through the Yearbook of Aleppo Province, Antep District (Halep Vilayet Salnamesi Antep Kazası), we obtained an array of statistics regarding the population

Origins and history

29

of the city in nineteenth century. The figures in Table 1.4 indicate the number of Jews in the Antep district: Table 1.4 Yearbook of Aleppo Province, Antep District Population Registers Year

1308/1890

1315/1897

1319/1901

1322/1904

1326/1908

Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Number 350 of Jews Total 714

364

370

360

730

376

367

743

383

376

759

322

353

675

Source: Osmanlı Vilayet Salnamelerinde Halep, Eroglu Cengiz & Others, Orsam Kitapları, Ankara, 2012, pp. 192–197. 1308/1890 of total population 80.938, 714 people are Jewish.(1308 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.192) 1315/1897 of total population 84.877, 730 people are Jewish. (1315 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.194) 1319/1901 of total population 86.045, 743 people are Jewish. (1319 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.195) 1322/1904 of total population 85.982, 759 people are Jewish. (1322 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.196) 1326/1908 of total population 90.388, 675 people are Jewish. (1326 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.197)

By the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, the number of Jews in Gaziantep declined due to deaths and especially migration after the establishment of the state of Israel. Their population after the founding of the Republic is shown in Table 1.5: Table 1.5 Population of Jews of Gaziantep, 1927–1965 Year

1927

1945

1955

1960

1965

Number of Jews

742

327

151

141

152

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955–1960–1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı 1964–65/ Statisque de la Turquie, no: 510, (Ankara, no date).

Considering the historical background of the Gaziantep Jewish community as coming from Aleppo, one part might be descendants of Sephardic Jews who are “Musta’arabim”, the Jews of Islamic countries or Arab world who were culturally and linguistically Arabized and the other part might already have been settled since the time of King David (1000 BCE).99 Jews of Urfa Leslie Peirce states that in the city of Urfa, one-fourth of taxpayers in 1526 were Armenian and there was no Jewish population listed there.100 Interestingly, George Percy Badger does not write anything regarding Jewish existence in Urfa. However when he passed through Birecik, the district of Urfa province, he mentioned

30

Origins and history

Jews in his travel accounts between the years 1842–1844. He writes that there are 1800 Armenian families within the walls of Urfa and 18 priests in the city. Besides, there are 12,000 Muslim families in Urfa. When he visited Birecik he mentions a population of 1,500 families composed of Turks, Turcomans, Arabs, Christian and a few Jewish dwellers.101 This does not mean Jews never existed or never lived in Urfa. Although there was a small community in and around Urfa, there are plausible historical data regarding the presence of Jews in the city. Segal noted that there are sanctuaries belonging to the Jews in the area. Furthermore, the site of Hasan Pasha Mosque located in the city center formerly was a synagogue.102 According to Bar Hebraeus, Syrian scholar and Bishop of the Eastern Jacobite Church in thirteenth century, Muhammad b. Tahir built a mosque, likely mentioned by Segal, on a site “previously occupied by a synagogue”.103 However, much earlier than that, when Imad ad-Din Zenghi, the founder of Zengid dynasty, captured Ruha (an old name for Urfa) in 1146 he settled 300 Jewish families there.104 Additionally, Urfa, anciently known as Edessa and officially called Şanlıurfa today, is an ancient city. Historical sources indicate the establishment of the city as around the second millennium (2000 BCE). It was a Hurrian city known as Orrhoe, Orhai or Osrhoene. The city was conquered by Romans and remained under their rule until 216.105 Segal claimed that “the suppression of the Parthian resistance against Roman meant also the subjugation of the Jews of the city”.106 In Edessa, at the same time that the city was becoming a center of Christianity, “a Jewish influence” expanded around the region by the end of the second century CE.107 Al Harizi, a medieval Spanish Jewish traveler, visited the Muslim East including Iraq, and lived in Aleppo, Syria, where he died. Harizi, in his book Tahkemoni, mentioned the Jewish community in Urfa and stated that “the local Jews were polite and cultured”.108 Jews continued to live there during the reign of Ottoman Empire. Another itinerant merchant, Joseph Israel Benjamin, known as Benjamin II, traveled Asia and Africa between the years 1846–1855.109 He went to the eastern cities of Turkey and visited Urfa. Benjamin II mentioned 150 Jewish families in Urfa who lived in prosperity. The majority of them were illiterate. Among the Jewish community only 50 of them were capable of performing the ritual prayers in Hebrew.110 He also touches upon a cave that was considered to be the birthplace of Abraham and the place where Nimrod was said to have thrown Abraham into a fire, according to a traditional story. The place was visited by both Jews and Muslims.111 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were an estimated 500 Jews among the population of Urfa.112 By the twentieth century the number of Jews started to decline gradually. Many of the Jews immigrated to Jerusalem.113 Statistical numbers in the Ottoman Yearbooks of the district nearly confirm these quantities as shown in Table 1.6 and Table 1.7. Armenians, a few Greeks, Protestants, Catholics and Jews were the non-Muslim religious minority groups who lived in Urfa. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the total population of Urfa was 30,335. Muslims made up 70 percent and non-Muslims 30 percent of the population. Within the non-Muslim population, 73 percent were Armenian, 12 percent were Assyrian, 6 percent were Protestant, 5 percent were Catholic, and 3.5 percent were Jewish. However, there have been no Jews in Urfa since 1965.114

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Table 1.6 Yearbook of Aleppo Province, Urfa District Population Registers Year

1288/1870

1308/1887

1314/1896

1319–20/1902 1326/1908

Household Number Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Jews 29 Total 153

124

128 266

138

158 330

172

255 464

209

243 484

241

Sources: Halep Vilayet Vilayet Salnamelerinde Urfa Sancağı, Kemal Kapaklı, Şanlıurfa Belediyesi Kültür ve Sosyal İşler Müdürlüğü Yayınları, Ankara, 2013, p. 30–69; Osmanlı Vilayet Salnamelerinde Halep, Eroglu Cengiz & Others, Ankara, 2012, p. 243. 1288/1870 of total households 14.333 and population 113.582; 153 people are Jewish. (1288 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.183) 1308/1887 of total female 29.956 and male 29.768 population, 266 people are Jewish. (1308 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.240) 1314/1896 of total female 30.893 and male 32.787 population, 330 people are Jewish. (1314 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.269) 1319–20/1901–2 of total female 32.740 and male 31.439 population, 464 people are Jewish. (1319 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.329 and 1320 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi s.332) 1326/1908 of total female 34.431 and male 37.281 population, 484 people are Jewish. (1326 tarihli Halep Vilayet Salnamesi, s.413)

Table 1.7 Population of Jews of Şanlıurfa, 1927–1965 Year

1927

1945

1955

1960

1965

Number of Jews

318

234

11

2

14

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955–1960–1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı 1964–65/ Statisque de la Turquie, no: 510, (Ankara, no date).

Jews of Siverek Siverek had different names during its history. In Armenian sources it is called “Sevarek”, “Sevaragas” or “Severak”, we can see the city name “Sebaberak” in Assyrian references. During the Arabs rule the name “Es-Suvayda” or “Suvayda” that used mean blackness, black spot. After the Turkish conquest it was called “Süverek” or “Siverek”.115 It seems like the city had a small population. In 1518 the city consist a total of 206 households, including 76 Muslim households and 130 non-Muslim households. Additionally the non-Muslim population was more than the Muslim in number. However all non-Muslim groups such as Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks were registered under the name of “Cemaat-ı Eramine (Armenian Community)”. There were approximately 680 non-Muslims who lived in the city. Of the Siverek population, Muslims made 63 percent, but of the total population of the sanjak, they made up only 6.2 percent.116 It is inferred from court register numbered 443, Armenian were the major group among other non-Muslim religious communities in the year 1851–1853 in

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Table 1.8 Population of Jews of Siverek Muslim M

F

Armenian Armenian Catholic

Assyrian Protestant

Jewish

Yazidi

M

F

M

F

M

M+F Total

54

260 325 152

136

51 81 1.500 38.335

F

M

23.307 10.862 791 791 25

F

M

F

Source: 1286–1323 (1869–1905) Salname-i Diyarbekir (Diyarbakır Salnameleri) C.I, s. 218. Hazırlayan Ahmet Zeki İzgöer, Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyesi Yayınları, 1999, Diyarbakır.

Siverek. Greeks, Jews and other religious groups lived together in peace and had good social interrelationships in the city.117 Additionally, according to the 1871 and 1872 Salname-i Diyarbekir (Diyarbakır Yearbooks), the Muslim population seemed more than the non-Muslim. There were 3,333 Muslim and 940 non-Muslim individuals.118 According to the 1894– 1895 Salname-i Diyarbekir (Diyarbakır Yearbooks) Siverek had a multi-ethnic population. Different religious groups such as Muslims, Armenians, Assyrians, Protestants, Yazidis and Jews lived in harmony in Siverek (Table 1.8). In addition to that, Kemal Karpat gave some numbers regarding the Jewish population of Siverek. Of the total population of 54,062, there were 136 Jews in the city in 1914.119 Jews of Diyarbekır Amida is the oldest name of the city, although it is not known where originally the word came from. After the conquest of Arabs the city started to be referred to as Diyarbekir because lands of the region were belonging to Bakr bin Wa’il, an Arab tribe settled along the Tigris River. The name also can be seen as “Diyar-ı Bekr” in sources from the eighth century. Under Ottoman rule, Diyarbekir was established as Beylerbeglik that consisted of Amid, the city, and its sanjaks. After the eighteenth century the name Diyarbekir started to be used. In 1937 the city was being called “Diyarbakır”.120 In the pre-Islam period, there were three major religious groups common around the region, especially in Diyarbakır. These were the Şemsiler, worshippers of the sun,121 the Christians, and the Jews. According to the first official records, during the Tanzimat Period in the Ottoman Empire the local population was 21,372. Of these, 9,814 were Muslim, 6,853 Armenian Gregorian, 1,434 Assyrian, 174 Assyrian Catholic, 976 Chaldean, 55 Greek Catholic, 650 Protestant, and lastly 1,280 were Jews. Christians seem to have been the dominant community.122 The presence of Jews in Diyarbakır dated back centuries. In this regard, in the Ottoman Archives specifically in İcmal (summary), Mufassal (detailed survey) or Tahrir (cadastral) records from the fifteenth and sixteenth century the existence of Jews can be traced. During Ottoman rule in 1518, with reference to cadastral register books, the city had four gates and with four neighborhoods named Bab-ı Mardin, Bab-ı Rom, Bab-ı Cebel and Babü’l-Ma. In these quarters 1,220 Muslim people,

Origins and history

33

1093 non-Muslims family and households and 237 single (unmarried, not known Muslims or non-Muslims) taxpayers resided. Within the neighborhoods the most crowded one was Babü’l-Ma. Non-Muslims were the majority there. There was a small population of Jews consisting of 28 households and three single (bachelor) people.123 Additionally, due to migration from the neighboring districts Hazro, Sasun, Atak, Genç, Eğil, Muş and Hısnıkeyfa, the non-Muslim population of Amid had increased compared to the Muslim population. Moreover, there were 26 religious communities and each one was registered to a church. In this respect, in the cadastral book dated 1540, it seems Jews were registered to a Nestorian Church.124 In 1816 the traveler James Silk Buckingham visited Diyarbekir. He stated the city population as 50,000. He mentioned about 400 Assyrian families, and said a dozen Jewish families remained in the city and the rest had immigrated to Baghdad, Aleppo and Istanbul. Additionally he cited the existence of 25 mosques, two Armenian churches, one Catholic Church where two Italian priests resided, one Assyrian and one Greek Church and lastly a small synagogue in Diyarbekir.125 Rabbi Yakov, son of Rabbi Yehuda Mizrahi, mentioned a Jewish community in Diyarbakır dating back to the seventeenth century in a letter sent to the Nineveh Jewish community. In 1835, the city of Diyarbakır had 8,000 households. Fifty of them were Jewish.126 Jewish traveler Efraim Neumark visited Diyarbakır in 1844. He mentioned 200 Jewish people who lived in the city. There were wealthy Jews among the community. And he adds Lord Montefiore127 has been persuaded to build a new synagogue for the Jews.128 Another Jewish traveler, Rabbi Benyamin Hasheni, mentioned about 250 Jews in the city in 1848. Further, Rabbi Peterman found 60 Jewish families and an old synagogue in Diyarbakır.129 In 1890 a German traveler, Doctor Lamec Saad, mentioned about 80 Jewish families at the city in his travelogue. He states that most of them were poor, worked as peddlers and generally engaged in grocery.130 The head of the Jewish community was Parhia Sameh Tet in 1909.131 Dr. Edmund Naumann gave us some statistics about Diyarbekir population including Jews based on information he got from the Consul Thomas Boyacıyan in 1890. A year after him Cuinet stated some data on the city’s population which are less or more different from Boyacıyan’s results. According to Boyaciyan 1404 Jews lived in the city. However Cuinet stated 1269 Jewish residents.132 In addition to traveler accounts, significant information regarding Jews of Diyarbakır can be found in The Alliance Israélite Universelle bulletins. The Alliance was an International Schooling Jewish organization established by French Jews. It aimed to preserve human rights of Jews all around the world and also to improve and develop the social and educational situation of Eastern Jews including those of Turkey.133 We learn about the Diyarbakır Jewish community in Alliance archives. However, the information in the bulletins was mostly about the troubles they confronted. There is not any specific source that we can find on the whole population of Jews of Diyarbakır. During the Ottoman Period there are numbers from travelers’ accounts, from Salnameler (Yearbooks) and from the first census in 1897. In this respect, population of Jews of Diyarbakır in sixteenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries can be seen in Table 1.9.

? ? 207 Households

15262

18554

18735 18906 657 724 1381 Person

1434 1358 2792 Person

572 593 1165 Person

187 202 389 Person

? ? 2538 Person

? ? 520 Person

1906– 1913– 18937 18948 18959 189610 189711 190512 190613 190714 191415 191416

? ? ? ? ? ? 679 693 ? ? ? ? ? ? 612 612 50 200 200 80 285 1051 1291 1305 Families Families Person Families Person Person Person Person

18403

Sources: 1) BA, T.D, 64. P. 27, 924/1518–19 in Mark Alan Epstein, 1980 The Ottoman Jewish Communities and Their Role in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, Klaus Schwarz Verlag, Freiburg. p. 217. 2) Leslie Peirce, 2003 Morality Tales: Law and Gender in Ottoman Court of Aintab, University of California Press, California. 3) Horatio Southgate, 1840 Narrative of a Tour Through Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia and Mesopotamia, D. Appleton & Co., volume II, New York, p. 299. 4) Avram Galante, 1961 Histoire des Juifs d’Anatolie, v.4, İsis Yayımcılık, Istanbul, p. 287. 5) Avram Galante, ibid, v.4, p. 287. 6) Dr. Lamec Saad, 1913 Sechzehn Jahre als Quarantaenarzt in der Turkei, Berlin cite İlhan Pınar “Gezginlerin Gözüyle Diyarbakır 1701–1924”, in Şevket Beysanoğlu, M. Sabri Koz ve diğerleri, 1999 Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir, Istanbul, p. 150. 7), 12), Yurt Ansiklopedisi, Anadolu Yayıncılık, Istanbul, 1982, v.3, p. 2242–2243 cite Rıfat Bali 1999 Diyarbakır Yahudileri, in Şevket Beysanoğlu, M. Sabri Koz ve diğerleri, 1999 Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir, Istanbul, s.367–389. 8), 9), 10), 14), 15), and 16), Kemal Karpat, 1985 The Ottoman Population 1830–1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, p. 134 cite Rifat Bali ibid. p. 367–389. 11) Tevfik Güran (haz.), 1997 Osmanlı Devleti’nin İlk İstatistik Yıllığı 1897, T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Tarihi İstatistikler Dizisi, Ankara, s.24 in Rifat Bali ibid. 13) Cem Behar (haz.) 1996, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun ve Türkiye’nin Nüfusu 1500–1927, T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Tarihi İstatistikler Dizisi, Ankara, s.56 in Fırat Bali ibid. p. 367–389. 14) Justin McCarthy 1994, Jewish Population in the Late Ottoman Period in The Jews of the Ottoman Empire 1994, Avigdor Levy, Princeton, USA, p. 375–399.

M: Male F: Female

Total Population

? ? 28 Households and 3 Bachelor

Gender

M F

15181

Year

Table 1.9 Jewish Population in Diyarbakır from the Sixteenth Century to the Twentieth Century

Origins and history

35

Additionally, the Jewish population of Diyarbakır in Republic Period is shown in Table 1.10: Table 1.10 Jews of Diyarbakır during the Republic Period 1927

1935

1945

1955

1960

1965

FemFemFemFemFemFemYear ale Male ale Male ale Male ale Male ale Male ale Male Jews 173 Total 392

219

164 336

172

202 441

239

? 21

?

5 12

7

14 34

20

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1935. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Direktörlüğü, 20 İlkteşrin 1935 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Ankara, 1937, Walter Weiker, 1992, Ottomans, Turks and the Jewish Polity, University Press of America Maryland, 1992, p. 267. 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955. Türkiye 1955 Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, General Statistical Office), 23 Ekim 1955 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu, (23 October 1955 Census of Population: Population of Turkey), (Ankara, 1961). 1960 Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, 23 Ekim 1960 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistics, Census of Population, 23 October 1960 Population of Turkey) (Ankara 1965). 1965 Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, 23 Ekim 1965 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistics, Census of Population, 23 October 1965 Population of Turkey) (Ankara 1970).

Due to migration after the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish population in Diyarbakır declined especially between the years 1945–1955. Jewish travelers who visited Diyarbakır usually also paid a visit to the Çermik Jewish community as well. The Jewish traveler Rabbi David D’Beth Hillel, in his visit to the eastern of Turkey between the years 1824–1832, mentioned the Jewish community of Çarmuk (Turkish Çermik), a district of Diyarbakir. He estimated 40 wealthy Arabic speaking Jews who had a small synagogue.134 A decade after D’Beth Hillel, Rabbi Joseph Israel (Benjamin II) described 100 Jews in Çermik who had the same customs and clothes as Muslims. Benjamin II also mentioned hot healing water spring in Çermik.135 One of my interviewees from Diyarbakır remembered this spring as well. She said, “Çermuk was like a special holiday place (for Jews). For us, it was like Tiberius”.136 According to an Alliance report in 1875, there were 60 Jewish families in Çermik. The report said they were not wealthy enough to have a rabbi to teach them Hebrew and how to read the Torah.137 They had a synagogue that today is used by local people as a storehouse. There is an inscription on the wall of the synagogue dated to the year 5176 in Hebrew calendar (1416 CE), which indicates that the Jews of Çermik were an ancient Jewish community in the region.138

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Origins and history

Figure 1.3 Çermik Synagogue in Jerusalem Translation: Synagogue and House of Learning (Çarmuklim, Hebrew cal:5692/ 1932) Photo Credit: Author.

I visited their synagogue in Jerusalem and tried and failed to find some Jews from Çermik (Figure 1.3). I have been told that they called themselves Çarmuklim. Jews of Mardin and Nusaybin The first time in history the name Mardin mentioned by Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus as Maride and Lorne in the fourth century.139 In addition to that, one of the first Islamic sources cited the name Mardin is Abu Yusuf’s book Kitâbu’l Harâj.140 Throughout the history various names has been used for the city. In Armenian sources it is written Merdin. Assyrian sources wrote it as Merdo, Merdi, Merde, Marda and Mardin.141 Greek sources mentioned it as Marde, Byzantine sources as Mardia and Arab sources called Maridin.142 In the first cadastral records of the city after the Ottoman conquest, among the nine neighborhoods it referred to a Jewish neighborhood called Yahudiyan mahallesi (Jewish neighborhoods) in the sixteenth century. Moreover, there is a water fountain named Ayn-ı Yahud (Jewish fountain) which still remains today in Mardin. The fountain is located at Yenikapı mahallesi, Manastır 132 Sokak in the city.143 There is not any sign about the construction date. However, it can be dated to the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries through its architectural structure, decoration style and construction form.144

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37

Another indication regarding the existence of Jews in the city is a figure titled Population of Non-Muslim Taxpayers in Mardin. According to this figure, ten Jews are seen as taxpayers in Yahudiyan mahallesi between the years 1608–1611.145 Additionally, according to Ottoman cadastral registers, Jewish taxpayers in Mardin city center between the years 1518–1564 are shown in Table 1.11: Table 1.11 Jewish Taxpayers between the Years 1518–1564 in Mardin Years

Jews (Male)*

1518 1530 1540 1564

112 234 180 196

Source: Suavi Aydın 2000 Mardin: Aşiret, Cemaat, Devlet, Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, Istanbul, p. 131, and Nejat Göyünç 1991, XVI. Yüzyılda Mardin Sancağı, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara, p. 87–88. * Due to the fact that only men were paying taxes and enlisting in the military solely males were registered in cadastral.

Prior to and during the Ottoman Period there were various religious minorities in and in the vicinity of Mardin. Along with Muslims, there were Assyrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, Yazidis, Şemsi and Jews living in the city (Tables 1.12 and 1.13). There are different data about the numbers of those communities. For instance, at the end of the eighteenth century Carsten Niebuhr visited Mardin. He noted 3000 households, of them 2000 were Muslims; others were Christians and ten households were Jews.146 At the beginning of the nineteenth century in 1808, Dupre calculated the city’s population as 27,240 with 800 Jews, 20,000 Muslims, 3,200 Jacobite Christians, 400 Chaldeans, 800 Şemsi, and 40 Orthodox Armenians in Mardin.147 In 1814 Kinneir does not note any numbers regarding religious minority groups in Mardin but mentions the presence of Turks, Arabs, Chaldeans, Catholics, Jacobites, Armenians and Jews as well.148 Furthermore, Buckingham presumed the population of Mardin as 20,000 in 1827, of which the majority at least two-thirds were Muslims; the rest consisted of Christian and Jews. He estimated 2,000 Syrian houses, 500 Armenian houses, 1,000 Armenian Catholic houses, 300 Chaldean or Nestorian and lastly 400 Jewish houses in the city of Mardin. He stated that each has their own churches and priests.149 Another traveler, Badger, mentioned that a few Jewish families lived in the city between the years 1842–1844.150 However two year before him, Horatio Southgate in his visit to Mardin noted ten Jewish families resided in the city.151 The first official Ottoman census was made in 1830 during the reign of Sultan Mahmut II. The city census was made in the year 1834 in Mardin. According to this, the population of the city was 3,643 households, of which 1,816 were Muslim, 1,809 Christian and 18 Jewish. The number of Muslim males was 2,943, Christian males 3,190 and Jewish males 50. As a result total male population was 6,183.152

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Origins and history

Table 1.12 Jewish Population from the Sixteenth Century to the Twentieth Century in Mardin Years

Jews

15181 15302 15263 15404 15645 18266 18347 18778 18919 1906/710

480 234 103 180 196 400 Household 18 Households 24 580 239 Female

50 Male

235 Male

Sources: 1), 2), 3), 4), and 5), Nejat Göyünç 1991, XVI. Yüzyılda Mardin Sancağı, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara, p. 87–88., Suavi Aydın 2000 Mardin: Aşiret, Cemaat, Devlet, Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, Istanbul, p. 131. 6) James Silk Buckingham, 1827 Travels in Mesopotamia, v.II, London, p. 191–192. 7) Diyarbakır Salnamesi, 1869 p. 221–223 in Suavi Aydın & et al., 2001 Mardin: Aşiret-CemaatDevlet, Istanbul, p. 205. 8) Grattan Geary 1878 Through Asiatic Turkey Narrative of a Journey from Bombay to Bosphorus, London, cite in Suavi Aydın & et al., 2001 Mardin: Aşiret-Cemaat-Devlet, Istanbul, p. 244. 9) Vital Cuinet; La Turquie d’Asie, Geographie Administrative Statistique Descriptive et Raisonnee de Chaqu Province de I’Asie Mineure, Paris 1892, s.500 cite in Suavi Aydın & et al., ibid., p. 244. 10) Kemal H. Karpat, 1985 Ottoman Population 1830–1914 Demographic and Social Characteristics, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, p. 134–135.

Table 1.13 Population of Jews of Mardin during Republic Period, 1927–1965 Year

1927

1945

1955

1960

1965

Number of Jews

490

17

7

12

9

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955–1960–1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı 1964–65/ Statisque de la Turquie, no: 510, (Ankara, no date).

Armenians made up the majority of non-Muslims in Mardin, where they formed 59 percent of the population while Jews made up 6 percent.153 Another place where Jews were lived was Nusaybin, a district bound to Mardin province. Nusaybin was established between Persian and East Roman Empire and was called in Syriac Emo d Yulfone (Mother/Master of Sciences) and Wa Mdinat d Sukole (City of Science) due to its cultural and scientific roles undertaken during the history of the city.154

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39

The city name Nusaybin, for the first time in history was noted in the period of Assyrian King Adad Nirari II, in 912–889 BCE. The city was also known as Nasibina during Assyrian period. Within different sources city name can be found as Nitibin, Nitibeni, Nizzibi, Nsepi, Nisibis and Nesebis.155 During the reign of Selim I, the city was annexed to the Ottoman Empire in 1515.156 In the first century CE, Nusaybin was predominantly an Aramean city, although a considerable Jewish population inhabited it as well.157 The historian Josephus Flavius reported that in Nisibis and the Nehardea, the Jews of Babylonia donated their half shekels and their donations to the Temple in Jerusalem.158 Moreover, under the favor of Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra II, the city aroused the interest of scholars from Palestine. Therefore it was also known as a Torah center during the second century.159 Rabbi Moses Basola in his visit to Beirut between 1521 and 1523 met a Jew from Nisibin region who mentioned the tomb of the tanna Judah Ben Bathyra to which people from the surrounding areas made pilgrimage.160 Additionally we learned of the presence of Jews in Nisibin in the Agonic Period.161 During the ninth century, along with the original Aramaic Christians, Jews also continued to exist in Nusaybin.162 The twelfth-century traveler Benjamin of Tudela found 1000 Jews in Nusaybin.163 Besides his contemporary Pethahiah of Ratisbone described a sizeable Jewish community in the city along with the synagogue of the tanna Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra II. There were two more synagogues that have been built according to a tradition by Ezra the Scribe. Pethahiah mentioned a red stone from the Temple fixed in the wall of one of those synagogues that had been brought by Rabbi Bathyra II.164 Another Jewish traveler, Joseph Israel Benjamin, who is also known as Benjamin II (as he introduced himself as a successor of Benjamin of Tudela), visited Nusaybin between the years 1846–1855. He said Jews called the city Neitzibin, which is also referred to in the Talmud. Additionally, as mentioned in the Targum of Jerusalem, Nusaybin might be the Arcad of the Bible.165 Benjamin II also described the tomb of Rabbi Judah Ben Bathyra that is an hour away from the town and is close to the Roman ruins.166 Badger in his visit to Nusaybin between the years 1842–44 mentioned four Jews remaining out of 40 Jewish families who had since left because of oppression.167 Obermeyer claimed that by the end of the nineteenth century, only half of 200 houses belonged to Jews.168 After the establishment of the state of the Israel, no Jews resided in Nusaybin. According to cadastral registers between the years 1518–1540, “1 Mücerret Yahudi” (one bachelor Jew) lived in Nusaybin.169 Kemal Karpat gave some numbers regarding population of Jews of Nusaybin based on Ottoman Archives documents. He states 8,022 was the total population of the city. Of them 261 were Jews, of which 154 were female and 107 male between the years 1881–1882 and 1893. In the year 1914, out of a total population 16,692 there were 1,009 Jews who lived in the city.170 Jews of Başkale and Van Van as a site is an ancient city. For centuries different religious communities lived together in harmony in the city. Muslims, Armenians (Gregorian, Catholic and Protestant Armenians) and Jews lived in Van for a long time of period.171

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Accordingly, Kemal Karpat in his study, Ottoman Population 1830–1914 Demographic and Social Characteristics wrote that there were 836 Jews in Hakkari in 1914.172 However in a similar work Osmanlı’da Etnik Yapı ve 1914 Nüfusu (Ethnicity in Ottoman and Census 1914) made by Orhan Sakin, the number of Jews of Başkale was given as 836 in the same year.173 Additionally, 273 Jews lived in Güvar (modern Yüksekova), another district of Hakkari. Because there were no Jews living elsewhere in Hakkari, Karpat’s number must refer to Jews of Başkale. According to the French geographer Vital Cuinet, 1,000 Jews lived in Van Sanjak and 500 in Van Central Kaza in 1894.174 Additionally, in his famous encyclopedia Kamus-ı Alam, the Ottoman writer Şemsettin Sami (Sami Frashêri) estimated 430.000 people were living in Van Province. Of them 242,000 were Muslim, 178,000 Christian, 5,400 Yazidis, 600 Roman and 5,000 Jews between the years 1889–1898.175 Van province consisted of Van and Hakkari sanjaks. Distribution of the province population in 1914 was as follows.176 Total Population: 259,141 Muslim: 179,380 Greek: 1 Armenian: 67,792 Chaldean: 1,128 Nestorian: 8,091 Yazidis: 1,366 Jews: 1,383 Breaking down the number of Jews, 274 Jews were in Şemdinli and 273 were in Güvar, today’s Yüksekova in Hakkari.177 As is seen, there is a lack of sources on both Jews of Van and Başkale. During my literature review I did not come across many resources specifically related to Jews of Van, who once lived in the city center, at least according to the general censuses of 1881, 1882, 1893 and 1914. As a matter of fact, during my fieldwork, interviewees who first introduced themselves as Jews of Van later would remind me during the course of the interview they were originally from Başkale. For instance Shlomo Araban was born in Van in 1951. He grew up and went to the school in Van. But originally his family came from Başkale. He said “specifically there is not any Jewish community of Van. We are all known as Jews of Başkale because the synagogue was in there”.178 Then he said, “I will tell you an interesting thing”: I would spend my summer holidays for one week or ten days with my sister at Başkale. When I get back, teacher would ask: where did you go in summer holiday? We would say: “We did not go to anywhere, we were here in Van”. Because if we told we were in Başkale everybody would know we were Jewish.179 Therefore, Jews who settled in Van (Table 1.14) likely immigrated from Başkale. Besides, information we have regarding Jews from the region is about

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Table 1.14 Population of Jews of Van, 1927–1965 Year

1927

1945

1955

1960

1965

Number of Jews

129

132

76

9

91

Sources: 1927. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başvekâlet İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü, ’28 Teşrinievvel 1927 Umumi Nüfus Tahriri: Türkiye Nüfusu’ İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statistique IV (1930–31), İstatistik Umum Müdürlüğü Neşriyatından, sayı 14, s. 61–62, (Ankara 1931). 1945. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü, 21 Ekim 1945 Genel Nüfus Sayımı, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı/Annuaire Statisque de Turquie, cilt 18, no: 328, s. 46 (Ankara, 1950). 1955. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık İstatistik Genel Müdürlüğü (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, General Statistical Office), 23 Ekim 1955 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu, (23 October 1955 Census of Population: Population of Turkey), (Ankara, 1961). 1960. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, 23 Ekim 1960 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistics, Census of Population, 23 October 1960 Population of Turkey) (Ankara 1965). 1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, 23 Ekim 1965 Genel Nüfus Sayımı: Türkiye Nüfusu (Republic of Turkey, Prime Ministry, State Institute of Statistics, Census of Population, 23 October 1965 Population of Turkey) (Ankara 1970).

the Jewish community of Başkale that is mostly based on oral history obtained through in-depth interviews. Ephraim Araslı was born in 1950, and he lived in Başkale until he was ten years old. He said that they might be come from Mosul or somewhere in Iraq, but he really was not sure where exactly they came from before Başkale. Additionally he stated before migration there were 150 or 200 Jews in the city. Another interviewee, Eliyahu İlim, was born in Van in 1951 but his parents came from Başkale. He mentioned about 50–60 Jewish families that migrated to Van. Eldad Yakışan, another member of Jews of Başkale, referred to 200 Jews, whereas according to the official census in 1945 there were 132 Jews, and in 1955 there were 76 Jews living in Van.180 Furthermore, Avigdor Şekerci, son of the last rabbi of the Başkale Jewish community, explained that his family originally came from Urmia, a northwestern city in Iran, at the second half or end of the nineteenth century. He said some Jews of Başkale could have come from Urmia, some of the Jews came from Iraq, some from Iran, and some from Tbilisi in Georgia; all the Jews from neighboring regions mentioned earlier were united in Başkale. Besides he said that they were speaking the language Aramit (Aramaic) and added that Torah was written in their language.181 In addition to that, when they migrated from the city first they went to Istanbul then to Israel. So, Jews of Istanbul started to call them Gurci or Gürcü since some Jews of Başkale might be come from Tbilisi in Georgia. To explain, Eliyahu İlim said his father came from Tbilisi. When Eliyahu İlim noticed, he asked the question to himself “I wonder if we are Russian?” And interestingly he added that his father would never say Rus (Russian), in other words never said Rusya (Russia), because he was scared of Russia very much. Instead of Russian, he was always saying “Blue-eyed”. When he told a story he always said “Blue-eyed did this”.182 Accordingly, apparently it seems like background of Başkale Jewish community does not go back to ancient times. I do not ignore the history of where

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originally they came from. They called themselves Nash Didan (our people, the people who speak our language). The language they spoke, called Lishan Didan (our language), is a Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect, sub-dialect of Near Eastern NeoAramaic dialects (NENA) which are spoken in Persian Azerbaijan, the “adjoining regions” of Van and Hakkari in southeast of Turkey including communities in Başkale, Yuksekova, Urmia, Salmas and Mahabad, and lastly in Georgia. The dialect is spoken by nearly 5,000 people of which most now live in Israel. Since the dialect borrowed many words from Kurdish and some Turkish, Arabic and eastern Farsi “erroneously” called Judeo-Kurdish or Azerbaijani Kurdish.183 According to our interviewees, their existence in Başkale has a history of 150–200 years. Therefore it will not be a mistake to say they established a new community in Başkale. Jews of Hakkari Traveler Frederic Millingen mentioned about population of Hakkari as 210,000 individuals in 1870, of which 2,000 people were Jewish.184 Two decades after Millinge, Vital Cuinet estimated a total population of Hakkari Sanjak as 300,000 at the end of the nineteenth century. Of this number there were:185 15,000: 40,000: 52,000: 5,000: 4,000:

Gregorian Christians Nestorian Free Christians Catholic Chaldean Jewish

During my fieldwork I met with only one Jew from Gever (modern Yüksekova) in Hakkari Province now living in Israel. Gershom Şenyuva was born in Van in 1939 but he grew up in Yüksekova until he was ten years old. However Gershom’s family originally were not residents in Yüksekova. As he told me his father Jacob (Yakub) came from a Kurdish populated region in Iraq to Urmia, Iran. While his father was in Urmia he met his mother and got married. After a while he migrated to Yüksekova. For a short time they lived in Başkale as well. Then they moved back to Yüksekova. Gershom claimed that they were last remaining Jewish family in Yüksekova in 1950s. Avigdor Şekerci, son of the last rabbi of the Başkale Jewish community, confirmed this information. The Gershom family was living as servants under the patronage of an Aga, a tribal chieftain from Hakkari region. His father was a peddler. He has an excellent voice. People invited him to sing in their wedding ceremonies. In 1952 they moved to Istanbul. After six years working in Istanbul, he immigrated to Israel in 1958.186 Jews of Cizre Cizre was the starting point of this research. While in my search remnants of Jews of my hometown, Cizre, I have met with an aged person who worked as the apprentice of a Jewish shoemaker. It was a great opportunity to interview since he was the last

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surviving person who knew about the Jewish community of Cizre. Indeed he was like a “gold mine”. He told many stories about Jews of Cizre. While I was in Israel for the fieldwork I learned that two months later after the interview he passed away. The city Kezir or Cezire is located in the east of Nusaybin and on the west bank of the Tigris River in the southeast of Turkey. Since the city resembles an island, after the Arab conquest it was named Cezire (Island).187 The city’s original name is Jazira ibn Omar in Arabic which means “the island of Ömer’s son”.188 In Syriac the city is called Gozarta di Kerdu (Island of Kurds) due to that fact that “it is in a peninsula shaped by Tigris River in the Kurdistan” until now its name is Gozarta zabdita, Bakerda and Bazabda.189 Probably this is the city that also mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus as Bezabde or Bizabde in the Zabdicene region, which was subjugated from Iranians at the end of the thirteenth century.190 The city was ruled by Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, Persians, Alexander the Great, Romans, Byzantines and Sassanians. Through the expansion of Islam the city changed hands many times chronologically by period of the four Caliphs, passing to the Umayyads, Abbasids, Seljuks, Artuqids, Ayyubids and Mamluks and lastly to the Ottomans.191 The twelfth-century traveler Benjamin of Tudela mentioned about 4,000 Jews in Cizre (Table 1.15). The community has a synagogue and head of the Jews were Rabbi Mubchar, Rabbi Joseph and Rabbi Chiya. He described Cizre as four miles away from Mount Ararat where Noah’s Ark rested.192 According to Jewish tradition Benjamin of Tudela might be right since as written in the book of Genesis Noah’s Ark landed here after a great flood (Genesis 8:4). However Mount Ararat Table 1.15 Population of Jews of Cizre Years

Jews

1824–18321 1846–18512 1881 /1882/ 18933 19144 18945 1894–956 19067

25 20 85 Female 234 35 68 Female 150

64 Male

58 Male

Sources: 1) Rabbi David Beth Hillel 1973 Unknown Jews in Known Lands, ed. John Walter Fischel, Ktav Publishing House, New York, p. 76. 2) Joseph Israel Benjamin 1859 Eight Years in Asia and Africa, Hannover, p. 65. 3), 4) Kemal H. Karpat 1985 Ottoman Population, 1830–1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Londra, 1985, p. 134–135, 176. 5) Diyarbakır Salnamesi, 1869 p. 221–223 in Suavi Aydın&et al., 2001 Mardin: Aşiret-Cemaat-Devlet, Istanbul, p. 246. 6) Diyarbakır Salnameleri, 1894–95, p. 166, cite: Mehmet Ali Yaşar, 2006 “19. Yüzyılın İkinci Yarısında Mardin (Salnâmelere Göre)”, in I. Uluslar arası Mardin Tarihi Sempozyumu, Mayıs 2006, Mardin, s.647. 7) Avram Galante 1948, Histoire Des Juifs De Turquie, Istanbul, p. 28. based on a report by Josep Niego published in Bulletin de I’Alliance in Paris.

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is not in Cizre. It is in Ağrı Province located in northeast of Cizre. However, in the Islamic view of Noah, the ark rested upon Mount Judi (Cûdî Dağı) (Quran, Hud 11:44). In addition to that, a theologian and former director of religious affairs in Turkey, Süleyman Ateş, pointed out that in the time of revelation of the Quran, the Jews in Medina did not object to Mount Judi due it being written in the manuscripts of the Tanakh they have that Noah’s Ark rested on Mount Judi. As a matter of fact Yakut el-Hamevi claims that it is written in the Old Testament he owned that the ark rested upon Mount Judi193 (109).

Notes   1 S. DellaPergola, World Jewish Population, 2015. In A. Dashefsky & I. M. Sheskin (Eds.), The American Jewish Year Book, 2015 (Vol. 115). Dordrecht: Springer, 2015, pp. 273–364.   2 H. Tadmor, The Period of the First Temple: The Babylonian Exile and the Restorration. In H. H. Ben-Sasson & Others (Eds.), A History of the Jewish People (pp. 91–185). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997, p. 91.   3 W. Safran, Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myth of Homeland and Return. Diaspora, 1991, 83–99; Wahlbeck, ibid.   4 N. Lang, An Introduction to Judaism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 1.   5 S. E. Karesh & M. M. Hurvitz, Encyclopedia of Judaism. New York, NY: Facts on File Publishing, 2006.   6 Lang, ibid., pp. 1–26.   7 M. Sicker, The Political Culture of Judaism. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2002.   8 Ibid.   9 J. Neusner, Judaism the Basics. New York, NY: Routledge, 2006.  10 Ibid.  11 Ibid.  12 Ibid.  13 Ibid.  14 U. Rebhun, Demographic Issues. In N. D. Lange & M. F. Kandel (Eds.), Modern Judaism (pp. 15–25). New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 28.  15 Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 66.  16 Ibid.  17 Ibid.  18 A. Malamat, Origins and Formative Period. In H. H. Ben-Sasson & Others (Eds.), A History of the Jewish People (pp. 3–91). Cambridge, MA: Abraham Malamat, 1997, p. 3.  19 Lang, ibid., p. 1; M. Stern, The Period of the Second Temple. In H. H. Ben-Sasson & Others (Eds.), A History of the Jewish People (pp. 185–285). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997, p. 185; Tadmor, ibid., p. 91.  20 Tadmor, ibid.  21 Stern, ibid., p. 278.  22 S. Safrai, The Era of Mishnah and Talmud. In H. H. Ben-Sasson & Others (Eds.), A History of the Jewish People (pp. 307–385). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997, p. 364.  23 Ibid.  24 Ibid.  25 Tadmor, ibid., p. 91; Stern, ibid., p. 185; Levy, ibid.  26 Shaw, ibid., p. 1; Levy, ibid.  27 Shmuelevitz, ibid., pp. 1–34.

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 28 Levy, ibid., pp. 3–4.  29 B. Lewis, Notes and Documents From the Turkish Archives: A Contribution to the History of the Jews. Jerusalem: Israel Oriental Society, 1952, p. 121; Ortaylı, ibid., p. 528.  30 Levy, ibid., pp. 3–4; Lewis, 1952, ibid., p. 121; Shaw, ibid.  31 J. McCarthy, Jewish Population in the Late Ottoma Period. In A. Levy (Ed.), The Jews of the Ottoman Empire (pp. 375–399). Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 1994, p. 375.  32 Shaw, ibid., p. 37.  33 A. Ruppin, The Jews of To-Day. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1913, pp. 39–42.  34 B. Tudela, The Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela. New York, NY: A. Asher Hakesheth Publishing, 1907; R. P. Ratisbone, Travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbone (D. Benisch, Ed.). Poternoster Row, London: Messrs Trubner & Co., 1856.  35 Brauer & Patai, ibid.  36 Lewis, ibid., p. 166.  37 I. Benjamin II, Eight Years in Asia and Africa. Hannover: Published by the Author, 1859, p. 77.  38 Benjamin II, ibid., p. 62.  39 D. Feitelson, Aspects of the Social Life of Kurdish Jews. Journal of Jewish Sociology, 1959, 1, 1–16.  40 Tudela, ibid.  41 Ratisbone, ibid.  42 Brauer & Patai, ibid., p. 39.  43 See, J. A. Harizi, The Book of Tahkemoni: Jewish Tales From Medieval Spain (D. S. Segal, Trans.). London: Littman Library of Civilization, 2001.   J. A. Harizi, The Book of Tahkemoni: Jewish Tales From Medieval Spain (D. S. Segal, Trans.). London: Littman Library of Civilization, 2001.  44 Sabar, ibid.; Brauer & Patai, ibid.  45 Brauer & Patai, ibid., p. 39.  46 Brauer & Patai, ibid.; Y. Ratzaby, Yahya Al Dahiri. In F. Skolnik & M. Berenbaum (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of Judaica (Vol. 21). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.  47 W. J. Fischel, David d’Beth Hillel: An Unknown Jewish Traveller to the Middle East and India in the Nineteenth Century. Oriens, 1957, 2(10), 240–247; Brauer & Patai, ibid.; R. D. Hillel, Unknown Jews in Known Lands: The Travels of Rabbi David D’Beth Hillel (W. J. Fischel, Ed.). New York, NY: KTAV Publishin House, 1973.  48 Hillel, ibid.  49 Ibid.; Fischel, ibid., pp. 240–247.  50 Fischel, ibid., pp. 240–247; Brauer & Patai, ibid.  51 Hillel, ibid.; Fischel, ibid., pp. 240–247.  52 Benjamin II, ibid.  53 Brauer & Patai, ibid., p. 46.  54 Benjamin II, ibid., p. 2.  55 Ibid.  56 Levy, ibid., pp. xvii.  57 The name Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivleri (Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives) recently has changed as Türkiye Cumhuriyet Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri (Republic of Turkey General Directorate of State Archives). All state archives gathered under this name. Retrieved 08 April 2013 from www.devletarsivleri.gov.tr/.  58 H. İnalcık, Foundations of Ottoman Jewish Cooperation. In A. Levy (Ed.), Jews, Turks, Ottomans: A Shared History, Fifteenth Through the Twentieth Century (pp. 3–15). New York, NY: Syracuse Univesity Press, 2002; Lewis, ibid., p. 3.  59 A. Galante, Histoire des Juifs de Turquie (Vol. 4). Istanbul: The ISIS Press, 1961.

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 60 Lewis, ibid.  61 Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (BOA), Babıâli Evrak Odası, no. 4186/31390.  62 The original version of the document is transcribed here: Dahiliye ve Adliye ve Mezâhib Nezâret-i Celîlelerine: Diyarbekir Vilâyeti’nde Cizre Kasabası’nda kâin ve Musevî cemâ‘atine âid sinavinin irtifâ‘ının on zirâ‘a iblâğına ve etrâf duvarlarının ta‘mîriyle üç pencere ve iki kapı küşâdına ruhsat i‘tâsına dâir* Adliye ve Mezâhib Nezâret-i Celîlesi makāmının tezkire-i muhavvele üzerine** Şûrâ-yı Devlet karârıyla tanzîm ve takdîm olunan irâde-i seniyye lâyihası imzâ-yı hümâyûn-ı cenâb-ı pâdişâhî ile tasdîk buyurulduğundan musaddak sûreti*** leffen savb-ı âlîlerine isrâ ve nezâret-i müşârun-ileyhâya teblîgāt icrâ kılınmağla îfâ-yı muktezâsına himmet. * Adliye’ye makām-ı vâlâlarının 9 Kânûn-ı Sânî sene [1]327 târihli ve 82 numrolu tezkire-i muhavvelesi üzerine ** *** Adliye’ye tasdîr olunan emr-i âlî ile  63 BOA, Dâhiliye Nezareti Mektubu Kalemi, no. 2758/19.  64 The original document is transcribed here: Dahiliye Nezâret-i Celîlesi’ne C. 19 Şubat sene [1]324 İrâde buyurulan telgrafnâme kopyası mütâla‘a olundu. Mühtediyenin İslâmiyetde sebâtı olup olmadığını anlamak için sâdâtdan Şeyh Hamid Paşa’nın hânesinde nezdine önderilen mahalli Meclis-i İdâresi a‘zâsından Cella ve Musevî milletinden Şemaşe ve a‘zâ-yı sâbıkadan ve yine Musevî milletinden Panas efendilerle sâire taraflarından tutulan zabıt varakası sûretine nazaran mezbûrenin İslâmiyeti kabûl edeliden beri İslâm olup şimdide İslâmiyetden müfârakat etmediği ve şikâyeti hâvî verilen istid‘ânâmeden dahi haberdâr olmadığını ve evvelce ihtidâ istid‘âsı üzerine meclis huzûrundaki takrîrinde musır olduğunu beyân eylediği Hakkari Mutasarrıflığı’ndan cevâben bildirilmişdir. Fermân.  Fî 22 Şubat sene [1]324. Van Valisi Ferid  65  66  67  68  69  70  71  72  73  74  75  76  77  78  79  80  81  82  83  84

Tudela, ibid., p. 90. Ratisbone, ibid., p. 7. Hillel, ibid., pp. 71–75. Lewis, ibid.; Shmuelevitz, ibid.; Shaw, ibid. Lewis, ibid., p. 126. Lewis, ibid.; Levy, ibid. Braude & Lewis, ibid. Shmuelevitz, ibid., p. 29. Zaken, ibid., p. 8. Ibid., p. 24. D. J. Schroeter, Jewish Quarters in the Arab-Islamic Cities of the Ottoman Empire. In A. Levy (Ed.), The Jews of the Ottoman Empire (pp. 285–301). Princeton, NJ: Darwin Press, 1994. Zaken, ibid., p. 28. Bali, ibid., p. 367. McCarthy, ibid., p. 381. Ibid. S. Toval, The Jewish Communities in Turkey. Quarterly, 1982, 72, 114–140. H. Lienfield, Statistics of Jews-1929. American Jewish Year Book, 1930/31, 32, 215–248. Shaw, ibid., p. 285. Toval, ibid. A. G. Salzman & L. Salzman, In Search of Turkey’s Jews. Istanbul: Libra Kitap Yayıncılık, 2011.

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 85 H. S. Selen, “Türkiye’nin Coğrafî Bölgelere Taksimine Dair Bir Muhtıra”. Birinci Coğrafya Kongresi (Kitabı). Ankara: MEB, 1941, p. 251.  86 H. Canbakkal, Society and Politics in an Ottoman Town: ‘Ayntab in the 17th Century. Leiden & Boston, MA: Brill Publishers, 2007, p. 19; E. Eldem & Others, The Ottoman City Between East and West: Aleppo, İzmir and Istanbul. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, pp. 20–21; H. Özdeger, XVI Yüzyıl Tahrir Defterlerine Göre Anteb’in Sosyal ve Ekonomik Durumu. Istanbul: Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları, 1982, p. 8.  87 M. Akis, Buhran Döneminde Antep’te Sosyal Hayat (1572–1606). Ankara: Vadi Yayınları, 2008, p. 38; H. Özdeger, Gaziantep. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İ slam Ansiklopedisi, 1996, 13, 466–469; B. Darkot & H. T. Dağlıoğlu, Ayıntab. İslam Ansiklopedisi, 1979, II, 65.  88 K. A. Sarafian, A Briefer History of Aintab: A Concise History of the Cultural, Religious, Educational, Political, Industrial, Commercial Life of the Armenians of Aintab. Boston, MA: Union of the Armenians of Aintab, 1957, p. 1.  89 Özdeger, 1996, ibid., pp. 466–469.  90 Canbakkal, ibid., pp. 37–39.  91 Ibid., p. 35.  92 Daniel Haseki, 62 Jews of Gaziantep, Pharmacist, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 March 2012.  93 In the book “Jews of Gaziantep” authored by Naim Avigdor Güleryüz, one of his informants Murat Nihmet mentioned about Rabbi Nissim Kohen that he was called as Çolak Gazi (One armed veteran) who had lost his arm in the battlefield of Çanakkale. He immigrated to Israel in 1948. In a visit to Gaziantep in 1954–55 to draw his veteran salary he passed away and was buried there. See Naim Avigdor Guleryüz, Gazinantep Yahudileri (Jews of Gaziantep). Istanbul: Gözlem Gazetecilik Basım ve Yayın, 2012, p. 180.  94 Adam Tsedeka Halevi, retired, 13 March 2012, Rishon Lezion.  95 E. Ashtor, L. Bonstein-Makovetsky & H. J. Cohen, Aleppo. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Judaica (Vol. I, pp. 613–617). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007, p. 613; Benjamin II, ibid., pp. 44–46.  96 Ashtor et al., ibid.  97 Canbakkal, ibid., p. 48.  98 Akis, ibid., p. 37; Eldem & Others, ibid., p. 27.  99 Lewis, ibid., p. 121, Ashtor et al., ibid., p. 614. 100 L. Peirce, Morality Tales: Law and Gender in the Ottoman Court of Aintab. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003, p. 58. 101 G. P. Badger, The Nestorians and their Rituals with the Narrative of a Mission to Mesopotamia and Coordistan in 1842-44, and of a Late Visit to Those Countries in 1850. London: Joseph Masters and Co., 1852, pp. 329–350. 102 J. B. Segal, Edessa: The Blessed City. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970, p. 27. 103 See, E. Ashtor & L. Bonstein-Makovetsky, Edessa. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Judaica (Vol. VI, pp. 146–147). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007, pp. 146–151; Also see, E. Ashtor & L. Bonstein-Makovetsky, Bar Hebraeus. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Judaica (Vol. III, p. 151). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007. 104 I. Demirkent, Urfa Haçlı Kontluğu: 1118–1146. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, 1987, p. 152. 105 I. G. Shimon, Edessa. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Judaica (Vol. VI, p. 146). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007, p. 146. 106 Segal, ibid. 107 Shimon, ibid. 108 Ashtor, ibid.; Harizi, 2001, ibid. 109 Benjamin II, ibid., p. 54. 110 Ibid.

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111 112 113 114

Ibid. J. S. Buckingham, Travels in Mesopotamia. London: D.S Maurice, 1827. Ashtor, ibid., p. 147. H. Bayraktar, Tanzimat’tan Cumhuriyete Urfa Sancağı. Elazığ: Fırat Üniversitesi Ortadoğu Araştırmaları Merkezi Yayınları No: 14, 2007, pp. 125–250. E. Honigmann, Bizans Devleti’nin Doğu Sınırı (F. Işıltan, Trans.). Istanbul: Istanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Yayınları, 1970, p. 9. İ. Ekinci, 1518 (H.924) Tarihli Tapu Tahrir Defterine Göre Siverek Sancağı. Samsun: Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 1992, pp. 27–28. A. Yiner, 443 Numaralı Siverek Şer’iyye Sicili (H.1268–1269, M. 1851–1853). Şanlıurfa: Harran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, 1996, p. 51. A. Z. İzgöer, Diyarbakır Salnameleri (Vol. I). Diyarbakır: Diyarbakır Büyükşehir Belediyesi Yayınları, 1999, p. 218; R. Özgültekin, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Siverek. Siverek: Şanlıurfa Siverek Kaymakamlığı Yayınları, 2003, pp. 402–403. Karpat, ibid., p. 176. N. Göyünç, Diyarbakır. Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi, 1994, 9, 464–465. C. Çayır, M. Yıldız & Others, Kaybolmaya Yüz Tutan bir Anadolu Dini Topluluğu: Şemsiler/Harraniler. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), Makalelerle Mardin (Vol. IV, pp. 161–177). Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanesi, 2007. R. Arslan, Diyarbakır Kentinin Tarihi ve Bugünkü Konumu. In Ş. Beysanoğlu, M. Koz & E. N. İsli (Eds.), Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 1990, pp. 80–108. Göyünç, ibid., p. 466; M. A. Epstein, The Ottoman Jewish Communities and Their Role in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. Freiburg: Klaus Scwarz Verlag, 1980, p. 217. Göyünç, ibid., p. 467. Buckingham, ibid., 213–215; Göyünç, ibid., p. 468. A. Ben-Ya’kov, Kehil’ot Yehude Kurdistan (Jewish Communities of Kurdistan). Jerusalem: Kiryat Sefer Publishing, 1981, pp. 133–137; Bali, ibid., 367. Sir Moses Montefiore (1784–1885) most famous British Jews of the nineteenth century. See, V. David Lipman, Sir Moses Montefiore. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Judaica. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007. Bali, ibid., p. 368. Ben-Ya’kov, ibid.; Bali, ibid., pp. 368–369. İ. Pınar, Gezginlerin Gözüyle Diyarbakır 1701–1924. In Ş. Beysanoğlu & Others (Eds.), Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 1999, p. 150. Ben-Ya’kov, ibid.; Bali, ibid., p. 369. Pınar, ibid. A. Rodrigue, Jews and Muslims: Images of Sephardi and Eastern Jewries in Modern Times. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2003, pp. 25–34. Fischel, ibid. Benjamin II, ibid., p. 57. Interview with Rachel Tsafon, 74, housewife, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Nissim Bachar & Albert Antebi, Bulletin Mensuel Alliance Israélite Universelle, Alliance Israélite Universelle, Israel, I, c.5, 1896, 66–67. Bali, ibid., pp. 367–389. S. Aydın, Mardin: Aşiret-Cemaat-Devlet. Istanbul: Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, 2000, p. 8; A. Marcellinus, The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus (M. C. D. Yonge, Trans.). London: G. Bell and Sons Ltd., 1911. M. Taştemir, Mardin. İslam Ansiklopedisi, 2003, 28, 43–48; N. Göyünç, XVI. Yüzyılda Mardin Sancağı. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1991, pp. 99–101. Martin, M. J. (1818). Memoires Historiques et Geographiques sur L’Armenie, Paris: De L’Imprimerie Royale. In Ş. Korkusuz (Ed.), Seyahatnamelerde Diyarbakır. Istanbul: Kent Yayınları. 2003. pp. 79–89,

115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141

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142 Aydın, ibid.; Göyünç, ibid., 1991; Erdoğan, E., & Dilaver, Z. Kültürlerin Birleştiği Kent: Mardin. Ankara: Gap Bölge Kalkınma İdaresi Başkanlığı, 2000, pp. 269–289. 143 Göyünç, 1991, ibid., pp. 99–101. 144 Yıldız, İ., & Koç, E. (2007). Mardin Çeşmelerinden Üç Örnek. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), Makalelerle Mardin (Vol. IV, pp. 299–309). Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanesi. 145 O. Kılıç, 17.Yüzyıl Mardin Tarihinden İki Kesit: Gayrimüslim Nüfus ve Kale Teşkilatı. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), Makalelerle Mardin (Vol. I). Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanes, 2007, pp. 415–429. 146 C. Niebuhr, Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien und ander umliegenden Landern. Möller:Copenhagen, 1778, p. 392. 147 A. Dupre, Voyage en Perse, fait dans lens annês 1807, 1808 et 1809 en traversant La Natolie et la Mesopotamie (Vol. I). Paris: J.G. Dentu. 1819. 148 J. M. Kinneir, Journey Through Asia Minor, Armenian and Koordistan in the years 1813 and 1814. London: John Murray. 1818, p. 433. 149 Buckingham, ibdi., pp. 191–192. 150 Badger, ibid., p. 49; H. Southgate, Narrative of a Tour Through Armenia: Kurdistan, Persia and Mesopotamia (Vol. II). London: D. Appleton & Co., 1840, p. 277. 151 Southgate, ibid., p. 277. 152 Aydın, ibid., p. 205; M. A. Yaşar, 9.Yüzyılın İkinci Yarısında Mardin (Salnamelere Göre). I.Uluslararası Mardin Tarihi Sempozyumu, 2006, p. 646. 153 Peirce, ibid., p. 58. 154 A. Şer, Nusaybin Akademisi (N. Doru, Trans.) Istanbul: Yaba Yayınları, 2006, p. 32. 155 Honigman, ibid., p. 100; J. Obermeyer, Die Landschaft Babylonien. Frankfurt am Main: I. Kaufmann Verlag, 1929, pp. 129–130; B. Umar, Türkiye’deki Tarihsel Adlar. Istanbul: İnkılap Yayınevi, 1993, p. 604; M. Tuncel, Nusaybin. İslam Ansiklopedisi, 2007, 33, 269–270. 156 R. Günay, Cumhuriyet Döneminde Nusaybin. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), Makalelerle Mardin (Vol. I). Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanesi, 2007, pp. 657–681. 157 A. H. Jones, The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971, p. 220. 158 Flavius, ibid., pp. 595–598. 159 E. Ashtor & M. Beer, Nisibis. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encylopaedia Judaica (Vol. XV, p. 276). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007, p. 276. 160 Ashtor & Beer, ibid. 161 J. Mann, The Responsa of the Babylonian Geonim as a Source of Jewish History. Tel Aviv: Zion Publishing, 1970, pp. 12–13. 162 M. G. Morony, Iraq After the Muslim Conquest. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984, p. 309. 163 Tudela, ibid., p. 90. 164 R. Petachia, Travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbone. London: Messrs Trubner & Co., 1856, pp. 9–73. 165 Benjamin II, ibid., p. 62. 166 Ibid., p. 63. 167 Badger, ibid., p. 49. 168 Obermeyer, ibid., pp. 129–130. 169 M. S. Erpolat, XVI. Yüzyıl Arşiv Kaynaklarından Tahrir Defterlerine Göre Nusaybin. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), Makalelerle Mardin (Vol. I, pp. 349–381). Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanesi, 2007, p. 354. 170 Karpat, ibid., pp. 134–176. 171 E. Demirpolat, XX. Yüzyıl Van İli Tarihi ve İnanç Coğrafyası. Elazığ: Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Felsefe ve Din Bilimleri Anabilim Dalı Dinler Tarihi Bilim Dalı, 1997, p. 23. 172 Karpat, ibid., p. 182. 173 O. Sakin, Osmanlı’da Etnik Yapı ve 1914 Nüfusu. Istanbul: Ekim Yayınları, 2008, p. 229.

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174 Cuinet, V. (1891). La Turquie D’Asie, L’Anatolie Orientale Trebizonde, Erzeroum, Bitlis, Van, Diyarbekir (Vol. I). Paris: Edition ISIS. pp. 690–691. 175 Ş. Sami, Kamus-ı Alam. Ankara: Kaşgar Neşriyat, 1996, p. 467. 176 Karpat, ibid. 177 Ibid. 178 Interview with Shlomo Araban, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 179 Ibid. 180 Interview with Eliyahyu İlim, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012; Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, 16 May 2012; Ephraim Araslı, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 181 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 182 Interview with Eliyahu İlim, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012. 183 See, S. E. Fox, The Relationships of the Eastern Neo-Aramaic Dialects. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1994, 114(12), 154–162; I. Garbell, The Impact of Kurdish and Turkish on the Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dialect of Persian Azerbaijan and the Adjoining Regions. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1965, 85(2), 159–177; S. Hopkins, Neo-Aramaic Dialects and the Formation of the Preterite. JSS, 1989, 34, 423–432; H. M.-V. Berg, From a Spoken to a Written Language. Leiden: Nederland Instituut Voor Het Nabije Oosten, 1999, pp. 3–4; R. D. Hoberman, The History of the Modern Aramaic Pronouns and Prnominal Dialects and the Formation of the Preterite. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1985, 108, 557–576. 184 F. Millingen, Wild Life Among Koords. London: Hurst and Blackett Publishers, 1870, p. 162. 185 Cuinet, ibid., p. 239. 186 Interview with Gershom Şenyuva, Tel Aviv, 13 February 2012. 187 A. Acar, Arap Coğrafyacılarına Göre Mardin X-XIV. Yüzyıllar. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), I.Uluslararası Mardin Tarihi Sempozyumu Bildirileri. Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanesi, 2006, pp. 79–97. 188 J. B. Rousseau, Description Du Pachalik De Baghdad: Suivie D’une Notice Historique Sur Les Wahhabis Et De Quelques Autres Pieces Relatives A L’historie Et A La Litterature De L’Orient. Paris: Treuttel et Würtz, 1809, p. 93. 189 J. Assemani, Bibliotheca Orientalis (Vol. III). Rome: Clementino Vaticana, 2012, p. 751. 190 Martin, M.J (1818). Memoires Historiques et Geographiques sur L’Armenie, Paris: De L’Imprimerie Royale. In Ş. Korkusuz (Ed.), Seyahatnamelerde Diyarbakır. Istanbul: Kent Yayınları. 2003. pp. 79–89. 191 A. Bakır, Geç Ortaçağlarda el-Cezire Bölgesinin Dokuma ve Madencilik Endüstrisindeki Kapasitesini Yükselten Faktörler. In İ. Özcoşar (Ed.), I.Uluslararası Mardin Tarihi Sempozyumu. Istanbul: Mardin İhtisas Kütüphanesi, 2006, pp. 97–117. 192 Tudela, ibid., p. 91. 193 Y. El-Hamevi, Mu’cemu’l Buldan (Jacut’s geographisces wörterbuch) (Vol. II). (F. Sezgin, Ed.). Leipzig & Frankfurt am Main: Institut für Geschichte der ArabischIslamischen Wissenschaften, 1994, p. 27; S. Ateş, Yüce Kuran’ın Çağdaş Tefsiri. Istanbul: Yeni Ufuklar Neşriyat, 1989, p. 310; B. Darma, Nuh Tufanı. Istanbul: Rağbet Yayınları, 2005, p. 113; B. Açıkalın, Tefsir Literatüründe Nuh (A.S) Kıssası. Ankara: Şırnak Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2010, pp. 35–41.

2

Migration

The occupation of the Ottoman Empire by Allied forces at the end of the First World War and the start of the Turkish Independence War in 1919 paved the way for emigration of non-Muslims from different parts of the country. Accordingly, immigration of Jews continued to different countries, including Palestine, after the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. There were various economic, social and political factors for the immigration. Palestine became a primary choice for Turkey’s Jews. Mainly due to migration, the number of Jews in Turkey has declined to 17,300 as of 2013 from an estimated census figure of 81,400 in 1927.1 Several incidents, such as the Capital Tax in 1942 and the Thracian incidents in 1934, generated a push on the emigration of non-Muslim minorities2 (Toktaş, 2006, pp. 505–519). Interestingly, it seems that these events did not influence migration of Jews in eastern Turkey to the same extent that they did in other parts of the country. In my interviews only one respondent from Urfa mentioned the wealth tax. Yoseph Hıdır (later Yeşil) said he paid 6,000 lira in wealth taxes, while others, including Azur Bozo, who was the richest Jew in Urfa, paid 48,000 lira along with his friends Nissim Elfiye and Selim Anter.3 Starting with the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923 through the establishing of Israel in 1948, it is estimated that 7,308 Jews emigrated from Turkey to Palestine.4 In the period between 1948 and 1951 a total of 34,547 Jews, comprising almost 40 percent of the Jewish community in Turkey, immigrated to Israel.5 Up to 2001, another 27,473 Jews immigrated to Israel. In the period after 1951, Jews left in smaller numbers (also a reflection that there were fewer in Turkey): 6,871 migrants went to Israel in 1952–1960 and in 1961–1964 periods 4,793 Jews arrived. Another 9,280 left Turkey in 1965–1971, 3,118 in 1970– 1979, 2,088 in 1980–1989, 1,215 in 1990–2000 and 108 in 2001.6 Subsequent emigrations decline greatly: Only 68 Jews immigrated to Israel in 2002, 53 in 2003 and 52 in 2004.7 Since the focus of the study is the Eastern Jewish communities of Turkey, we will examine their migration process. The first large migration movement among the Eastern Jews of Turkey was of the Jews of Urfa in 1896. Ten families, numbering 42 people, immigrated to the land of Israel. According to the stories of the

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elders of the community, they went down to Aleppo, where they prepared their trip and from there they went on a convoy with donkeys on a long, grueling journey to Jerusalem. The first immigrants were poor; most of their belongings were left in Urfa or used to fund their journey, including buying water and food for them and the donkeys, and paying protection fees and taxes as they traveled between provinces. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they settled at the edge of the Nahalat Zion neighborhood and built themselves a tent “neighborhood” of cloth, wood and tin.8 Then Jews of Çermik, along with the first migrants the Jews of Urfa and Siverek, immigrated to Jerusalem in 1916. They were a group of 200 people, enough to establish a synagogue registered in their names.9 Jews from the eastern part of Turkey did not always use the same way to come to Israel. They emigrated through various routes to arrive in Israel. One of my interviewees, a female from Diyarbakır, was born in 1938. She is a well-known storyteller in the Diyarbakır Jewish community. Her mother in-law’s family came to Palestine with donkeys. Their journey took three months, traveling through Syria and Lebanon to Palestine before the state of Israel was established. She personally came with her family by ship from the port of Iskenderun in 1947. Traveling with them were Jews from Urfa, Siverek and Antep in the ship.10 The Iskenderun port was very important for the transportation of hundreds of Eastern Jews of Turkey to Israel. The ships were usually not passenger ships. They were mainly cargo ships. Hence the phrase “packed like sardines”. Not only were the ships crowded, but they often stank of their cargo, often cattle or fish (interview notes). A great majority of Jews of Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Urfa and Siverek immigrated to Israel through Iskenderun port, but not Jews of Mardin, Cizre, Hakkari, Başkale and Van. Five or six Jewish families from Diyarbakır moved to Istanbul, except one woman, Ferho. She was the only one who stayed in Diyarbakır after all the Jews left the city.11 In all likelihood, she is the Jewish woman mentioned by the famous Armenian author, Mıgırdiç Margosyan, in his book Gavur Mahallesi.12 Margosyan pointed out that at that time the non-Jews called the Jews Moshe. He says: The people we called Moshe left suddenly to Israel in 1950. Only one insane woman called Ferho stayed. She did not want to go or they did not take her with them. Despite all her insanity Ferho changed her name to Selma. After that she felt at ease.13 Additionally, some families from Gaziantep, Başkale and Van preferred to live in Istanbul. Jews who were unable to leave through Iskenderun immigrated to Israel by plane. The last Jewish community from the east of Turkey arrived Israel in 1979 from Gaziantep. The total Jewish population in the east and southeast of Turkey before the big migration began was 10,300. By the early years of the state of Israel, 6,200 of them had already migrated out of the east, 3,635 of them had settled in Israel and 2,565 were still in immigrant camps in Israel.14 Over the next few decades the remaining Jews in the east left for Israel. Currently, there are no Jews in the eastern part of Turkey and in various towns of Anatolia. Jewish

Migration

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communities who once lived in different parts of Anatolia can be seen in the list shown in Table 2.1. Table 2.1 Jewish Communities That Once Lived in the East and Southeast of Anatolia Location

Location

Location

Location

Adana Başkale Birecik Cizre Çermik Çölemerik

Diyarbakır Gaziantep Gever Hakkari Hasankeyf Hatay (Antakya)

Kahramanmaraş Kilis Mardin Mersin Nizip Nusaybin

Silvan Siverek Şanlıurfa Şemdinli Tarsus Van

Source: Based on interview notes and information given by interviewees.

2.1 Voluntary migration or compulsory? The immigration of a family of Eastern Jews of Turkey usually did not happen all at once. At first, one or more relatives would immigrate, sometimes causing splits in family ties. However, after settling and living in Israel he/they would have those who remained behind come as well so as to unite the family. Previous settlers helped the new immigrants to find jobs or housing.15 The migrations of Jews from the eastern cities increased with the establishment of Israel in 1948. Moreover, according to a document16 found during my research, the first immigration of Jews from the eastern part of Turkey was from Urfa in 1896. Ten families comprising 42 people decided to immigrate to Palestine. Nobody wants to leave the place where they were born without cause. The Jews mentioned in this study, whether they emigrated voluntarily or compulsorily, all had a reason. We can discover the motive behind the immigration of Jews of Urfa in a letter sent from the offices of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Jerusalem by Nissim Bachar and Albert Antebi, on 13 December 1896, to the Chief Rabbi of Paris and France. The letter starts by describing the Jews from Urfa: Near mid-October ten Jewish families arrived in our town from Urfa, the birthplace of Abraham. We are used to seeing groups of Jews flocking to the Holy Land from Russia, Romania, Aleppo, Baghdad, Yemen etc. While it seems that they are usually squat, weak and unimpressive, those who came from Urfa amazed us with their beauty. The men are tall, strong and splendid, the women white and comely, some of them very beautiful. I couldn’t overcome my urge and I photographed them. The rest of the letter continues by describing the reasons for their migration: I asked them why they left their country. “Our state there was very good” they replied. “We cultivated the Muslims’ fields, which were very fertile. We gave an eighth to the owners and an eighth in taxes. Our peace was taken from

54

Migration us since the Armenian riots, because the Muslims went wild and when they began massacring, they sometimes couldn’t tell us apart from the Armenians. In one family a daughter was massacred, and in another family a sister or a son were massacred, so we had to leave and find shelter here. We want to work, in our land no one is poor and everyone works”.

As understood from the letter, conflicts that occurred at the end of the nineteenth century had a bearing on the reasons behind the immigration of Jews of Urfa. One of my oldest interviewees, Rafael Yıldız, was born in Urfa in 1922. He was ten years old when they left Urfa. His family and five other families immigrated to the land of Israel in a journey that began via Aleppo and continued through Damascus, Syria, to Israel. The reason for their immigration was poverty – they were poor and barely earning a living. They moved to Israel hoping to find work and better living conditions. However the primary underlying cause of migration of Jews in Urfa was what was known as the Urfa incidents, specifically the Şorkaya family incident that occurred in 1947. During fieldwork I interviewed the Şorkaya family, who had seven family members murdered while they were living in Urfa. Beforehand, I did not know that I was going to meet them. The person who was introducing me only said, “we will go to interview a family of Jews of Urfa”. However, in the course of the interview, when they explained the reason behind their immigration was the slaughter of their family members, I was shocked. I stopped and I could not speak. They realized something was wrong and asked: “Have you heard about this incident before?” I said, “Yes, I have heard about the Şorkaya family in an article by a Jewish author in Turkey”. They were surprised. My interviewee, Malke Hıdır (later Yeşil), was a five-year-old child when the event occurred. Yitzhak Hayim Şorkaya, the head of the murdered family, was her uncle. Malke’s husband, Yoseph Hıdır (later Yeşil), was also a relative of Yitzhak Şorkaya. They told me that since immigrating to Israel they had never told anyone about these incidents. I appreciated their willingness to speak with me. I spent almost the whole first day with them and visited them another full day. Both times they cooked traditional foods from their time in Urfa, çiğ köfte and lahmacun. I was told later that they loved me so much that if I had been Jewish they had somebody they would want me to meet for marriage. According to the interviewees, Yoseph and Malke Hıdır Yeşil and Yitzhak Khader: The eldest son of the murdered Şorkaya family, Hayim Haymun, left his home and became a disciple of “Urfa’s highest ranking religious Muslim”, Sheikh Muhammed. He wanted to convert to Islam to be a Muslim and he took an Islamic name, Ahmet Kemal. Then he joined the army to do his military service in Ankara. While he was in the army, he fell in love with a Jewish girl. He told his parents and they came to Ankara to see the girl. However the girl agreed to marry him only if he returned to Judaism. He agreed to the girl’s request. When his parents went back to Urfa, they spread the news. The Muslim people of the city got very angry when they learned of Hayim’s intention to return to

Migration

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Judaism. They started to bear a grudge against Jews, particularly the Şorkaya family.17 Then: On the night of 30 December 1947 the rabbi of Urfa, Azur Bozo, Rabbi Yusuf Kohen and Yitzhak Şorkaya come together to commemorate Şorkaya’s fatherin-law. They recited the Kaddish, a prayer in mourning rituals. Right after everybody in the house had gone to bed, the maid of the house, El Medeh, opened the door to the murderer. The seven members of the Sorkaya family, Isak Hayim Sorkaya, his wife Mazal, his sons, Yosef, Yaakov, his daughters Rashel and Ester and his mother in law Semha were all slaughtered. Then the killer started shouting in the street “The Jews killed the Jews”. In the meantime the maid El Medeh disappeared.18 The police took all the Jewish men for interrogation. Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil) remembered some names: Yoseph Hamus, Ezra Azur Bozo, Nissim Elfiyye, Nesim Binler, Yusuf Kohen and David Hıdır and then he told: They were placed under the investigation. They were all beaten on their bare feet for days. They could not stand on their feet or wear any shoes because of the bleeding. Azur Bozo and Yusuf Kohen were then accused of murdering the Şorkaya family. Others in the community said it make no sense. Why would a Jew would kill another Jew? Nobody believed this. They were put on trial. With the assistance of good lawyers and pressure from different places, the judge released them. Unfortunately, the murderer was never identified or found.19 During the interview, I asked Malke Şorkaya (now Yeşil), Isak Hayim Şorkaya’s niece and David Hıdır Yeşil’s wife, “Who do you believe murdered your uncle and his family?” She and her husband David said: We believe Muslims did it but we don’t know who they were, maybe Turks, Kurds or Arabs.20 They also added that Muslims accused Jews of doing it to prevent the Şorkaya family from being Muslims. However, Malke said: That is not true. We never attempted to do such a thing. After these incidents Muslims in Urfa started not doing business with the Jews of Urfa. They boycotted all the Jews and did not pay their debts to anybody.21 I was told that after this event no Jew remained in the city. However according to the census held in 1965, there were 14 Jews in Urfa.22 In the migration process of Jews of Diyarbakır, first young people and poor families immigrated, and then the others followed. Five or six families preferred

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to move to Istanbul. There also was an incident that accelerated the migration of Diyarbakır Jewish community. It was a homicide that occurred between the years 1947–1948. According to my interviewees: A man came from Diyarbakır or Siverek to open a tea house business. The man was serving tea to Jewish shopkeepers by forcing them to drink in his shop. A Jewish tradesman Yona Shemtov, son of İliyahu Shemtov, and his brothers, who had a dry goods shop, expressed their opposition to this man in Buğday Pazarı (wheat market), where they were doing business. Yona was a brave man. All the Jews of Diyarbakır would consult him and ask for help in a dispute with the Muslims. Therefore, even Muslims were afraid of him and they stayed away. Sometime later, a server in the tea house forced Yona’s brother’s son to drink tea in the shop, however he resisted and did not want to drink. During the quarrel the server hit the child. When Yona heard about that he went to the tea house. Yona started to slap the servant and beat him badly in front of the many customers. During this, he swore using the name Muhammed, prophet of the Muslims. He realized that he had made a big mistake but it was too late. Muslims of Diyarbakır heard about this and were very angry. The tea server sued Yona. During the court proceedings, a crowd gathered outside. When Yona and his brothers left the court, some of the relatives of the tea server stabbed Yona with a curved knife. While they then tried to escape, Yona took out his knife and stabbed one man to death. Both Yona and the man he stabbed died right there.23 However, another interviewee, Yoel Aslan, did not remember the death of the Muslim guy. He said “after Yona died the murderer was arrested but I don’t remember what happened at the end”. This incident created a lot of unease among the Jews of Diyarbakır. With the establishment of the state of Israel, those who worried about safety left the city24 and migrated to Israel.25 However, all the Jews of Diyarbakır did not migrate at the same time. Insofar as I learned from the interviewees, the first migration wave from Diyarbakır took place in 1933 before the establishment of the state of Israel. The first migrants were some poor families who left because of the difficult economic conditions in Diyarbakır. They decided to go to Jerusalem.26 Similarly, Jews of Başkale, Hakkari and Van immigrated to Israel to live in better conditions. They were living in poverty and were hoping for a better life. Another big immigration to Israel was by the Jews of Gaziantep. The first mass migration of Eastern Jews was from Gaziantep right after establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 and 1949. The second wave was during the early 1960s. The last Jews left the city in 1979.27 My interviewees, Daniel Haseki, Deborah Cohen and their families, were in this last migration. According to them, the social and political conflicts taking place across the country in 1979 also affected how people of Gaziantep behaved towards the Jews of the city. Undesirable incidents occurred, such as being threatened with death, or being harassed in phone

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calls to their homes and shops with verbal attacks like being called “Nasty Jews”, “Coward Jews”, or being told “Get out of this city” and “No place for you in here”. Therefore, the elders of the Jews met and they said “We don’t want to leave the city, unfortunately we have no choice under these circumstances”.28 They decided to immigrate. Another incident that led them to leave was that the husband of one of my interviewees was kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded a 50,000 lira ransom, saying otherwise they would kill him. The money was collected and paid to the kidnappers, who then freed the man. This also pushed Jews to leave Gaziantep”.29 In conclusion, most migrations occur for a reason. Economic, social or political circumstances lead people to change their place of residence, either voluntarily or forcibly. Therefore, migration should be considered within context. There are some similarities and some differences behind the reasons for immigration of Eastern Jews. In some cases, conflicts that endangered their lives, sometimes leading to death, forced Jews to immigrate. It is possible that many of them would not have thought of abandoning their home if they hadn’t feared for the security of their life and property. Considering the previously mentioned events, we can make the following points about the migration of Eastern Jews of Turkey and the main motives: At first, all Eastern Jews of Turkey did not immigrate at the same period. It can be said that the first immigration was a group of Jews of Urfa going to Palestine in 1896. The most recent, and the one that ended the existence of Eastern Jews in the regions under discussion in Turkey, was that of the remaining Jews of Gaziantep to Israel in 1979. Jews who immigrated before the foundation of Israel took a route via Nusaybin to Kamışlı or Aleppo in Syria, and then to Lebanon and on to Jerusalem. They went with donkeys or mules. Their journey took over three months. Secondly, troubles with Muslims. These problems did not originate from Jews but from Muslims. Jews always lived as a minority group among the people they in their towns or villages. Their main aims were to live peacefully with their neighbors and to make a better living. As understood from the incidents mentioned earlier, the problem did not begin in the Jewish community. Despite this, the respondents of this research did not hold any grudges against the people of the cities where they came from. In fact, they maintained strong feelings to the lands where they once lived. Relatives of the Şorkaya family, for example, visited Urfa six times after their immigration to Israel in 1947. Third, economic reasons. The motive behind some immigration was the expectation of having a better life in Israel. Especially poor and lower class Jews felt this. Often they were peddlers, shoemakers and tailors. They chose to immigrate voluntarily. Fourth, roles of Schlichim. These were Jewish emissaries from Palestine to establish bonds between Palestinian Jews and their brethren in the diaspora. They traveled to collect money and raise fund for the maintenance of religious institutions in Jerusalem. There are documents about the existence of Schlichim in the eighteenth century.30 Some of these Schlichim also visited the eastern cities of

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Diyarbakır, Çermik, Urfa, Siverek and Başkale. Hence, according to some respondents, Schlichim called on them to come to Israel, both prior to establishment and after. In other words, some Jews who immigrated came because of the Schlichim. “There were Zionist messengers (referring to Schlichim) that came from Istanbul and other places to our synagogue and start to talking about Zionism and making Aliya to Israel” said Joseph Dag, a Jew from Diyarbakır. By the foundation of the state of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel (Hebrew: ‫הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל‬, Hasochnut HaYehudit L’Eretz Yisra’el) took the place of Schlichim in encouraging Jews to move from the eastern cities of Turkey to Israel.31 And fifth, anti-semitism. In general my interviewees expressed having good relationships with their Muslim neighbors. However, there were moments when hatred of Jews occurred. Eliyahu İlim, who immigrated from Van, recalled that Jews from Başkale would say that “Sometimes, peddlers in the street shouted at us Dirty Jew!” Samuel Onurlu from Diyarbakır recalled that kids threw stones when they (Jews) tried to pass the street in the neighborhood. Kids were asking “Jew give me a needle”. Samuel did not want to give them anything, so they were teasing then attacking him with stones. Moreover, they used to have around ten drapery shops in Diyarbakır. One day they saw all these shops burned just four years before coming to Israel in 1945. I could not able to confirm this information from the other interviewees except Shimon Cankatan. He said his father’s shop burned three times.32

2.2 Leaving the forefathers’ lands behind Migration of Eastern Jews from these lands caused a slow disappearance of ancient communities once settled in the east of Turkey. Usually migrations to Israel were first made by one or a few members of a family. They then called for the rest of the family to follow. As mentioned before, the first known immigrants from eastern Turkey were the Jews of Urfa. Along with them, Jews of Siverek and Çermik immigrated in 191633 (Brawer, 1974, p. 504). The last Jewish community came to Israel from Gaziantep in 1979. Some 20 families moved from the city together. The day they left the city, many people from the city – especially their Muslim neighbors – tried to convince them not to go until the last moment. The people of Gaziantep watched them with tearful eyes. “They said they had been lucky to have such neighbors”.34 However, some were not lucky enough, as in the case of the Jews of Urfa and Diyarbakır. After the Şorkaya family incident some Jews of Urfa left the city in silence. Due to the fear of death, they did not want the people of the city to learn of their departure. Similarly, Jews of Diyarbakır left the city secretly after Yona Shemtov’s murder.35 Local people knew that Jews were leaving the city, so they wanted to get their goods for free. Unfortunately, very few departing Jews were able to sell their belongings. However, some Jews exchanged their properties with gold and some sold their belongings for very low prices. A member of the Şorkaya family said Bir sigaryadan bütün evimizi aldı.36

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Meaning “we sold the whole house in return for the price of a box of cigarettes” in broken Turkish to show the extent of the trauma.37 After the Şorkaya incident, Jews of Urfa were able to sell their houses only and left their workplaces behind without selling them. On the other hand, Jews of Siverek, Başkale, Van, Mardin, Hakkari and Gaziantep managed to sell all their houses and workplaces for lower prices. Everyone left freely from there. Everyone was able to sell their house. Streamlined their business and straightened up their shop. Collected their debts. Nobody stole one penny from us.38 In a sense, Jews of Gaziantep did not face troubles in selling their belongings during the immigration. All these houses, workplaces, properties and belongings had been inherited from their forefathers for centuries. However, sometimes they later had to abandon this entire heritage for the previously mentioned reasons. They even had to bid farewell to their graveyards. Maurice Halbwachs, the theorist of “collective memory”, claimed that memory is shaped by group identities. “That is to say, individuals remember childhood as part of a family or neighborhood, as part of a group or rituals, as part of a religious community and so forth. These memories are, in essence, group memories since individuals are a member of a particular society and these memories are structured within the society”.39 Figure 2.1 evidently shows that Jews are still keeping their memories alive in order not to forget the lands their forefathers once lived on. Yoseph Yeşil’s son David stated that it means “We shall return, I shall return” to Urfa, because it was not easy to forget the place once they were born, lived and grew up, especially for the Şorkaya family. A part of their heart is still deeply yearning for the forefathers’ lands.40 However, it should be noted that the original version of this song is in Yiddish, called Zog Nit Keyn Mol ‫ זאָג ניט קײנמאָל‬in Hebrew, Shir Ha-Partisanim, Partisan Hymn or Do Not Ever Say, which is sung every year on Yom Ha-Shoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day, by Jewish Partisans, the Jewish groups who fought against Nazis in World War II. It literally means “Our step will beat out: we are here”. So, it seems like the Şorkaya family synthesized the song into their situation after seven of their family members were killed.41 Do you know there is a TV program called “Gezelim Görelim”, sometimes they show Diyarbakır. When I watch it, it is as though I am rising from the dead.42 As understood from this phrase, in general, Eastern Jews have strong feelings towards the place where they came from. Almost all of them watch Turkish television channels. They watch Turkish TV series, documentaries and listen to Turkish music. Every day they follow the news in order to learn what is going on in Turkey. When they hear something happened, they immediately want to know more. They are interested in everything, especially the city they came from. The majority of them have visited their cities more than twice since their immigration to Israel.43

Figure 2.1 First Page of Şorkaya Family Album Translation: “Our longed-for hour will yet come Our step will beat out – we are here” Courtesy of Malke Hıdır (Yeşil) and Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil). Photo Credit: Author.

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2.3 The road to Jerusalem Jews have kept saying these words, “Next year in Jerusalem, L’shana Haba’a B’Yerushalayim, ‫”לשנה הבאה בירושלים‬, for centuries, from generation to generation, hoping it to come true. Shimon Cankatan, a member of the Diyarbakır Jewish community, described the image of the holy city in their minds and their narratives of the road to Jerusalem. [W]hen we were kids Israel was not established. We as youth created a group. You know, we were hearing L’shana Haba’a B’Yerushalayim (next year in Jerusalem) in every Pesah. Jerusalem was in our mind and there was nothing else. When we were child there was no Israel. We, the kids and the youth, established a group to go to the Jerusalem. We were 13–14 and 15–16 years old. So what should we do? We collected money, and none of our families knew it. There were some smugglers. They were crossing the people from Mardin, Nusaybin, Diyarbakır and Urfa to Syria and Aleppo then through Lebanon or Jordan to Jerusalem. We gave the money to a smuggler. We arrived in Aleppo, Syria. He took us to a cave. He said that “another person would come to pick you up and he would take you to Lebanon”. And from Lebanon another person would take us to the Jerusalem. However, instead of the person, policemen came and took us to the prison. We were arrested for three or four days. We were beaten. When the policemen understood that we had run away without our families’ permission, they released us when we gave them a lot of money. When we returned Turkish police beat us too. We tried to escape to Jerusalem three times through this way, however, each time we have been caught, arrested, beaten and sent back. In the end, after the establishment of Israel in 1948 Sohnut ha-Yehudit (the Jewish Agency) was involved in bringing Jews.44 The Promised Land, “a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the host of nations” (Jeremiah 3:19) has a historical, religious and national image among the Jews both in Israel and throughout the world. The spiritual tie and affinity of the people to the Holy Land became sacred in the consciousness of the Jews as a supreme religious ideal. Furthermore, the whole corpus of their national and religious values is structured within the framework of this notion, which separates the Israelites from other nations.45 In the words of Abraham Malamat: Thus emerged the national synthesis to which they aspired and which, even after its disintegration continued to be cherished in the heart of the nation as a source of inspiration and vitality throughout the long and wearisome years of exile, a strength stemming largely from the notion of their being a Chosen People belonging to a Promised land.46

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Joseph Dag’s answer to my question why he chose to come to the land of Israel and not a European country or somewhere else was meaningful. It was: We were in search of Jerusalem.47 Shimon Cankatan is a Jew from Diyarbakır. His father David Hay was a faithful Jew. His father told him the following words in Diyarbakır before immigrating to Jerusalem: I won’t die anywhere else. I will die only in Jerusalem. God please don’t take my soul anywhere else except Jerusalem.48 In 1947, Shimon immigrated alone to Jerusalem without his family. After a while he started to work as a police officer. Ten years later he brought his father and the rest of his family from Diyarbakır to Jerusalem in 1957. He took his father to the Kotel, the Western Wall. His father placed his wish in the wall to request God to take his life in Jerusalem. After six months his father’s wish came true and he passed away in Jerusalem.49 Jews who managed to settle themselves in the Holy Land invited their relatives to join them. In the years prior to and following the establishment of the state of Israel, growing numbers of Jews emigrated from eastern Turkey. Nonetheless, the role of the Jewish Agency (Sohnut ha-Yehudit) should not be ignored regarding the immigration of Eastern Jews of Turkey as well. The Jewish agency came to the city for the Jewish community and told them “Now you have a chance to come to Israel always, it is all safe”.50 Joseph Dag, another Jew from Diyarbakır, said: Zionist messengers, Schlichim came to our synagogue, talked and prompted us to make Aliyah.51 The road to Jerusalem was compelling. Three migration routes – highway, seaway and airways – were used in coming to Israel. Since they did not have any passports, Jews who immigrated to Israel before its establishment crossed the Turkish borders through illegal means on donkeys and mules. Some went to Aleppo or Kamışlı in Syria, while others went to Lebanon or Jordan before managing to arrive in Jerusalem. The journey took three months at least and a year at maximum, since they often had to be careful not to attract any attention when they stopped. Sometimes they needed to stop for months. The Jewish communities in both Kamışlı and Aleppo helped people who wanted to go to Israel by providing food and shelter. Some Jews of Diyarbakır had moved to Kamışlı prior to these migrations and they assisted people in their journey before the establishment of the state of Israel.52

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The port of Iskenderun was an assembly point for the Eastern Jews who arrived in Israel via the sea. After the foundation of Israel, many Jews from Diyarbakır, Urfa, Siverek and Gaziantep immigrated to Israel on ships from Iskenderun port. Jews of Diyarbakır came to Iskenderum by train. One of my interviewees from Diyarbakır still remembers the ship’s name: Amasya Vapuru. It was a cargo ship. They came to Haifa on Amasya Vapuru. Around seven or eight families from Jews of Diyarbakır came to Bet Lit in Israel through Iskenderun port. Then they were taken to the Givataym in Jerusalem. Some interviewees even remember the shipping company, Hevra Kalkavan (Kalkavan Shipping Company).53 Yitzhak İşran (it was İçren while in Turkey) and his family, together with the Mizrahi family and the Yom Tov family, Jews of Siverek, immigrated to Israel from Iskenderun port in 1949 after obtaining their passports (Figures 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4).54 In March 1949, a year after the establishment of the state of Israel, Turkey became the first Muslim country to recognized Israel. However the passport stamp dated 27.10.1949 and given to Jews of Siverek in their passports still said Palestine. Besides that, there were some Eastern Jews who preferred to go to Istanbul before immigrating to Israel. Some relatives of my interviewees from Jews of

Figures 2.2 and 2.3 Passports of Yusuf İçren, Yitzhak İşran’s Elder Brother and His Family Courtesy of Yitzhak İşran, 27.20.1949. Photo Credit: Author.

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Figure 2.4 Passports of Yusuf İçren, Yitzhak İşran’s Elder Brother and His Family It is written “this passport is given to citizen Yusuf İçren by the İçel (Mersin) governorate in the day 27/10/1949 to go to the Palestine and other foreign countries” Courtesy of Yitzhak İşran. Photo Credit: Author.55

Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Urfa, Başkale and Van are still living in Istanbul. Gershom Şenyuva, member of the last Jewish family from Yüksekova (former Gavar) in Hakkari, after 16 years in Istanbul, decided to immigrate to Israel. Similarly, some families from Gaziantep, Başkale and Van lived in Istanbul for a short time, and then moved to Israel through airway. Eastern Jews who used Istanbul as a route to Israel usually stayed at a guesthouse with a Jewish family in Istanbul. It took more than two weeks, or sometimes a month to leave Istanbul due to the preparation of the official documents and visas.56 It was challenging to survive in Israel for the first immigrants of the Eastern Jews in the 1950s. Upon arriving in Israel they first lived in tents. Anat Keskin, a Jew of Diyarbakır and member of the Keskin family, immigrated to Israel in 1948. After four years in Israel her grandmother came to visit them. She saw that they were staying in tents and living under hard conditions. She was upset and said “I will go to Turkey and resettle you there”. And her grandmother kept her word. They came back to Turkey. Somehow, her grandmother bought a new house, found a new work place and fixed everything. However, Anat’s dream was to someday return to the land of Israel as echoed in Haggadah L’shana Haba’a B’Yerushalayim (“Next year in Jerusalem”). She married a Jew from Gaziantep. After living for seven years in the city her dream came true. Instead of going to

Migration

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57

Istanbul, they decided to move to Israel. Despite this infrequent example of an Eastern Jewish family moving back to Turkey from Israel, the Jews of the diaspora at all times devoted their loyalty and maintained their relationships with the land of Israel, particularly Jerusalem.58

Notes  1 DellaPergola, ibid.; F. Dündar, Türkiye Nüfus Sayımlarında Azınlıklar. Istanbul: Istanbul Çivi Yazıları, 2000, p. 154; Ş. Toktaş, Turkey’s Jews and their Immigration to Israel. Middle Eastern Studies, 2006, 42(3), 505–519.  2 Toktaş, ibid.  3 Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil was a draper in Urfa, interviewed in Jerusalem, 29 May 2012.  4 W. F. Weiker, The Unseen Israelis: The Jews From Turkey in Israel. London: The Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, Centre for Jewish Community Studies, 1988, p. 19; Toktaş, ibid.  5 State of Israel, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2002 No. 53. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2013 from www.cbs.gov.il.  6 Ibid.  7 State of Israel, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2005 No. 56. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2013 from www.cbs.gov.il.  8 I. Israel & I. Beldgreen, ‫יהדות דרום מזרח תורכיה‬. Rishon Lezion & Tel Aviv: The Israeli Association of Urfa Jews, 2013, p. 189.  9 A. J. Brawer, Jewish Communities Israel Society. Jerusalem: Keter Books, 1974, pp. 29–46. 10 Interview with Rachel Tsafon, 74, housewife, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. 11 Extract from interview notes. 12 M. Margosyan, Gavur Mahallesi. Istanbul: Aras Yayıncılık, 1994; M. Margosyan, Söyle Margos Nerelisen. Istanbul: Aras Yayıncılık, 1995. 13 O. Köker, Hasbelkader Diyarbakırda ve Ermeni Olarak Doğmak. Söz, 1995. 14 I. Ben-Zvi, The Exiled and Reedemed. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1957. 15 Interview notes. 16 A letter sent from the offices of the Alliance Israélite Universelle in Jerusalem by Nissim Bachar and Albert Antebi on 13 December 1896. 17 Interview with Malke Hıdır (Yeşil), Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil), Yitzhak Hıdır (Yeşil), Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. 18 Ibid. 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 See, 1955–1960–1965. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet İstatistik Enstitüsü, Türkiye İstatistik Yıllığı 1964–65 / Statisque de la Turquie No: 510 (Ankara, no date). 23 Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012; Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012; Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. It should be noted that although having similarities with the Rıfat Bali’s quotation, to get the information in detail regarding this issue, unlike him I conducted fieldwork in Israel between the years 2011–2012. I interviewed a couple families with the Jews of Diyarbakır. They explained the incident in detail with the new names of those involved in the event; Rıfat Bali in 1999 Diyarbakır Yahudileri. In Şevket Beysanoğlu & Others (Eds.), 2006 Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, pp. 367–389.

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24 Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012; Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. 25 See also interviews with Yusuf Güzel, Yitshak Emin made by Yaakov Barha on behalf of Rıfat Bali in 1999 Diyarbakır Yahudileri. In Şevket Beysanoğlu & Others (Eds.), 2006 Diyarbakır: Müze Şehir. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, pp. 367–389. 26 Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012; Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012, Samuel Onurlu, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. 27 Interviews with Daniel and Elizabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012; Deborah Cohen and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012. 28 Interview with Mary Ocak and Elizabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012. 29 Ibid. 30 Brauer & Patai, ibid.; Mann, ibid., p. 537. 31 Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012, Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012. 32 Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012, Samuel Onurlu, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. 33 Brawer, ibid., p. 504. 34 Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. 35 Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012, Samuel Onurlu, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012; Malke Hıdır (Yeşil), Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil), Yitzhak Khader, 29 May 2012. 36 Cigarette pronounced as “sigarya” in Hebrew. 37 Interview with Yoseph Hıdır, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. 38 He said in Turkish as “Herkes yani gayet rahat olarak çıktı ordan. Herkes evini de satabildi. Dükkanını da işlerini de düzene soktu. Alacaklarını aldı. Kimse birtek kuruş yemedi bizden” (Interview with Daniel Haseki, 62, Jews of Gaziantep, Pharmacist, 16 March 2012, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv). 39 Halbwachs, ibid. 40 Interview with Malke Hıdır Yeşil and Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. 41 M. Schreiber, The Shengold Jewish Encylopedia. Rockville, MD: Schreiber Publishing, 1998. 42 In Turkish Biliyorsun şimdi ‘gezelim görelim’ diye bir televizyon programı var televizyonda. Onu görünce bazı zamanlar Diyarbakırı gösteriyorlar orda. Ben görünce yani ‘ölüydüm yaşıyorum’ böyle fark ediyorum (Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 11 June 2012). 43 Interview notes dated 27 April 2012. 44“Küçükken İsrail yoktu. Biz gençler bir grup yaptık. Her Pesah’ta, biliyorsun bayram Pesahı, işitiyorduk ‘Le-shana ha-baa be-Yeruşalayim (gelecek sene yeruşelayimde)’, Yeruşalayim bizim kafamızda, başka bir şey yoktu. Biz kaç çocuk, çocuk diyorum 13–14 ve 15–16 yaşında gençler istedik Yeruşelayime gelmek için. Ee nasıl yapacağız, para topladık. Vardık, kaçakçılar vardı. Getiriyorlardı, Diyarbakırdan Urfaya, Mardinden Suriyeye, Suriye’den Lebanona, Lebanon’dan Yeruşelayime. Bunu bir sefer anlatayım. Çünkü üç sefer oldu para aradık verdik kaçakçıya. Bizim ailemiz bilmiyor biz kaçıyoruz. Vee kaçtık, parayı verdik kaçakçıya. Götürdü bizi Suriyeye kadar. Yani Suriye’ye yetiştik. Halepteydik. Bizi mağaraya koydu. Şey dedi bu akşam sabaha karşı gelecek başkası Suriye’den Lebanona götürecek bizi. Ordada Lebanondan başka birisi götürecek bizi Yeruşelayime. Bu hesaplan biz bekledik, gelecek adam götürecek bizi. O adamın yerine polisler geldi. Tuttular bizi hapishaneye koydular. O zaman İsrail yoktu ki. 13–14 kişiydik. Hep gençler. Ben en ufaklardan birisiydim. Daha büyükleri de vardı. 16, 17 yaşında vardı, 20 yaşında vardı. Götürdüler hapise koydular. Üç dört gün dayak yedik. Baktılar ki aileden biz yani aileden biz kaçtık izinsiz. Geriye götürdüler Türkiye’ye. Geri dönerken de dayak yedik Türklerden de. Sonra ailelerimiz eee imza

Migration

45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58

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verdi ve aldılar. Verdiler para, çok para aldılar. Türkler paraya çok, paraya çok . . . uzun lafın kısası ikinci sefer bir daha tuttuk başkası (kaçakçı) aynı geldik suriyeye. Üç sefer böyle para verdik, yakalandık, dayak yedik, geri geldik. 48’de ne zaman İsrail kuruldu hemen eee sohnut ha-yehudit eee girdi bu işlere, gençleri toplamaya” (interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012). Malamat, ibid., pp. 3–91. Ibid. Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alan Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 11 June 2012. Interview with Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Interview with Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. Interview notes dated 24 May 2012 and 01 June 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012. Ibid. Interview with Gershom Şenyuva 13 February 2012. Interview with Anat Keskin, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012. Stern, ibid., p. 28.

3

Social life, culture and collective memory

Many sources generally portray exiled Jews as having easily acclimated themselves to the society in which they lived.1 They absorbed the respective society’s culture without having acculturation difficulties. Jews from eastern Turkey were a small minority, thus their life and culture became intertwined in many ways with the local society. Their cuisine and their way of dress were similar to those of native people. Languages spoken among Eastern Jews were, respectively, Aramaic (Lishan Didan), Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish (until their emigration to Israel). Jews of Gaziantep spoke Arabic and Turkish. Most Jews of the Van, Başkale, Yüksekova and Hakkari regions spoke Turkish and Kurdish, but the elders spoke Lishan Didan among themselves. Jews of Diyarbakır, Urfa, Mardin and Nusaybin primarily spoke Turkish and Kurdish. However, elder family members preferred to speak Arabic among themselves when discussing certain matters.2 There was quite a difference in cultural matters between the Western and Eastern Jews of Turkey as well. Western Jews lived in the cities and they were more urbanized. Eastern Jews lived in small cities and towns, so they were rather rural. Western Jews were wealthier than their eastern brethren, since they were bankers and merchants, while Eastern Jews were mostly tailors, peddlers and shopkeepers. Jews were under the guardianship of the powerful aghas, or tribal chiefs, in places such as Cizre and Yüksekova in Hakkari. They were servants of the agha.3 Each community was headed by a ḥakham, who generally was also the hazzan, mohel, Shochet, and teacher. Living in these hard, rural conditions also affected the practice of their religion. They could not regularly attend services in the synagogue. However, during the holidays, such as Yom Kippur, the synagogues were very crowded.4 The population of Israel is made up of different Jewish communities from all over the world, and they brought their own cultures, traditions, customs and ways of life. Eastern Jews were among the first Near Eastern Jews who moved to the land of Israel in modern times. Before and after the establishment of the state of Israel, in 1948 and 1952, respectively, Jews from eastern Turkey immigrated to Israel in large numbers.5 Many preferred living in Jerusalem in their own neighborhoods, the best known being Mahane Yehuda, which has a famous open market, Rishon Lezion, and Bat Yam in Tel Aviv. The rest settled in other cities

Social life, culture and collective memory 69 or rural areas. The first settlers were farmers and manual laborers. Currently, they prosper in various types of businesses, including construction, law, education, the government bureaucracy and medical institutions. It was not only a physical emigration, but a cultural one. They moved their unique cultural life, Judaic traditions and cuisine as well. And now they preserve these and pass them down to future generations.6 The oral documents collected for this study are mostly based on memory narratives and personal narratives, and also contains life histories. In memory narratives, the interviewees narrated a short story that referred to a certain incident during their lifetime. In addition, they reconstructed a longer period in their life by narrating their life histories.7 This research project obtained detailed information regarding the culture mainly through interviews with elderly Jews who could still recall their life in Turkey. Many became emotional while telling their stories and recalling the lands where they had once lived. They spoke openly because they wanted their culture to be known, and they created an intimate and friendly atmosphere for me. In some cases, wives told their stories after their husbands gave permission. Regarding the interviews, there was not any discrepancy between the facts and interpretation of the narrators. I verified death or murder cases through the narratives of others. After collecting all the information regarding their culture, I began to write and finally put together this account.

3.1 Jewish neighborhoods and Jewish community Jews who lived in Islamic countries were never pushed to stay in ghetto-like quarters. Travelers to these countries often mentioned that Jews lived in their own neighborhoods, noting that this was not because of an obligation but due to their preference and the customs of the time. Traveler Benjamin II explains it as follows: Here in Diyarbekir, as well as in other places of the east, the Jews are obliged to inhabit a certain portion of the town but this separation rests only on the custom of eastern countries, and has nothing exclusive or degrading in it, as the so-called Ghetto in Rome.8 It was almost a tradition for all non-Muslims to live in their own districts during the Ottoman Empire. Jews continued living in their own quarters even after the collapse of the empire. Urban Jewish communities settled in their own quarters, known as mahalle, in the eastern part of the Ottoman Empire. The mahalle, or neighborhood, was a social and physical unit for the Jews. The social and cultural life of the Jewish community was usually structured around the Jewish quarter.9 Marriages, funerals and other life cycle events were the common social activities of residents of the neighborhood in a typical Ottoman city. There were famous Jewish quarters in the cities of many Ottoman provinces, such as Istanbul, Damascus, Aleppo, Jerusalem and Cairo.10 Jews from eastern Turkey also lived in their own neighborhood, similar to their Western brethren. It is referred to as the

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Yahudi mahallesi or Yahudiyan mahallesi (Jewish quarter) in the cadastral and court records within the Ottoman archival documents. Religious groups that made up the city of Diyarbakır sometimes inhabited separate quarters and sometimes lived side by side. Of 120 quarters, 65 were for Muslims, 13 were for non-Muslims, and 42 were mixed quarters within the walled city between the years 1785 and 1850.11 The documents referring to this neighborhood mention it as Yahudiyan mahallesi or Yahudi mahallesi (Jewish quarter). In the mixed quarters, the groups were not separated, but usually Muslims lived in one part and non-Muslims in the other part.12 The word Homa (“the wall”) was the common way the Jews of Diyarbakır referred to their neighborhoods. When I asked if they remembered the Jewish quarter, the answer was quite simple: “Yes, of course, it was very close to Homa”.13 Some Hebrew-speaking interviewees recalled the wall as Burç (as in modern Turkish) and some as Sur. Both terms were usually used to refer to the city walls. While describing the Jewish quarter, they said: “There was a big wall called Burç and the neighborhood was near the Burç and Fırat (Tigris) River”.14 Some remembered the Armenians in the same neighborhood. Interestingly, Shimon Cankatan remembered his address while he lived in Diyarbakır. He specified his home address as “Arap Şeyh mahallesi, Kara Sokak, numara 2 (Arap Şeyh quarter, Kara Street, number 2)”. He said the Jews had been living inside the walls.15 Rachel Tsafon from Diyarbakır mentioned that the residents used to bake bread in the neighborhood and carry water from the river to their houses.16 Jews in Mardin and Nusaybin had their own neighborhood called Yahudiyan mahallesi (Jewish quarter). Additionally, Jews called their neighborhoods in Kurdish Mihela Cihuyan (Jewish quarter) in Cizre. Similar to Diyarbakır, the Jews of Urfa lived in the old city, within the walls, in a designated area in two neighborhoods. The neighborhoods were adjacent to the Harran Gate, to the east. Yoseph Yeşil and his family resided in the Kendirci mahallesi, Asker Sokak (Kendirci quarter, Asker Street). They lived together with Muslims in the same neighborhood. Yitzhak Khader lived in another quarter called Şekerci mahallesi (Şekerci quarter). Some wealthy Jewish families lived outside of Urfa.17 My interviewees did not mention the size of the neighborhoods. However, some information regarding the neighborhoods comes from Igal Israel’s work. He pointed out that one quarter was large and the other, smaller. The small Jewish neighborhood was called Şekerci mahallesi, while the larger one Askeriye mahallesi.18 On certain days, Jews would always go to the hammam. There was a hammam in the Jewish quarter of Urfa called Cıncıklı Hammam. The hammam had two entrances, a main entrance from the street for the use of men, and a side entrance for women, which had an opening to a side alley coming from the Jewish neighborhood. The alley had a network of beams supporting the walls of the hammam and the nearby mosque.19 Jews of Urfa used to bathe on Wednesdays, which was known as the Jewish day to the locals. On that day, the women bathed at noon and the men bathed in the evening, after returning from work.20 Jews of Gaziantep used to go to the Paşa Hammamı for the purification bath ritual, mikveh, on certain occasions as

Social life, culture and collective memory 71 well. The day before a wedding, women, together with the bride, used to go to the hammam. Each woman brought snack foods, such as baklava, pastries or cookies, which they had prepared at their homes, so they could have a good time during the bath. After the women, the men used to go to the hammam. They drank, played and sang, and had fun with the groom.21 Jews of Gaziantep lived side by side with Muslim neighbors in Düğmeci mahallesi, which was known as a Jewish neighborhood as well, insomuch that the Düğmeci mahallesi came to be identified as a Jewish quarter. Daniel Haseki said: Düğmeci mahallesi was known as the Jewish neighborhood among Muslims. If someone looked for Jews and came to ask where Jews are living, namely if Düğmeci mahallesi has been asked for, the answer would be “oh, are you looking for the Jewish neighborhood?”22 Therefore, it was a much more well-known Jewish neighborhood than that of Düğmeci mahallesi for local people in Gaziantep. As concerns the Jews of Siverek, they lived together with Muslim neighbors in the same quarter called Hasan Çelebi mahallesi (Hasan Çelebi quarter). There was no water in the houses so they carried water from Hacı pınar (Hacı River) close to the neighborhood.23 Jews of Başkale lived separately in Kale mahallesi (Kale neighborhood). This quarter consisted only of a Jewish community. Muslims used to live in the other districts. Similarly, Kale mahallesi was identified as a Jewish neighborhood in Başkale.24 One of the basic common characteristics of neighborhoods of the Eastern Jewish communities was that they were established around the synagogue. Residents built a synagogue in the neighborhood and lived around it. Hence, the synagogue played a dominant role in the quarters of the Eastern Jews. The haham was the head of the community in religious matters. He led the Jewish community in solving conflicts in the neighborhood. In some cities, Jewish quarters were only composed of Jews and in other places; Jews lived side by side with their Muslim neighbors. Since they were composed of a small population, the Jewish quarter’s size was enough to live within. Everybody knew and recognized each other. The residents consisted of a small number of families and usually close relatives. When something happened, they could inform each other within a short time. Therefore, social cohesion among the Jews was very strong. Their workplaces were not in the same district where they lived. They were in the bazaar or in the market. The hammam was usually located where Jews and Muslims lived, in the same neighborhoods. It was an important place for the purification ritual of Jews. The Jewish cemetery was situated outside of the neighborhood.25

3.2 Relationships with Muslims As mentioned in the preceding chapters, the community life of religious minority groups in the Ottoman Empire was governed by the millet system, which means non-Muslims communities were free to practice their religious rituals and cultures and had legal autonomy under their own “ecclesiastical and lay leaders”.26

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Accordingly, the Jews were recognized as a millet under the authority of the Hakhambashi, the chief rabbi, constituted and approved by the Ottoman administration with the same status as the Greeks and Armenian churches.27 However, the condition of Jewish communities in the millet system was not the same in practice, in all parts of the empire. Most of the cities where Jews lived were in different regions and had different cultural backgrounds.28 Thus, relations between Muslims and Jews varied depending on the time and place. Jews were not treated as infidels or non-believers in the east of Turkey. None of my interviewees mentioned any incidents or disputes regarding the practice of their faiths. However, Jews were not completely safe from derogatory attitudes, insults or assaults. The phrases çıfıt (miser) and pis yahudi (nasty Jews) were contemptuous names used by people specifically to describe Jews.29 It seems that tensions between Jews and Muslims began to increase in some places especially after the establishment of the state of Israel. Local people of Başkale worried about Jewish communities that left the city for Israel, since their members made huge contributions to the economy of the city. According to the son of the last rabbi of the Başkale Jewish community, Avigdor Şekerci, local people did not want Jews to leave the city, because they were really getting along well. After the founding of Israel, mainly the attitudes of the youth, not elderly, began to change into envy (of the Jews’ material prosperity).30 Nevertheless, the motive behind the Jews’ migration was not religious, but more due to the aforementioned societal incidents and due to economic reasons. We had good relationships. We used to go to other places, villages freely; Muslims welcomed us very well, no frictions, and no problems with Muslims. They used to be like guests in our houses and we used to be guests in their houses, said Ruth Levy, who emigrated from Diyarbakır before the establishment of the state of Israel. All the entertainment in Urfa was visiting other families. My father was very well-liked in the family as well. Jewish families were friends amongst themselves. They were reluctant to become friends with the Muslim families, expressed Harun Bozo, a Jew from Urfa, in his memoirs.31 In an example of the two groups living together, some Jews shared the same courtyard with their Muslim neighbors in Gaziantep. There were three houses in one courtyard; two of them belonged to the local people, the other one to a Jew. Daniel Haseki lived in one of these houses when he was in Gaziantep. Sometimes, some families were living in the same courtyard, moreover I remembered one that we were living in. At the other side two Muslim family were dwelling. In other words there were three houses in one yard, one of them was belonging to us.32

Social life, culture and collective memory 73 Another interviewee, Yoel Aslan from Diyarbakır, stated that there was a moment in his childhood with a Muslim family that he could not forget throughout his life: I was a kid and I could not forget when I lost my way home. I could not manage to go back home. A Muslim family took me to their home. They treated me very well. They understood that I was Jewish and I did not eat, because it was not kosher. Another day they took me back to my family.33 Moshe Ok from Siverek pointed out his relationships with a Muslim female landlord: We were living together. There was a Jewish house and a Muslim house. They never touched us. There was someone we used to call Rahima Abla (sister Rahima), she was a Muslim and our landlord. If someone tried to touch us, she would always take our side.34 One of the most interesting things I heard during my interviews was that Yitzhak Khader’s mother was breastfeeding the babies of Muslim mothers who went dry in Urfa. His brother Shlomo worked in a jewelry store owned by a local Muslim. Some Jews were business partners with Muslims in Urfa. They got along well in business. Additionally, they celebrated together and visited each other during religious holidays.35 Jews also had relationships with other religious minorities in Diyarbakır. Armenians lived in Hançepek, the Gavur (infidel) neighborhood that was next to the Jewish quarter. Famous Armenian author Mıgirdiç Margosyan, who was originally from Diyarbakır, pointed out that they, called the Jews “Moşe (English Moshe)”. Margosyan mentions encounters between the Armenian children and the Jews. The only way to get to the Jewish quarter was to go through Hançepek, the Armenian neighborhood. He said that in the summer, usually the streets were full of melons and watermelon rinds. So, residents had to take a detour to avoid falling into the children’s ambush and being pelted with melon rinds.36 In Turkey, public schools used to begin the day with a ceremonial oath that repeated the precepts of honesty, fidelity, protection of the young and respect for the elderly, as well as cherishing the state’s development and advancement. Despite this daily ritual and the advice of the teachers, it was a “battle time” for the children after school. Margosyan examines these reactions by asking questions: Why did we undertake these battles? Why did we throw stones at these Moşeler (Moshes)? Why was victory so sweet? Why should we always be the victor?37 Because they were bad people! They had barrels with sharp-pointed needles! They caught children and put them in these barrels! Having killed them in this way they gulped down their blood! So children should listen to their mothers’ advice, and shouldn’t go far away to Jewish neighborhoods. They should be good children and play in front of their own houses, right in front of their mothers’ eyes.38

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Margosyan concludes that one day, the Moshes, our classmates, suddenly emigrated in such a hurry that they could not pack their barrels with piercing needles. The Moşe quarter was totally abandoned. But now, we, the Gavur, the Filleh (infidel), had inherited their needled barrels.39

3.3 Houses of the Jews The Southeast of Turkey usually has hot and dry summers. The climate and the similar, traditional lifestyles throughout the region have contributed to the development of the typical traditional urban house. Stone is the main building material for the urban house – sometimes, simple stone, and sometimes, worked hewn stone. Usually the houses are planned to provide shade, coolness and ventilation for the family members, especially during hot summer days. Houses are built next to one another. The facades of the buildings are close to each other. In the narrow, winding streets, rooms are often built over the width of the street.40 Jewish houses were the same as the ones of local people in terms of their architectural structure. However, the number and size of rooms depended on the size of the plot, and the financial condition and size of the family. The majority of Eastern Jews had their own houses. Some poor families were tenants and lived in rented houses. Grandfathers, fathers, sons and the rest of the family shared the same house.41 Houses in Urfa, Mardin, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Siverek, Çermik and Cizre were built of hewn stone, made of limestone, while some were of black basalt, which was easy to work and was quarried in the area. The building plans usually included a basement floor, a ground floor, and some had a partial or full second floor, with stairs leading to it from the yard. The traditional houses had a yard, usually square or rectangular, with the various rooms built around it. Factors in deciding the location of openings, especially windows facing the outside, included the desire for privacy and for maintaining coolness inside the house, which is why only a few windows face the street or the yard of a neighboring house.42 The yard is located near the street entrance. There is usually a hallway between the main entrance and the yard. The yard and the rooms are usually overlaid with smooth tiles. Additionally, yards have a water hole, used for collecting runoff water, a water pool and a fruit tree garden. The water pool and the trees growing in the yard enrich the house visually and create a cool microclimate. The fruit trees provide fruit for the household and shaded cool areas to rest under.43 In summer, the roofs were used for drying vegetables, fruits and bulgur, as well as for sleeping in the hot nights. In the hot summer nights, members of the household would sleep in the yard or on the roof in large wide wooden beds with high bases, also known as taht, literally meaning throne. People probably called it that name since it resembled a throne in olden times.44 The bed was covered in fabric to protect against mosquitoes and could accommodate three or four people. Harun Bozo in his memoirs described the beds in Urfa: “When everyone slept on the roof, the neighbors would chat with each other.

Social life, culture and collective memory 75 I sometimes went to my aunts’ houses jumping from one roof to the other! I do remember that there was a mikveh and a bath in every house”.45 Probably only wealthy Jews had these kind of houses, since interviewees from Urfa did not mention any mikveh or bath. They used to go to the hammam in the neighborhood on a certain day. Its central location and its advantages made the yard the center of household life, where the main activities in the family’s daily life occurred. It seems that its social function was very important in planning the house. The houses of Mardin are built on a steep rocky slope. The houses are terraced, resulting in a planned system of long, narrow streets. The streets are narrow. The traditional urban house and yard have a unique shape here: The yard is shaped like a wide terrace, with several levels, and it is open to the valley. In fact, the yard is the house’s roof. At the lower level, stone stairs connect the yards to the street level. The high walls are meant to ensure privacy and safety. The homes of the wealthy have manicured yards. The houses have an important space with three walls and a roof, opening into the yard. This space is used as a guest room and a place for rest during the summer. In places where the slope is steep, houses are crowded and yards are small. The lack of land did not allow gardens in the yards, and very few trees were grown in them. The main plants growing in the yards of Mardin were strawberries and vines. Water was provided from wells dug in the yards.46 The houses of the Jews in Diyarbakır were usually made from black basalt, not limestone as in other areas. They had courtyards as well. The rooms of the house faced the yard and took into account the direction of the sun. Thus, there were special rooms for winter and summer. The yard was the center of the house and the garden was the center of the yard. The garden was usually placed where it could be seen from most rooms. In large houses, there was a water pool in the yard, and its main purpose was to create a cool, comfortable microclimate. Wealthy Jews who had large houses (in local vernacular called Han, like inns or caravanserai), also used part of the home as a barn, since they had saddle horses for riding in Diyarbakır.47 Bela Güzel, a member of the Güzel family from Diyarbakır, described the houses in Diyarbakır as follows: As far as I can remember, houses were like köşk in there, how they say, like Han or pavillion. For instance, if there are three sons in a family and they are getting married, a separate room is given to each of them and thus everyone will have a room under the same roof of the house. Hence, sons do not leave the house even after the marriage and go on serving their father and the rest of their family. Usually, houses were made of mud-bricks in Başkale. Wealthier Jews had more rooms in their houses. Some houses, especially the ones belonging to the rich, had two stories. Jews of Başkale, Urfa, Diyarbakır and other eastern cities baked bread in the clay ovens called tanur (in Turkish tandır), which were situated in the corners of their houses. Every day, or once every two days, women baked fresh bread for their families. The Jewish families of Siverek lived in a neighborhood with small houses made of bricks whose slanting roofs were made of beams and wooden branches, which

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were covered by a thick layer of mud mixed with straw. Before the rains, the layer would be strengthened.48

3.4 Clothing In 1848 Rabbi Benjamin II passed through Çermik and wrote: “The Jewish community numbers about 100 families, who, exposed as they are to be continually plundered, live in a wretched condition. Their customs and dress are Muhammedan”, referring to the prophet Muhammed. Then in his visit to Mardin, He stated: “About fifty Jewish families live here, who although they have a certain quarter of the town assigned to them for their abode, still live tolerably free, dress in Muhammedan style and speak Arabic. Their Nassi is called Mailum Moses”.49 Based on the interviewees’ explanations, the way the Eastern Jews dressed was usually the same as that of the local people. However, clothing became more modern from the east towards the west in eastern Turkey. Jews used to wear more traditional clothes in the eastern than the western part of the region. The dress of Jews of Cizre, Mardin and Diyarbakır was more local and traditional, while that of the Jews of Gaziantep, Urfa and Van was more modern. Jewish women used to cover their heads in different ways in Diyarbakır. According to interviewees, women did not go to visit the market or to shop without their husbands or a male relative. As seen in the first picture, when they left the house, they wore çarşaf, a loose black robe, a kind of chador that covers the whole body from head to foot, without a veil. In the house, they used to cover their heads with ornamental white headscarves. It did not cover the entire head. Men used to wear şalvar, baggy trousers, instead of suit pants and shirts. They put on rawhide sandals for shoes.50 After the Dress Code regulation passed in 1934,51 men started wearing pants, suits and felt hats covering their heads. Women, too, began to wear modern attire. Jews of Başkale/Van, Urfa and Gaziantep were modern in terms of appearance and lifestyle. Both Jewish women and men did not dress in a traditional way. Jewish women did not wear çarşaf and headscarves, and men did not put on shalwar.52 Avigdor Şekerci pointed out that there were no differences between a Jew from Istanbul and from Başkale in the way they dressed. Pants, shirt and jacket – namely a suit – were the main clothes of the Jewish man of Başkale. Men did not wear shalwar, and most of the women did not cover their heads. Women did not use a veil, but put on a fistan, a suit with long sleeves, in Başkale. However, Avigdor Şekerci mentioned that his mother and some other Jewish women always covered their heads.53 Residents of the Jewish community of Gaziantep always dressed in a modern way, said Daniel Haseki. Jews were not covered and did not wear çarşaf or shalwar at any time. Local people of Gaziantep could easily recognize a Jew through the modern way of dressing. Yet Gaziantep was already a modern city at that time. Daniel Haseki recalled that his father always wore a suit with a felt hat and tie. His father and all other Jewish men used to go to work dressed like that. Jewish

Social life, culture and collective memory 77 women dressed in a modern way as well, especially those who were working at a bank in Gaziantep.54

3.5 Food Basic foodstuffs abundant in the region were consumed by the Eastern Jews of Turkey. Among them were meat, wheat, fruits and vegetables. Most foods were prepared using these ingredients, most of which had previously been preserved for winter. Some of the wheat would be ground in hand grinders to make flour, stored in the basement and used for baking various types of bread. A certain amount of wheat was kept for making matzos. Various kinds of bulgur, boiled and pounded wheat, and meat occupied a large place in the nutrition of Eastern Jews. More recently, rice replaced bulgur, the cracked wheat. Other products, such as oil, sugar, tea and various legumes such as lentils were bought. The diversity of food was limited, and the eating habits of the Jews were greatly influenced by the culture they lived in.55 In the kitchen, the majority of cooking pots were made of copper. Copper plates with a tin-covered lid were used for eating. When they were living in the east of Turkey, household members ate with spoons made of wood or tin-coated copper. The main meal of the household included cooked dishes, mostly meat and vegetables. Lamb and sheep were mostly eaten. The animals could only be eaten if slaughtered by a Shochet or rabbi. Usually the meals were served on a large copper tray called sini and the whole family ate together. In summer, there was a wide selection of vegetables, while in winter members of the household had to satisfy themselves with dishes made mostly of sun-dried vegetables. Fresh bread was baked early in the morning in tanur or on the saç, a large iron pan with a dent, daily or every two days. The bread baked on an upside-down saç was called saç ekmeği (Arabic: khubz saj).56 Kashrut (kosher), the set of Jewish dietary laws, was strictly observed by the Eastern Jews of Turkey. They used separate pots, pans and knives for meat and dairy products. Cheese was produced at home by some Jews or bought from villages.57 Avigdor Şekerci’s mother from Başkale once a year used to go to the Hançerli village to make cheese. She stayed at a familiar Muslim house until the cheese was prepared. Her Muslim woman friend was not involved in making the cheese. Avigdor Şekerci’s mother did everything. She made enough cheese for six months, or the whole winter. In the end, she put the cheese in cer, large earthenware jars, and kept it under the earth in her yard during the entire winter. In return for allowing her to make cheese, his mother sometimes gave money to the villagers or exchanged tea or sugar for money. The Jews not only produced white cheese, but also the famous Van cheese called otlu peynir, an herb cheese. However, in the case of Gaziantep, for a while cheese was produced at home but afterwards people started purchasing it from villages after examination by a Shochet.58 It can be said that the cuisine of Eastern Jews is mainly based on meat. Preserved meat, qaliya/qaliye (Figure 3.1), also had an important place in the cuisine of the Eastern Jews, especially of the Jews of Başkale, Diyarbakır and Siverek. Qaliya

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Figure 3.1 Qaliya with Hummus and Pita Bread Picture Taken in Samuel Onurlu’s Restaurant, a Jew from Diyarbakır in Jerusalem, 24.05.2012 Photo Credit: Author.

was mostly cooked by large Jewish families. Depending on the size of the family, at least one or several fat sheep were slaughtered. The tail fat was cut and boiled until it melted. Then the flesh was cut into pieces and boiled. Finally, the fluid fat was spilled upon the cooked pieces of meat. Usually the qaliya was prepared for Pesah.59 There were two reasons of preserving meat. First, the Jews in rural areas could not afford a permanent resident Shochet. They were visited by the traveler Shochet with long periods of time in between, which meant they would have been meatless for a large part of the year if they had no preserved meat. Second, preserving the meat provided a steady supply for the long cold winters.60 Apart from the influence of local cuisine, an Arabic influence can be seen in the foods of Jews of Diyarbakır, Urfa and Antep, which also emphasized meat. They separated milk and meat, keeping their kitchen kosher that way. Some wealthy Jews had two kitchens to separate meat and milk, one for Pesah (when Jews do not eat leavened bread) and another for the rest of the year. Antep Jewish cuisine was mostly dominated by Aleppo Jews’ traditions, considering the relationships and background of the Jewish community of Antep with the city since the Ottoman Empire. Kashrut laws were strictly followed in preparing and cooking food. However, there were Jews who did not observe the halakhic regulations very strictly.61 My information regarding Antep foods is mostly based on my interview with Deborah Cohen, who also published a book in Hebrew about Antep Jewish cuisine.

Social life, culture and collective memory 79 There was not a tradition to eat the meal with starters. All the cooked dishes were put on the table at once. However, foods like boiled potato or vegetable salad could be considered appetizers. Rice and especially bulgur was a must in the meal. Hemıt/Hamit, a meaty, juicy, sour dish cooked with vegetables, was one of the main courses. But during the visit of a guest Kibbe Hemda/ Hamda, rice balls fillet with meat cubes was cooked; otherwise, normally hemit was made.62 Lubiye (in Turkish lolaz) was cooked along with kibe hemda/hamda, okra or green beans, in the main meal at dinners (Figures 3.2 and 3.3). Since Jews did not cook on the Shabbat, they ate leftovers from the Shabbat night. Many sorts of meatball dishes occupied a wide space in the Gaziantep Jews’ cuisine. They include Kibbe Namusiye, roasted stuffed meatballs, Kibbe Ufa, meatballs stuffed with cracked wheat, and Kibbe Be’des/Ades, a kind of lentil patty. In addition, Kibbe Shebne, fatty balls, and Kibbe Ich, burghul salad, should be noted.63 One of the main courses during the Shabbat was Beyyêt, lamb stuffed with rice made in an earthenware pot under a low coal- or wood-burning heat during the whole Friday night till Shabbat morning. It was eaten as breakfast in the Shabbat morning when men came back from synagogue around ten or eleven o’clock. Beyyêt could be made in various ways, such as with chicken or potatoes. If cooked with potatoes, it was called Beyyêt Betate. A favorite dish of Friday lunches was Ecce/ Icce, fried meatballs cooked with a mixture of minced meat and eggs. They used to cook Cedre, lentils with rice, on Thursday as an instant meal before Friday. One of the known dishes made during the holidays, especially Pesah, was Sil İyyêm Eyyê, a kind of beet pastry, cooked with beet, onion and meat and baked in the oven after scrambling a few eggs on top. Lahmacin (in Turkish, lahmacun), known as Turkish pizza and usually made up of a round, thin piece of dough topped with ground lamb or beef, was eaten often on weekdays. Another dish was Bulgur Bislêvat, cooked meat cubes with chickpea wheat. Stuffed vegetables, such as Mihşem Şekel/Shekel, bulgur stuffed vine leaves or eggplants and green peppers, were cooked.64 On Sundays, they usually prepared mahlıta soup, made of cracked red lentil and wheat. Other sorts of soups were alaca, which could be prepared with red lentils and cracked wheat, legumes and dried tarragon; sirbeli soup, cooked with red lentils and parsley; lentil soup, cooked with red lentils and rice; and lebeniye, prepared with rice and yoghurt.65 Other foods in the cuisine of Gaziantep Jews were İcêbe Dunez, İcêb Cibnê, Mihşey Hamot and Mihşey Gidebik.66 The desserts peculiar to Gaziantep Jews’ cuisine were Rizıb ‘Asel, made with saffron, rice and honey; Rizıb Halib, milk pudding with rice; Greybê, a kind of cookie; Memul/Mamul, made of oily dough stuffed with walnuts, cinnamon and sugar and baked in the oven; Kahke, a kind of cookie; Knafeh (in Turkish Künefe or Kadayıf); Şırabbırt’en/Işrabbırt’en, orangeade, an orange-flavored drink prepared at home; and Şırabbıl Loz/Ishrabıl Loz, almond syrup, a special drink made only during holidays, weddings or circumcision feasts.67 Eastern Jews of Turkey kept their cuisine after emigrating to Israel. During one interview, an interviewee from Urfa prepared çiğ köfte, or steak tartar a la turca.

Figure 3.2 Lubiye (Turkish Lolaz) Before and After Cooking Photo Credit: Author.

Figure 3.3 Traditional Foods of Eastern Jews On the Left, Çiğ Köfte Made by Malke Yeşil from Urfa, 05.06.2012 Jerusalem Photo Credit: Author.

Social life, culture and collective memory 81 She also cooked lahmacin (lahmacun) in the oven at home. Another interviewee prepared içli köfte, meatballs stuffed with cracked wheat, in the course of a Shabbat dinner. Besides cooking traditional foods of the culture they lived in, Jews cooked the dishes peculiar to them as well. Şifte is a kind of meatball that was cooked only by Jews in Başkale. They continued to cook şifte in Israel. It is made of fried minced meat. Jews who emigrated from eastern Turkey have their own restaurants that are famous across Israel. They cook traditional foods of the lands they came from. Samuel Onurlu and his sons run a restaurant at the famous open market Mahane Yehuda in Jerusalem, which was established in the same quarter. Meir Miha, an Israeli-born Jew whose family is originally from Urfa, is running a restaurant called Pinati in the center of Jerusalem, where traditional foods are served as well. Eli Aslan Evi, another Israeli whose grandfather came to Israel in 1919 from Siverek, has a restaurant called Eldad Vezehoo in Jerusalem, with modern but also traditional recipes. Drinks consumed by the Eastern Jew included tea, coffee, homemade arak (Turkish Rakı) and wine. Since it was not appropriate to buy and drink outside, they usually consumed arak and wine in their homes.68

3.6 The family Jews were a small non-Muslim minority in the Muslim majority society in the east and southeast of Turkey. They lived in the same quarter, with houses facing each other. Their population was not very large. The smallest Jewish community consisted of at least 50 families; the biggest, between 150 and 200. Amos Karayazı described the Jewish families in Diyarbakır: It was a small community. We were talking about how that everybody was related to other people (each other), it was like a big family, and like a “Hamula” it was a big family. If someone made something, everybody would knew, you did not need to make something special to inform everybody. If one went, everybody knew that he had gone. Most of them were poor. The women wouldn’t work. They were housewives. Only a few people were rich. Maybe five families were rich, but not many.69 Similarly, the Jews of Siverek were not wealthy. Children after school helped their families to make a living. Yitzhak İşran’s family was one of those low-income families. Daniel Haseki mentioned similar traits of the families in Gaziantep. He said they had extended families, all Jews recognizing each other and almost everybody sharing a kinship. Accordingly, family members knew each other very well. A father could have an authoritarian air, but he was not distant to his sons or the rest of the family. Sons knew how their father would react, and vice versa. Brides and daughters helped their mothers at home.70 Jewish communities of Gaziantep mainly consisted of extended families.

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The majority of Jewish families in Diyarbakır lived under the same roof. Even if brothers got married, they continued to live in the same house. Brides lived side by side. The interviewee remembers the large extended family as having no quarrel or disputes. The father played an important role in uniting the whole family. Anat Keskin from Diyarbakır said: As far as I can remember, let’s say there were three kids in a family and all of them got married. A room was given to each one. Everybody in the family had a room under the same roof. They were not relinquishing the house. Father was sitting like an emperor and all the children were serving.71 Childhood When news broke that a woman was pregnant in Jewish families, the house would be filled with joy. In the fifth or seventh month of pregnancy, preparations were started for the new arrival among the Jewish families in Gaziantep. Then a small celebration named Sirbeli Günü (Sirbeli Day) was organized in the afternoon, and only Jewish women were invited. A sour soup called sirbeli was cooked for the pregnant woman. The same day, women sewed new clothes for the baby. Jews of Gaziantep called this sewing tradition zıbın kesmek (“snipping the snapsuit”, or cutting a piece of the baby’s snapsuit with scissors). A peaceful Jewish mother with children held the scissors for the initial cut. During the cutting, some gold coins were thrown on the first cut cloth to wish the baby wealth in life.72 Almost all the Jewish women in the east gave birth in their own house. Usually a midwife or an experienced older woman from the community helped with the deliveries. A midwife named Nene helped all the Jewish women of Başkale in childbirth. Therefore, midwife Nene was well-known among all the Jewish community of Başkale and she has not been forgotten yet in Israel.73 Most Jewish men preferred sons over daughters in eastern Turkey, though such bias is no longer expressed so openly. They desired that at least the first child should be a son, but the rest could be daughters. So, each family had plenty of children.74 The confinement period of a pregnant woman was 40 days. After the birth, the mother spent the first week in bed. And when a child got his first tooth, a ceremony was held in the traditional culture of Turkey, which is also common among the Eastern Jews. It is known as diş hediği, tooth wheat that was made of boiled hulled wheat. The eruption of the first tooth is believed to help the other teeth come in smoothly. On this occasion, a baby’s female family members invited other Jewish women in the community to their house to celebrate. They cooked and drained the wheat with chickpeas. They prepared baklava, cookies, pies and other foods to eat. After the wheat was cooked, they put it on a plate and garnished it with granulated sugar, peanuts, walnuts and almonds. It was believed that tooth wheat would bring the baby a healthy and long life, as well as fertility and good breeding to his/her mother.75 During the tooth wheat celebration, objects such as scissors, money and a book were put on a silver bowl, or preferably, a tray, for the baby to pick one. It was

Social life, culture and collective memory 83 believed that the baby would determine his future occupation by picking one of those objects. If the baby picked the scissors, it meant that he would be a tailor or fashion designer; if he chose the book, he would likely get a higher education and become successful; if he chose the money, he would become a merchant or engage in trade.76 After cooking the wheat, Jews of Urfa went to the Balıklıgöl, Fish Lake, and threw it to the fish. Among the Jews of Başkale, the person who first saw the child’s tooth must buy a gift for the baby. Besides women, all relatives – uncles, aunts, fathers and grandfathers – were invited to the tooth wheat celebrations.77 In Leviticus: “God spoke to Moses, telling him to speak to the Israelites: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a boy . . . on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12: 1–13). Circumcisions were done by the mohel, the ritual circumciser who performs the rite of Brit Milah, covenant of circumcision, on the eighth day at home. Usually it was done by the haham, or the rabbi, who at the same time was the mohel or Shochet at some places. Yona Ben Rahamim, last rabbi of the Jews of Başkale, served 70 years as haham, mohel and Shochet. His son Avigdor stated that his father had circumcised more than 2,000 Jewish boys during his service not only in Başkale but also in neighboring cities such as Urmiye in today’s Iran.78 Brit Mila was rarely done in the synagogue in Diyarbakır. Haham Pinhas was both the mohel and Shochet. Amos Karayazı stated there was a time when a mohel came from Mosul or Zaho in Iraq to Diyarbakır before Haham Pinhas. Muslim neighbors used to visit them after the circumcision and they brought gifts for the baby. Shimon Cankatan from Diyarbakır mentioned that it was not important if someone did not come to a wedding or any other ceremony. However, all Jews had to participate in the Brit Mila ritual. If someone was missing in the synagogue, it was noticed and people thought that the person had disobeyed God’s order. Therefore, everybody attended the Brit Mila in Diyarbakır, with children drinking soup after the circumcision. Almost all Jewish children joined the fun. Together, they repeated the Arabic phrase Allahi helliyu işi ribbiyu (“God will keep him and save him”) to congratulate the boy. After that, special soup prepared for the circumcision ceremony was served.79 Orange syrup and Şirabbıl Loz/Israb-il Loz, made of almond syrup, were also served along with cakes during the circumcisions in Gaziantep, especially on holidays and at weddings. Before the circumcision, candles were lit in a tray held by a young girl to bring her good fortune. People who came for the Brit Milah lit a candle to make a wish and then candles were blown out with the Kiddush, sanctified wine, at the end of the circumcision ceremony. Then, all Jews attending the ceremony contributed money. They put in 10 Turkish liras and got back 5 liras. They kept these 5 liras for a long time in their pocket since it was believed that they would bring wealth. At the end of the event, the circumcised boy’s father or mother’s side would have a considerable amount of money on the tray. All money collected was donated to the synagogue or someone who needed it in the Jewish community. Usually, circumcisions took place at home, with a few exceptions. A mohel began to come from Istanbul in the last years of the Jews of

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Gaziantep, before their emigration. There was a custom of holding the baby on the knees while the mohel performed the Brit Milah, called kabod among the Jews of Gaziantep. The baby’s father’s side always held the baby during the circumcision. Even if the father had ten boys, every time it was his father who would hold the baby, said Susan Çetin from Gaziantep. Today this tradition holds only for the first boy’s circumcision.80 The tradition can be found among other Eastern Jewish communities in a ceremony known as Sandek, a companion of the child holding the baby during the Brit Milah, done for example by the Jews of Siverek. However, in some cases it evolved into Muslim’s circumcision custom kirve, where the man who acts as a sort of godfather holds the boy at his circumcision. Yitzhak İşran from the Jews of Siverek pointed out that Simon Tov’s kirve was a Muslim; however, he could not recall his name.81 None of the interviewees mentioned Bar Mitzvah, the adolescence ceremony. In his study Naim Güleryüz decribed the Bar Mitzvah ceremony among the Jews of Gaziantep. He stated that since all the dates of birth were registered by the rabbi, he would remind the father of the boys who reached the age for a Bar Mitzvah. There was no Bat Mitzvah tradition for the girls among the Eastern Jews of Turkey.82 Marriage Marriage among Eastern Jews occurred at an early period in life – at 14 or 15 years for girls and 17 or 18 for boys. Since Jewish communities were small and people lived in the same quarter, everybody knew each other and tended to be related. Therefore, there were not any girlfriend-boyfriend relationships among the Eastern Jews. On the occasion of weddings, family visits or holidays, boys and girls could see each other. A boy expressed his intent about the prospective bride to his parents. After his family approved, a respected person undertook the mediator role between the two families to ask for the girl’s hand. Usually, the mediator was a respected person in the Jewish community and it was an honor for him to take this responsibility. Parents also took into consideration the boy’s and girl’s opinions. After both families agreed to the union, Erusin, the engagement, was celebrated at the girl’s house. Depending on the family’s request, sometimes kiddushin, dedication of the bride to groom, could take place during the engagement ceremony. Only an authorized rabbi designated by Beth Din, the rabbinical court of chief rabbinate of Turkey, could break this agreement to make fiancés legally separated.83 After receiving consent of the daughter for the marriage, dowry and wedding arrangements would start. The drahoma, which is also known as dowry, would be given to the groom by the bride’s parents; the trousseau for the bride would be discussed in advance. Drahoma could be a property or a payment in cash or gold. The trousseau consisted of basic household goods, such as mattresses, bed linens, towels, a blanket, rugs and dresses. If the bride could not afford to pay the promised drahoma, the wedding would be delayed. The trousseau was exhibited at the bride’s house for one week before the wedding.84

Social life, culture and collective memory 85 Weddings usually took place on Friday nights among the Eastern Jews. Generally, the ceremony was held in the courtyard of the groom’s house. Families that did not have large-enough yards could use the courtyards of wealthy Jews’ houses. Before the wedding, it was a common tradition to go to hammam for the Gelin Banyosu, or bride’s bath. Usually, all the women of the bride’s family went to the hammam to bathe. Sometimes, women from the groom’s family would accompany them. A woman would pack the bags of the bride and all the other women before going. The hammam was not only a bathing place but also a recreation space for the women before the wedding ceremony. The groom and his friends went to the hammam as well. They were entertained with food, music and dance. On the eve of the wedding, a henna night was organized at the bride’s home.85 Jews of Başkale did not have weddings on Shabbat. Marriages would start at age 16 for girls and 18 for boys, after they completed their military service. Sometimes boys asked for the girl’s hand before conscription, with the marriage taking place after he returned from doing military service. The groom’s parents and close family members could participate in asking for the girl’s hand. Jews never left alone the Chatan, the groom, for eight days after getting married. Two close friends of the groom, called Gariban, meaning destitute, accompanied him during that period. One stood on the groom’s right, the other on his left, when he took a walk outside. They looked after him, serving and hanging out together during the day until he went to sleep. If they left him alone even for a moment, they would be punished. The groom was finally released on the eighth day after his marriage. Similar to the Jews of Gaziantep, the trousseau of the bride was exhibited at her house for seven days before the wedding. When she entered the groom’s house on their wedding day, the groom went up to the roof and threw an apple toward the bride’s head to welcome her into his life. According to the interviewees, the Jews of Başkale had no tradition of dowry. Avigdor Şekerci said these Jews heard about the drahoma for the first time when they went to Istanbul.86 Jews of Diyarbakır used to get married on Fridays. Engagements and wedding ceremonies took place in the yards of their houses. Some families did the kiddushin in the synagogue but most occurred in their homes. Ruth Levy from Diyarbakır said they had Nedunya, possessions which the bride brings to the groom in the marriage. Usually it was not money but property or household goods. Amos Karayazı, a Jew from Diyarbakır, stated, “The girl’s family should do Nedunya”. The groom, meanwhile, used to give money to the bride’s family. Joseph Dag’s father gave Tzedakah, charity, instead of giving money. Girls were married at the age of 14 and the boys at 16. Anat Keskin’s mother was 13 years old when she got married. Similar to other Jews, weddings took place in the house’s courtyards. They used to live together under the same roof. Even after the marriage, grooms did not abandon the house. Similar to the Jews of Başkale, two close friends accompanied the groom like bodyguards for seven days after the marriage to take care of and serve him. Shimon Cankatan from Diyarbakır, pointed out that his mother married when she was a small child. He described this situation in broken Turkish:

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Social life, culture and collective memory My father had previously been married to someone else before he married my mother. His ex-wife passed away and left behind two orphaned kids. The late wife also was my mother’s relative. My grandfather used to work with my father and he let my mother marry my father primarily to take care of the kids. Seemingly, she lived for three or four years as a married woman. However, he married her in the real sense when she grew up. Namely, she lived in the house for three or four years to raise the children. When my father went somewhere or took a walk outside, he used to carry my mother on his back as she was a child.87

Shimon Cankatan said his father was an interesting man compared to the other Jews of Diyarbakır. His father did not allow any of the children – sons or daughters – to leave the house after marriage. If a son got married, the father would allot rooms of their big house to him. He let the daughters marry on condition that the prospective groom agreed to live in their house. If he did not accept, the father would not let the daughter marry him. Another community that scheduled weddings on Friday was the Jews of Urfa. Wedding ceremonies took place in the garden. On Thursday, the day before the wedding, men used to go the hammam early in the morning, while the bride and other Jewish women went in the evening. A barber accompanied the groom to shave him. They sang a song when the barber came. It was in Arabic. Yoseph Yeşil could not remember the original words but he remembered its Turkish version: Bekle berber bekle!! Bütün akrabalar gelsin Ondan sonra çal . . .88 They had a tradition of drahoma as well. Yoseph Yeşil said Jews who had a lot of daughters and were without enough money suffered. They could not marry off their daughters until they had enough money to afford the drahoma. Girls and boys were married at an early age, when they were 17 or 18. However, some boys got married after completing their military service. Since boys and girls could not date alone, shadchan, the matchmaker or marriage broker, played an important role in introducing them with the recommendation of their families. Cemil Mizrahi was the shadchan of the Jewish community in Urfa as well as a mohel. He was a respected person. He believed that he had been fulfilling a blessed pursuit. After a match was confirmed by both sides, prospective couples met a number of times under the eye of their parents until they gained a sense that they would make a well-suited couple. The week after the wedding, the groom and bride almost did not have any chance to be alone. Similar to other Jewish communities, for seven days after the wedding, a close friend of the groom called shushvin, the best man, accompanied him. Shushvin used to serve the groom and provide whatever he needed. In the case of Urfa, shushvin usually supported the groom after the wedding, but not before.89

Social life, culture and collective memory 87 The marriage customs of the Jews of Siverek were similar to the Jews of Urfa and Diyarbakır. Since they were living in a small quarter, all the Jewish girls and boys could see each other. Upon the agreement of both families, boys and girls were engaged. The interval between the engagement and wedding was two or three months. On the eve of the wedding, a henna night was organized in the bride’s house. The marriage age was 14, 15 or 16 for girls, and 20 for boys.90 For the Jews of Gaziantep, weddings were usually held on Friday nights. However, because of violation of the Shabbat, they started to celebrate on Sundays.91 Marriage age was 15 and 16 for girls and 20 or 21 for boys. Boyfriend and girlfriend relationships were not allowed in Antep. Parents would not let engaged couples go outside alone. If they went outside or somewhere else, they would be accompanied by the bride-to-be’s sister. After the boy and girl saw each other, and with the agreement of both families, the engagement and wedding arrangements were decided, including the dowry and girl’s trousseau. The groom’s dowry and the content of the girl’s trousseau were discussed in the course of asking for the girl’s hand. If the bride’s father did not have enough money to cover the dowry payment, the wedding could be delayed. It was customary at the engagement ceremony to put a piece of jewelry and a golden chain, which was 20 carats and three meters in length, on the bride, and to place a golden bracelet on the groom with his name on it.92 The trousseau used to be exhibited for a week in the bride’s house before the wedding. Usually on the trousseau day, all Jewish women were invited, and linens, towels, tablecloths, needlework and clothes were exhibited and lunch served. At the end of the week, the groom’s family came to take all the items in the trousseau from the bride’s house. The wedding ceremony took place in the courtyard. Weddings lasted for a whole week, with different events. The henna night was arranged at the bride’s house. The wedding was considered incomplete without going to the hammam for the mikveh, the bride’s bath. It was also customary for the groom to go to the hammam before the wedding.93 The function of the mediator should be noted in the weddings of the Gaziantep Jewish community. In a sense, the mediator made the marriage happen. Similar to the shadchan of the Jews of Urfa, Yusuf Benzeç was the intermediary of the Antep Jewish community, and a respected elder Jew. As mentioned earlier, since the Jewish communities were small, usually the boy and the girl knew each other. After the boy explained his intent of marriage to his family, the mediator became involved. Elisabeth Haseki stated the following about the role of the Yusuf Benzeç in her marriage: All Jews loved and respected him. For example, my father knew my fatherin-law directly. However, he did not come to ask my hand directly from my father. The intermediary came to my father and said: What do you say if they come to ask for Elisabeth’s hand to Daniel? Then, my father asked my opinion, and when I confirmed, they came to ask my hand. This is how it worked.94

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After getting the consent of the prospective bride to marry, discussions about the engagement and wedding arrangements began with the agreement of both families. Elisabeth Haseki also pointed out that sometimes a covenant, kiddushin, was given in the asking for the girl’s hand, which is called Misi Kinyan in Arabic among the Jews of Antep. The bride-to-be’s uncle, Haham Musa Arkadaş, who was also the rabbi of the Jewish community, arranged the Misi Kinyan between the couples. Misi Kinyan occurred between the fathers of both sides under the leadership of the rabbi. They made a promise to each other that the asking of the girl’s hand would end in marriage, holding two sides of a white handkerchief. Jews considered the Misi Kinyan to be equivalent to marriage, and it was not easy to break this covenant.95 Jews of Gaziantep used to get married according to the religious rules. However, after the proclamation of the Republic, civil marriage became compulsory. Since marriage was solemnized at the municipality, the official marriage was called Belediye Nikahı. A civil servant conducted the ceremony, along with two witnesses invited by the groom. After the official wedding, the religious marriage took place. The ketubbah, a contract that outlined the rights and obligations of the groom to the bride, was written by the rabbi and given to the bride’s mother after the prayer. The groom then crushed a glass under his foot and he was called up for an aliyah, ascendance or going up, in the synagogue. The day before the wedding, Jews cooked traditional kosher foods to eat during the wedding ceremony. They had a special beverage called şirabil loz to drink after such special celebrations. A couple of days after the wedding celebration, Jewish women waited for a call from the groom’s mother to have coffee. They called it Işrıb/Şırıb Kahve in Arabic. At that time, a bedsheet was shown to the women, symbolizing the pureness and chastity of the bride.96 Muslim friends, neighbors and co-workers were invited to the civil marriage as well. Elisabeth Haseki used to work at a bank and she invited her colleagues to her wedding in Gaziantep.97 A few interreligious marriages with Muslims took place among the Eastern Jews. Yoel Aslan from Diyarbakır said: His sister, Zilfa, fell in love with a Muslim boy at the age of thirteen or fourteen. It was Zilfa’s own decision. Zilfa converted to Islam and became a Muslim and then she married the boy (whom they thought might be a soldier doing his military service in Diyarbakır). After the marriage, the couple moved to Gaziantep.98 Yoel Aslan and his family never heard about his sister after this. In another case Eliyahu İlim from Başkale mentioned about that: A Muslim boy fell in love with a Jewish girl in Başkale and ran away with her in 1962. When her family learned about it, they took her back. The boy came with dozens of people from his family to retrieve her from her house. The two got married.99

Social life, culture and collective memory 89 And he was told the woman lived in the city Van and had more than seven children.100 There are some other intermarriage stories as well. First, a couple of Jews converted to Islam of their own will before 1962 in Başkale. Secondly, a poor Jewish girl named Leyla was called Saz kızı, band girl, by the Jews of Gaziantep since she was working in the Saz place, an entertaining venue, where Turkish classical music was performed. According to Deborah Cohen: The girl ran away with a young Muslim man who played the zither in that Saz place. They eventually married. Since Leyla was an observant Jew, she always went to the synagogue to pray, kept the Shabbat and fasted on Yom Kippur.101 Divorces were rare among the Eastern Jews. Avigdor Şekerci from Başkale stated that: Due to incompatibility of temperament, a Jewish man wanted to divorce in Başkale. However, his father, the rabbi, did not allow this on the grounds that there was no reason for divorce.102 Nevertheless, his father wrote a letter in Hebrew to Rafael Saban, Chief Rabbi of Turkey in Istanbul, to seek his advice. In his response letter, the Chief Rabbinate expressed that “Rabbi of the Başkale Jewish community is the executive in the divorce. His decision should be respected”. After that, the rabbi allowed the divorce.103 Status of women Behavioral patterns of Eastern Jewish women in Turkey were largely shaped by tradition, customs and religion. They were influenced not only by the Islamic society they lived within, but also by the level of income of women in the community. The Jewish communities were based on a patriarchal family system just like their Muslim neighbors. Women were not inferior, but they were not equal either. The majority of Jewish women had to cover their head and wear a veil and a cloak to cover their body outside their homes. Furthermore, they were not allowed to go to the market or other public spaces alone; usually a boy or a man accompanied them.104 In his memoirs, Harun Bozo from Urfa says that “Women used to be afraid to go alone because they would be stoned if they went out into the streets alone”.105 The majority of Eastern Jewish women were housewives. While the domain of men was outside, the women’s domain was limited to the interior of her home, the courtyard, mikveh, ritual bath and synagogue during the High Holidays. The primary duties of Jewish women in the east were childbearing, housework and serving family members. There was a distribution of work among women living in the same house. Usually, the younger women cleaned the house while the older

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ones cooked. Laundry, cleaning the house, cooking, taking care of the children and drying vegetables for the winter took up most of their time.106 There were certain days for drying foods among the Jewish women of Gaziantep. There was one day for preparing tomato paste, one for red pepper paste, another day for eggplant and so forth. They also had a special day for preparing vermicelli. It was not easy for one family to do all this, and women from two or three families worked together.107 Handmade needlework was also important to Jewish women. It was customary for women to keep all handicrafts for the trousseau to show other Jewish women before the wedding, as evidence of their skills. To make kosher wine, some Jewish women washed and boiled grapes collected from vineyards around the city. Rakı, called arak by the Jews, was distilled and bottled by women.108 Anat Keskin’s grandmother, who is Meir Güzel’s wife, raised three children in Diyarbakır by selling arak after her husband passed away at an early age.109 The majority of Eastern Jewish women were illiterate. Since their workload and duties were focused mostly on the home, society tended to consider study unnecessary for women. However, there were some exceptions among the Gaziantep Jewish community after the years 1960–1965. Some Jewish women who graduated from high school worked as bank clerks and one as a primary school teacher. Additionally, Jewish women in Gaziantep were more modern in terms of living conditions and the way of dressing when compared to other Jewish women in the east.110 Furthermore, young Jewish girls and boys organized home parties and dance parties together in Gaziantep. They also performed plays to the Jewish community, but not to the general public. Relations between Jewish and Muslim women were quite good. They visited each other’s homes frequently. Because most Jewish women were illiterate and stayed at home, their domain was very limited when compared to that of men. While women were not considered “inferior” to men, they performed a secondary role in the Jewish community.111

3.7 Synagogues “We were devout Jews while in Turkey”, said an interviewee from the Başkale Jewish community. In general, the religion of Eastern Jews was mostly based on the oral transmission of received Judaic practices and customs. They kept the tradition they had inherited from their ancestors. If the father attended services in the synagogue, the children would go along. If the mother spent her time doing housework, the children would do the same. Attendance at synagogue among Eastern Jews was not regular since they had to work hard to make a living. However, during the High Holidays and Shabbat, the synagogues were very crowded. Men, women and children gathered in the synagogues during services. Religious and spiritual life was centered on the synagogues and the Talmud Torah. Many could not read the Hebrew prayers. After emigrating to Israel, the level of practicing the services and the impact of religious obligations diminished in importance among new generation Jews.112 Traveler Rabbi Joseph Israel Benjamin confirmed the same religious circumstances of Eastern Jews in his visit to the region between

Social life, culture and collective memory 91 Table 3.1 Synagogues in the East According to Travelers’ Accounts City

Synagogue

Gaziantep Şanlıurfa Diyarbakır Çermik Mardin Cizre Başkale Siverek

1 2 1 1 1 1* 1 1

Source: D’Beth Hillel, Israel Joseph (Benjamin II) *Based on interviewees’ information.

the years 1824–1832. He pointed out the ignorance of Jews regarding religious matters and said that only a few could read the Torah and write in Hebrew.113 Jews used to live in their own neighborhoods. There were one or two synagogues in the Jewish quarter based on population. Haham, the rabbi, led the ritual prayers in the synagogue. Synagogues occupied a central place in the Jews’ life, not only offering religious services but also serving as a school for Jewish children (Table 3.1).114 Due to a lack of written documents, we do not know exactly where each synagogue in the east was built. However, at least their locations were known. Gaziantep Synagogue was located on Kasap Street in the old Düğmeci (today Karagöz) quarter, known also as Yahudi mahallesi, the Jewish neighborhoods. It is located in the south of the citadel of Gaziantep. According to interviewees, the Jewish community of Antep was based in the alleys of the old town and had a large, magnificent synagogue, which still exists but is in ruins. It consisted of a courtyard with a large water basin, a low arched entrance door, and a central service hall. An octagonal stage built of stone was located at the center of the prayer hall, with basalt stairs leading to it. There was a wooden box on the stage, where the Torah scrolls were placed. The synagogue complex is built entirely of ashlars, and some black stones were incorporated to decorate the stairs.115 It is not clear when the synagogue was built. Shaul Toval states in his travel notes of 1977 that he saw the inscription ‘1866’ on the edge of the well and ‘1875’ on the Ehal, a five-sided pyramid-shaped chamber made of stone resting against the wall behind.116 Interviewees from the Gaziantep Jewish community suggested the synagogue could hold between 300 and 400 people. However, Shaul Toval said it could hold up to 500 people, including the women’s section.117 Women went to the synagogue to observe the services from the women’s gallery behind a wooden rail, not to be seen by men. Each family had a seat in the synagogue, and the Jews were careful not to sit in someone else’s seat. When they saw an empty seat during the prayer, they knew who was absent.118

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To the east of the synagogue’s prayer hall there is a construction smaller than the hall. It has an opening in the front and windows on both sides. Additionally, it has a hall with a ceiling made of wooden girders placed on the walls and two stone arches. This part of the synagogue was the Talmud Torah, a kind of elementary school where children are instructed in religious education. Jewish families sent their children to the Talmud Torah to learn Jewish history, the Bible and the fundamentals of Judaism before starting a public school education. Similar to Talmud Torah, there was heder, a one-room elementary school for early education in other eastern cities such as Urfa, Diyarbakır and Başkale. Children learned Hebrew in heder within the synagogue from the haham. Only boys would attend the lessons. Girls were educated under their mother’s supervision at home. Jewish families sent their children to Talmud Torah and heder when they were three to six years old. Between the years 1935 and 1937, Turkish authorities took over public institutions, including mosques and synagogues, for the use of soldiers. A military unit settled in the synagogue with its horses and caused great damage to the structure. The stones fell off the wall and the synagogue’s roof crumbled.119 Interestingly, in April 2005, thieves attempted to steal the wide entrance gate to the courtyard. The criminals were arrested and the historical Iron Gate was returned to the Gaziantep Museum Directorate. When the Regional Directorate of Foundations wanted to replace the gate, one wing was missing. It had been mistakenly sold as scrap to the İskenderun Iron and Steel factory to be melted.120 Despite that, the current mayor, Dr. Asım Güzelbey, who has been a friend of Jewish families since his childhood, initiated a renovation of the synagogue with the support of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the state minister responsible for Foundations Bülent Arınç under the patronage of Gaziantep’s Directorate of General Foundations.121 The restoration of the synagogue started in May 2011 and was completed in June 2012. After the completion of the restoration, Gaziantep University took over its administration in March 2013, since there were no Jews left in Gaziantep. The university has run it as a cultural center open to the public. Representatives of Gaziantep University emphasized that they would treat favorably the request of Jews of Gaziantep to conduct religious ceremonies at any time they wanted.122 The Diyarbakır Synagogue is located in the old Arap Şeyh quarter, Yahudi Street, Number 21 (Hasırlı quarter, Küçükbahçecik Street, No: 21, situated behind the Arap Şey Mosque).123 We have not come across any information regarding the date of its construction, though it underwent repair in 1840.124 In 1880, Jacob Obermeyer passed through the city and described the Jews and their synagogue.125 He mentioned an ancient synagogue in Diyarbakır whose construction date was inscribed, in a Hebrew calendar, 5426 (1565 CE), on the wall. He noted that this synagogue had a Torah written on parchment dated 1130. It also had Maimonides’ book, Yad Hahazaka, written on parchment in 5145 (1385 CE) and an inscription in the book showed that it had been dedicated to the Jewish community of Mardin. When Benjamin Behor Yosef, a well-known bibliophile from Istanbul, heard about the manuscript, he went to Diyarbakır and bought some ancient religious books, including the one of Maimonides. He sold the book to a bookseller in Vienna.126 Joseph Niego went to eastern Turkey on behalf of Alliance Israélite Universelle and presented a report about the

Social life, culture and collective memory 93 Jews in the region. This report was published in French and translated into Hebrew.127 In the report, Niego described the Diyarbakır Synagogue: The synagogue of the Jewish community is exempt from all taxes, it has three parts, a closed praying room where men sit on the ground on mats, a courtyard where they pray in summer and a large room used as Talmud Torah where the children study. The Synagogue’s wall has three inscribed stones, two have the names of two Gabbais who served the community, and the third has the name Moses Montifiore, who had sent 100 pounds for maintenance of the synagogue.128 According to interviewees, the synagogue could hold between 150 and 200 people. The synagogue complex had a large courtyard, a stone structure that served as the prayer hall and in it, a row of basalt pillars. At the back, there were water holes that also served as a women’s mikveh. On the other side of the courtyard were rooms that served as kuttab rooms, with similar missions of heder and Talmud Torah. It was primarily used for Jewish children to learn Hebrew and Judaism.129 Ruth Levy from Diyarbakır remembered that: Boys were going to the Kuttab to learn how to write and read, they used to study in the Kuttab, a part of the synagogue. My father went to the Kuttab and learned how to read and write Torah. I remember a messenger who came from Israel and brought some Kipas. They (Jews of Diyarbakir) did not know the Kipas. They used to wear “Kasket” like a hat. They used to struggle to have one of these Kipas, because their number is limited.130 I have been told that the synagogue was demolished. However, according to an article authored by Resul Çatalbaş, the synagogue was recently used as a residence.131 Igal Israel, in his visit to Diyarbakır nearly two decades ago, mentioned ruins of the synagogue.132 He found some remnants, which could be piece of basalt pillars that probably belonged to the prayer hall. The building’s façade, facing a wide street to the east, was completely destroyed. Above the gate and behind the layers of plaster, he found a builder’s inscription. The inscription had a few lines and it was worn with time and later whitewashed. Despite his efforts, he could only recognize a few Hebrew letters. The inscription could include the name of the builders and a dedication. When he returned after several years, the alley and walls no longer existed. Igal Israel noted that when the last Jews left the Diyarbakır in 1948, they turned a dry water hole in the courtyard of the synagogue complex into a genizah and placed there most of the Bibles and other religious articles they couldn’t take with them. This habit of burying Bibles and other religious articles was an age-old tendency in Jewish communities. The main reason was fear that these objects would be found by the local people, who would desecrate and destroy them. Perhaps someday the synagogue complex will be dug out and reconstructed, and this genizah might be found.133 During his visit to Diyarbakır, the traveler Benjamin II pointed out that the Prophet Elijah was believed to have declared his prophecy in the Synagogue of

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Diyarbakir134 (Benjamin II, 1859, pp. 59–60). The corner where the Prophet Elijah appeared is kept closed and revered not only by Jews but also by the believers of other faiths. He reported an ancient Torah scroll that was found in Diyarbakır. The sacred scroll had been brought first from Nisibin to Mardin and from there to Diyarbakır due to looting and robbery. The scroll, written in Assyrian characters, formerly belonged to the Jewish community of Nisibin (today Nusaybin), but was taken to the Mardin due to attacks by robbers. The Jews of Nisibin believed that this relic came from the Academy of Rabbi Yehuda Ben Batira and according to their tradition, it was written by Ezra, the scribe. It was moved to Diyarbekir due to a continued lack of security in Mardin. This manuscript is shown once a year on the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on the table Shulchan and all faithful people kiss it and show their deepest respect. Afterwards, the Jews of Diyarbakir did not want to return the book to its original owners.135 The synagogue of the Çermik Jewish community is located on a street corner made with black and white ashlar. The building has a courtyard with a well. It is surrounded by a stone wall with a main gate, which has an ashlar frame and

Figure 3.4 Inscription on the Wall of Çermik Synagogue Translation: Kahat, Amu, Asu You are welcome when entering and blessed When leaving the building. The synagogue tuvalna. With joy and happiness you will come. Mt (49?) in the hall of the king. And God will be merciful Courtesy of İrfan Yıldız, 2010s.

Social life, culture and collective memory 95 a wooden door, and a secondary entrance with a wooden door facing the other street. The synagogue hall has two parts, divided by a row of wooden pillars with arcs, built of alternating black and white ashlar. Above each pillar, near the arcs carrying the ceiling beams, there’s a round opening. The prayer hall has two entrances, the main one leading to the courtyard, and a second one in the northern wall, leading to a small room built of stone and mud.136 Above the entrance door to the prayer hall there is an inscription written in Hebrew letters, seven lines long (Figure 3.4).137 .‫עשו‬, ‫עמו‬, ‫כהט‬ ‫ברוך אתה בבאך וברוך‬ .‫אתה בצאתך גמר בניין‬ .‫בית הכנסיה ש‘ תובלנה‬ .‫בשמחות וגיל תבאינה‬ .‫מט בהיכל מלך‬ ‫ואל שדי יהיו לכם רחמים‬ The inscription starts with the words kahat, amu, asu, appearing on the first line. They are an acronym of a verse from the book of Psalms: “my help comes from God, maker of skies and earth”. This acronym is taken from the Jewish charm world, and it is meant to protect the synagogue and those entering it. The word tuvalna is the year they finished building the synagogue, 1872.138 The center of religious life of the Jewish community was the synagogue in Urfa. It was located between two Jewish neighborhoods in the old city of Urfa. The synagogue had a courtyard, an indoor prayer hall for winter, a water source and another courtyard, where there were two rooms that served as a kuttab. Jewish children would go to the kuttab at an early age. They would stay to learn for at least four hours but sometimes the entire day. If the family struggled with finances, boys would have to leave the kuttab and help their family make a living.139 The floor of the synagogue was covered with mats and carpets, where the service attendants would sit. In the middle of the hall, there was a wooden box where the Torah and other religious books were kept. Yoseph Niego arrived in Urfa in 1905 and gave descriptions of the synagogue similar to the interviewees: The community has an indoor synagogue for prayer in the winter, to the left there is a wide courtyard used in summer, and to the right a second courtyard with two rooms for studying the Torah. There are three kuttabs, in Urfa, and the number of students is about a hundred. Only a few children learn the Hebrew alphabet, other than that, no Turkish and no Arabic and no history and no mathematics, no general studies and no other language, local or foreign.140 The synagogue was abandoned and shut down after the last Jews of Urfa left the city. After a while, some local families divided the synagogue among them and turned the buildings and the kuttab into residences. According to Harun Bozo and his report of the last condition of the synagogue in his memoirs, Nesim Binler gave

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the governor of Urfa the keys of the synagogue and asked that it be well looked after. But it was not, and today local people have occupied it. He noted that if the Jews applied to officials, they could get the synagogue back.141 Of all the Bible books and other sacred materials that used to be in the synagogue, two Bibles were brought to Israel, and they are now in the Urfali (Jews from Urfa) community synagogue. Besides, a Bible case considered to have originated in Urfa is in the Israel Museum.142 There was the synagogue complex, which had a stone structure with a balcony, which served as the Siverek community synagogue in the Jewish quarter. The house of the haham and the Jewish family homes were located nearby. During World War II, the local authorities turned the synagogue’s great hall into a storeroom for the cavalry. When the war ended, the authorities returned it to the Jewish community. There is not much information regarding the Mardin synagogue in the archives. In addition to that, Igal Israel in his research143 describes the synagogue as halfdestroyed, with the ruined façade of the construction partially opened. The entrance had an old, tin-covered wooden gate. A narrow hallway lined with rooms led to a large courtyard, with a well in its center. The synagogue had a few other rooms, and others were ruined. He noted that it was possible that the prayer hall might be in the ruined part of the complex. The door to the supposed prayer hall, which is made of wood, remained, as well as some of the mezuzahs. The entrance door opened into the stone courtyard and in front of it is the well, which collected runoff water. On the lintel and the wall of one of the rooms opening into the hallway, two Hebrew inscriptions were carved into the stone. Similar to the other eastern synagogues, we do not have any written documents about the accurate establishment date of Başkale Synagogue. According to Avigdor Şekerci, his father Yona Ben Rahamim, the last rabbi of the Başkale Jewish community, founded the synagogue at the beginning of the nineteenth century.144 Avigdor Şekerci said: There was not any synagogue in Başkale until his father emigrated to the city from Urmiye. He established the synagogue after he became a rabbi by the ratification of the chief rabbinate of Urmiye.145 His father was 97 years old when he died in 1953. Due to the post-war conditions of 1946–1947 a military unit dwelled in the synagogue for a long time. The Jewish community could not pray for a while. In the end, his father and the community decided to construct a new one. So, they left the old synagogue to the military and started to pray in the newly built synagogue at the Kale mahallesi, the Jewish quarter. Both synagogues were made of adobe bricks. The former was larger than the latter in terms of capacity. Both synagogues had one floor, with wide courtyards and a well whose water came from the Başkale castle.146 Today, some local people use the synagogue as residences.147 Joseph Niego described the Cizre synagogue in his visit to the city in 1906.148 He reported that the synagogue had one door, so low one must stop in order to

Social life, culture and collective memory 97

Figure 3.5 The Well: Last Remnant from Cizre Synagogue

enter. It was carved into the rock with arches and pillars with no design; a niche carved into the rock served as the Ark of the Torah and that’s where the Bibles were. The local Jews claimed that the synagogue was ancient, from the time of Ezra. Some said the place was built during the Muslim persecutions, when the Jews had to hide their faith. The last apprentice of a Jewish shoemaker of Cizre, the late Sabriyê Sê Keko, guided me around the Jewish quarter and showed me the synagogue location. The synagogue had been destroyed and a new apartment constructed over the ruins. We found a deep and long well in the basement of the apartment as a last remnant from the Cizre synagogue (Figure 3.5). The rabbi Rabbi, which derived from the word Rav, means “great or distinguished in classical Judaism”. Later, it used to mean “my master” in Hebrew. A rabbi is a sage, scholar or a master of the Torah who renders judgments based upon Jewish law.149 The rabbi is known as haham, wise or sage, among the Eastern Jews of Turkey. A haham did not have to be a scholar of Talmudic Law as in classical Judaism among the Eastern Jews. They acted mostly as a synagogue functionary, for example, leading the prayer and worship services. The other main duties of rabbis in the east included delivering sermons, teaching children, acting as a judge in civil cases and supervising religious institutions, such as ritual slaughter.150 The haham, who was

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the teacher of the kuttab and was usually the one to read the Torah and serve as the prayer leader, lived with his family in a house belonging to the community, which was usually next to the synagogue complex or in front of it. In other cases, he lived in the complex itself. As far as I have learned from the interviewees, haham was not funded by the community since he had another job that allowed him to make a living. People who served as Shochet, hazzan or mohel were called haham by the Jewish community in a show of respect.151 Hahams had multiple duties. They often were also the Shochet and hazzan. Shalom Yemin pointed out that the haham of the Diyarbakır Jewish community in 1908 was Pinhas Ben Yaakov Levi, a 30- to 32-year-old. He was both a Shochet and a hazzan.152 Ustad Hayim Levy was the last rabbi/haham of the Diyarbakır Jewish community before they left the city in the 1950s. He taught Jewish Hebrew and read Torah to children in the kuttab.153 Shimon Cankatan shared one of his memories with Ustad Hayim: We were very naughty children. Often we made fun of the Ustad Hayim. We were learning on the mats in the kuttab. We would bring needles from our homes to put on the haham’s mat. He would not notice and he would suddenly leap up when he sat. So, he would get very angry with us and punish us.154 Even after emigrating, Ustad Hayim served as haham of the Jews of Diyarbakır in Israel. Similarly, Yona ben Rahamim Yener served 70 years both as a haham and a Shochet in Başkale. He led all religious rituals that took place within the community, such as praying in the synagogue, teaching Torah, and performing weddings and circumcisions. Moreover, Jews of Adana invited Yona Ben Rahamim to become their haham. However, he did not want to leave his own community and declined.155 Interestingly, except for the interviewees of Jews of Başkale, I did not hear anything about amulets. Haham Yona was preparing amulets for the community members. According to his son Avigdor Şekerci: Sir!! Haham, I am scared, I don’t know why I am scared, I leap out of the bed so and so.156 Haham Yona wrote verses from Torah on amulets according to people’s requirements, and it was believed disease would be healed quickly. Interviewees from Gaziantep remembered rabbis of the community such as Nissim Cohen, Yoseph Levy Arkadaş, and Mois (Musa) Levy Arkadaş and for a short while, Avram Palti. The Gaziantep Jewish community had one religious representative and one president. The last religious authority of the Gaziantep Jewish community was Haham Mois (Musa) Levy Arkadaş. Prior to him, his father, Yoseph Levy Arkadaş, was the haham of the Gaziantep Jewish community. Haham Yoseph was an accountant besides serving as hazzan and Shochet. People consulted him to solve conflicts between husbands and wives, and couples followed his advice. Haham Yoseph emigrated to Israel in 1958 and died there four years later at the age of 85.157 The last president of the community was Menahem

Social life, culture and collective memory 99 Nehmad. The former was responsible for religious matters of the community while the latter represented the Jewish community on social issues. The two acted together as mediators during conflicts among the community members. In the end, the disputes would be solved peacefully thanks to them. Avram Palti also served as haham during his military service in Gaziantep.158 David Hıdır was the rabbi of the Jews of Urfa as well as a Shochet and a hazzan. All religious issues were directed to Haham David in Urfa. He also taught Hebrew and Jewish religion to the children. The children stayed in the kuttab during the entire day, under the watch of the haham. Children sat on the floor in front of him. The study was demanding, and some children received corporal punishments, like flogging. The purpose of the Jewish education in the kuttab was to prepare the children for public prayer and reading the Bible. According to the elders of the community, the last teacher in the kuttab was the Haham Azor Bozo. The other rabbis who served in the Urfa synagogue were Haham Moshe Atiye and Haham Yusuf Kohen.159 Both rabbis of Gaziantep and Urfa became rabbi upon the ratification of chief rabbinate of Aleppo, while the rabbi of Başkale was appointed by the chief rabbinate of Urmiye in Iran, and the rabbi of Diyarbakır was appointed by the chief rabbinate of Mosul or Zaho in Iraq. Rabbi Rafo/Refail Yetim (İçran) was the rabbi of the Jews of Siverek before emigrating to Israel. He was a draper at the same time. There were two other rabbis in Siverek. One was Haham David Haham, called such because he was also a Shochet, and Ustad İbrahim Ver was the instructor who taught Torah in the kuttab.160 The gabbai Gabbai literally means “servant” and is also known as Shamash/shamas. It is usually translated as synagogue warden who assists the rabbi in the running of all religious services and rituals.161 This duty may be carried out on a voluntary or paid basis among the Eastern Jews. In some cases, the gabbai might also be involved in safekeeping and maintaining the Jewish cemetery. I found three gabbai names in Diyarbakır who served in the synagogue in different times through information given by interviewees. They were Yaacov Beyazi until 1934, Pinhas Hayat until 1947, and Eliyahu Acemi until 1951. According to the interviewees, Eliyahu Acemi was the gabbai of the Diyarbakır Jewish community who served in the Diyarbakır synagogue along with Rabbi Ustad Hayim. He was also the uncle of my interviewees Joseph Dag and Alan Dag.162 Since they came originally from Kash in Iran to Diyarbakır, the officials put their family name as Acemi. However, since the word Acemi is understood as non-local, nonTurkish and not eligible for a Turkish passport to leave the country, they decided to change their family name to Ofra. Eliyahu Acemi effectively mediated among persons with disputes. He could also read Kabbalah, the “mystic and esoteric doctrine of Judaism”.163 However, the local people thought he was dealing with sorcery or witchcraft and were scared of him. Therefore, they deported him from Diyarbakır. Then he went to Syria.164 Menahem Nehmad was the last gabbai of the Gaziantep Jewish community before emigrating to Israel. The gabbai were also engaged in trade.165

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Dadaş Şen was the gabbai of the Jews of Başkale before they left the city. He was the hazzan at the same time. None of my interviewees mentioned gabbai in Urfa, Mardin or Hakkari. The hazzan Hazzan, in other words cantor, is the official who chants the liturgical rites in the synagogue. Usually those who have the best voice were chosen for this role. Since a hazzan had a pleasant voice, he represented the community in the prayers.166 However, similar to Shochet, gabbai and rabbi, hazzans were also called haham among the Eastern Jews. Therefore, the word hazzan was not common among them. Hazzan was not a specially trained person in terms of vocals. Usually a haham become hazzan at the same time during the prayer in the synagogue among the Eastern Jews.167 Besides being a gabbai, Dadaş Şen from Başkale was the hazzan at the same time and he would help haham during services in the synagogue.168 Haham David Hıdır was the hazzan of the Jews of Urfa as well as being a Shochet.169 Similarly, the rabbi of the Siverek Jewish community, Rafo/Refail Yetim, was the hazzan as well.170 The Shochet Animals for consumption or food should be slaughtered according to Jewish dietary laws. The Jewish method of slaughtering animals or birds permitted for food is called shehita.171 Shochet is the ritual slaughterer versed in the halakhah, Jewish religious law, and is qualified to kill animals according to Jewish dietary laws.172 In other words, a Shochet is the one who performed the shehita. The Shochet who slaughters the animal must be a religious Jew. The way of providing kosher meat differed in each community among Eastern Jews. The majority of Jewish communities had a Shochet. However, they did not have a Jewish butcher except in some places. Usually they would buy kosher meat that was stamped kosher and sealed, place by the Shochet, from a Muslim butcher. The Shochet would direct the community where they should buy their meat. Some Jewish communities slaughtered the animals in the courtyard of their houses with the help of Shochet. Communities that did have not a Shochet called one from neighboring cities fortnightly.173 The mohel, or circumciser, in Diyarbakır was at the same time the Shochet, Haham Hayim was the chief rabbi, and Haham Pinhas was the Shochet and mohel. Some interviewees, Ruth Levy, Joseph Dag and his brother Alan Dag from Diyarbakır, said that before Haham Pinhas a Shochet probably came from Mosul or Zaho in Iraq to slaughter the animals every two weeks. Ruth Levy recalled his name as Haham Yohanna. After him, Haham Pinhas probably went to Mosul to practice in shehita. As mentioned before, Jews called hazzan, Shochet, mohel and gabbai haham to show their respect. Therefore, Shochet Pinhas was also called Haham Pinhas.174

Social life, culture and collective memory 101 In Diyarbakır there was a Jewish butcher alongside the Muslim butchers. The Muslim butcher sold kosher meat that was stamped kosher and sealed by the Shochet. Jews in Diyarbakır bought kosher meat from both butchers. Yoel Aslan and Amos Karayazı stated that: One of the Muslim butchers sold meat to the Jews in Diyarbakır. Haham Pinhas prayed in the synagogue every morning and at the end of the prayer, he told everybody “today there is Kosher meat in that butcher, go and buy from them” indicating which butcher has fat meat.175 Some Jews from Diyarbakır invited the Shochet to slaughter animals in their houses as well. There was a place or corner in the courtyard of the houses set for slaughtering animals. Anat Keskin from Diyarbakır remembered: When I was a kid there was a corner. I remember that children were gathered over in the courtyard and pushing us from the back. We wanted to see however they were pushing us back. . . . There was a corner, they would bring the lamb and slaughter over there. They would cook kavurma, deep fried meat.176 In Gaziantep, the rabbi was the Shochet at the same time. Haham Yoseph Arkadaş was one of the Shochets for the Gaziantep Jewish community. Daniel Haseki pointed out the way to provide kosher meat by the Gaziantep Jewish community: Shochet used to go to the public slaughterhouse on certain days. All butchers of Gaziantep knew the Jewish shochet. Three or four Muslim butchers did business with the Jews. For instance, those butchers brought at least ten sheep for slaughtering. They said to Haham, the shochet “Please welcome and slaughter sir Haham!” Then Haham performed the shehita. In the end, haham, the shochet stamped the kosher seal on all slaughtered animals. All Jews knew which day animals would be slaughtered and from which butchers the kosher meat would be bought. After a while, it was the practice to slaughter the animals fortnightly in Gaziantep.177 David Hıdır from Urfa practiced shehita in Aleppo for two years to become a Shochet. After two years of religious education of Judaism he returned to Urfa as a haham and a Shochet. David Hıdır’s brother Azur was another Shochet of Urfa. He was known as Shochet Azur. The way of providing kosher meat in Urfa was similar to the Gaziantep Jewish community. The Shochet used to go to the slaughterhouse. After slaughtering the animals according to Jewish law, he stamped the kosher seal. Jews could buy the meat when they saw the kosher stamp at the Muslim butcher. Besides, some Jews also slaughtered animals in their courtyards.178 The Shochet of the Siverek Jewish community was Haham David. Since his last name was also Haham, he was known as Haham David Haham. He was Yitzhak İşran’s cousin (aunt’s son). Since he got married to a Jewish woman from Maraş,

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he moved there. In fact he was already with a Jewish woman from Siverek. However, after he met the Jewish woman from Maraş, he divorced his first spouse. Therefore, Haham David Haham served as a Shochet only for a while in Siverek. After he had gone, there was not kosher meat anymore in Siverek. They were only able to provide meat once a month if the rabbi or some Jewish merchants somehow stopped by the neighboring Jewish communities in Urfa or Diyarbakır. They distributed the meat according to the number of family members. Recently, Haham David’s children have become Haredim, a stream of Orthodox Judaism in Jerusalem.179 In addition to being the last rabbi of Jews of Başkale, Yona Ben Rahamim Yener served as a Shochet in the community at the same time. He slaughtered animals almost every day depending on the needs of the community.180

3.8 Death and funerals Since they were small in numbers, the Eastern Jewish communities soon knew when someone passed away among them. Living in the same neighborhood, community members informed each other within a short time. Then people in charge went to the cemetery to dig a grave. The body had to be buried in the earth and it could not be cremated. Bodies were not permitted to be displayed during a funeral, since it was considered disrespectful.181 Except for Gaziantep Jewish community members, none of the interviewees mentioned Hevra Kadisha, holy society, a volunteer group consisting of men and women who had taken the obligation of preparing bodies for burial according to religious law. Generally, the deceased was washed and shrouded at home among the Eastern Jews. Male members prepared a deceased male, and females prepared deceased females. The deceased were carried on shoulders of the people to the burial place in the cemetery. The cemetery was very close to the Jewish quarter, and it did not take much time to get there. Burial took place in a short time. Prayers and readings from the Torah were recited at the cemetery. Some mourners also tore their outer garments before the burial and some after the burial at the house of the deceased. The tear should be over the heart and visible to family members. Then mourners came to the home of the deceased, which was called avel house, and the ritual shiva, literally seven, traditional week of mourning started. The mourning lasted seven days for first degree family members: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister and spouse. They sat on the floor and received visitors during the week. The torn garment was worn throughout the shiva. In addition, they did not cook during the week. Usually the meal was provided by relatives, neighbors or friends.182 Jews traditionally do not open their workplaces or do business until the end of the week of mourning. Additionally, they do not listen to music or attend entertainment, such as weddings. Male family members do not shave or get their hair cut in the first 30 days. In general, a tombstone is placed on the grave after the first 30 days of mourning. However, there was no restriction about timing to replace the headstone among Eastern Jewish communities. Commonly, Eastern Jews visited

Social life, culture and collective memory 103 the gravesite at any time. Some had customs to visit the cemetery often in the first year and 30 days after the burial.183 There used to be a Hevra Kadisha, sacred society, in Gaziantep responsible for the funeral services from the bathing of the deceased to the burial. The Nehmad family has led the organization of the death and funeral services for years in Gaziantep.184 The deceased would be washed at home and then buried in the part of the cemetery reserved for Jewish people in the Muslim graveyard. The deceased was carried to the cemetery wrapped in a tallit. Also Muslim neighbors and friends of the deceased attended the funeral service at the cemetery. A stone was placed at the site to mark the tomb place. Then Kaddish, as a part of the mourning ritual, was recited after the burial. The keriah, tearing of garment, usually a shirt, jacket or vest, and the shiva, seven days of mourning, took place at the house of the deceased. A woman tore female family members’ garments and a man tore the males’ garments. Avels, or mourners, sat on the floor and received visitors throughout the seven days. During the mourning period, they did not go outside or do business. They avoided attending joyous activities, such as weddings and listening to music. They also covered paintings, portraits and mirrors in the house during the mourning period. Furthermore, they did not shave or get their hair cut for the first 30 days. And one first blood family member was supposed to repeat the Kaddish at least once a day over a whole year. Since the mourners did not cook during the mourning period, close relatives, Jewish neighbors or friends brought food. Usually the food was not cooked. For instance, on the first day of mourning, boiled eggs were mandatory along with black olives, bread, cheese or tomatoes. Mourning goes on for seven days, 30 days and a year. At the end of the seventh day – in other words, on the morning of the eighth day – haham, the rabbi, went to the house of the deceased and declared the end of the first period of mourning. After that, they went to the cemetery to place a headstone. Some Jewish communities preferred to place the tombstone after the first 30 days of mourning. Within the eleventh month and twelfth month, there was a meal with family members of the deceased, and the day after the meal, they visited the gravesite. Today, maintenance of the Jewish cemetery is handled by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality. The outside walls of the cemetery were renovated by a Jew of Gaziantep, Yakup Bilmen, and a padlock was put at the door to protect the remaining graves and tombstones.185 The cemetery of Jews of Diyarbakır was inside the walls, next to the Jewish neighborhood. Jewish and Muslim cemeteries were separate in Diyarbakır. The Jewish cemetery was not far away from the çay (river). It had crude stone tombstones, with no names. Each family knew the location of the family plot, where members were buried. Shimon Cankatan said they buried people in the synagogue’s yard. When it was filled, they started to bury people in another cemetery established outside the wall gates. Rachel Tsafon noted that Jews who were Cohens were buried in the cemetery called Hirbet Meytin. She said she could recognize the Jewish quarter if she went to Diyarbakır.186 The death and funeral customs of the Jews of Urfa were more or less similar to those of the Gaziantep Jewish community. Men did not shave in the first 30 days. They did not arrange joyous activities after the death of a Jew in the community

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for a year. The day before Rosh Hashanah, they visited the Jewish gravesite. The cemetery of Urfa was above the Kendirci quarter behind the Nimrod castle (today Urfa kalesi).187 Midwife Nene washed the deceased females and an elder man, the males in Başkale. There was a Jewish cemetery separate from the Muslim one. The Jews of Başkale went to visit the gravesite on the day before Rosh Hashanah, the New Year.188

3.9 Economic conditions In general, the economic conditions of Eastern Jews were typical of a rural society. The majority of the population was made up of poor families. Many Jews in the cities consisted of artisans and craftsmen. Common occupations of the Eastern Jews included silversmiths, shoemakers, peddlers, hawkers, hardware dealers, haberdashers and mainly drapers. The majority of Jews had shops in these sectors, and almost every city in the east had Jewish shopkeepers. Few wealthy merchants existed among them. Jewish merchants contributed and enhanced the economic conditions of the places they communicated with. For instances, Jewish peddlers, known as çerçi or attar among Eastern Jews, exchanged urban products in the villages and brought village products to urban markets. They traveled to the villages with one or two loaded mules or donkeys during the week and came back home for the Shabbat. Thus they became an important part of the rural and urban economy by providing equipment and supplies to the local people. There were very few cases of Jews who had business partnerships with Muslim merchants. The economic welfare of Eastern Jews was variable, with both wealthy and poor families. Eastern Jews, after their emigration to Israel, continued to maintain their professions in Israel. By that time, however, they started to be engaged in various occupations.189 The Jews of Urfa mostly dealt in drapery and haberdashery. A few merchant Jewish families in Urfa were quite rich. For instance, the Anter family (Selim Anter, in Hebrew Shlomo Anter) was the richest one, becoming wealthy by representing an oil company and selling gas. Other wealthy families were the Elfiyye (Nissim Elfiyye) and Bozo (Azur Bozo) families. Yitzhak Khader’s (Hıdır) brother Shlomo Khader worked in a local Muslim jewelry store. The poor Jews of Urfa were mainly peddlers. They rode on horses to the villages to sell their produce and wares.190 The Jews of Siverek and Başkale were very poor. They dealt in drapery and haberdashery and peddling. Some were also shopkeepers. Kevre Şarlo and Moshe Geçmiş peddled to the villages in Başkale. Dadaş Şen, who is also a distant relative of Avigdor Şekerci from Başkale, was a partner of a Muslim butcher. They sold meat to the military unit in Başkale. In addition, there were three Jewish tailors and several Jews who dealt in stockbreeding in Başkale. Jewish tailors were recognized as the best at their job and got respect from the local aghas, tribal chieftains in the region. Gershom Şenyuva’s father, a Jew from Yüksekova, was a tailor in Gavar (Yüksekova) Hakkari. He used to sew şal u şapik traditional dress,

Social life, culture and collective memory 105 as a modern suit for his agha, Kerem Ağa. Sebriyê Sê Keko, the last apprentice of a Jewish shoemaker of Cizre, described the occupation of the Jews of Cizre as shoemakers, hawkers, peddlers and drapers.191 Similar to Jews in the other cities, most of the Jews of Diyarbakır were poor. Only a few families were rich. They had big shops located in the central place of the city at that time. David, On, Yordan and Bozo are the Jewish families who used to have shops not only in the bazaar but also outside the bazaar. Anat Keskin’s father, Meir Güzel from Diyarbakır, was engaged in the gold business. He had a jewelry store in Diyarbakır. Other Jews worked as coppersmiths, shoemakers, tailors, drapers and haberdashers and peddlers. Ruth Levy’s father, Yitzhak Beyazi, was a peddler. He had a donkey and sold goods in the villages of Diyarbakır. Yoel Aslan pointed out that some Jews worked in pharmacies owned by Muslims.192 Nearly all of the Gaziantep Jewish community was engaged in the trade of dry goods, drapery and haberdashery. The Jewish merchants of Gaziantep made great contributions to the economy of both the city and the region. They delivered goods, especially dry goods, to most of the eastern cities, such as Kilis, Urfa, Siverek, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Mardin, Cizre, and even to the far eastern cities such as Van and Hakkari. Daniel Haseki mentioned one of their customers from Besni in Adıyaman: We had a customer from Besni in Adıyaman. He owed my father. One day he passed away. When my father learned that, he said “May God rest his soul in peace”. Six or seven years later, a young man came to my father’s workplace. He introduced himself as the son of his customer who passed away a long time ago in Besni. And then he said that “he doesn’t live in Besni anymore”. He lived in Istanbul. However, he learned that his father had debts to my father since he was always trading with him. So he wanted to pay his father’s debts to my father and he paid them all. Then he asked to give and receive blessings. Suddenly my father’s eyes filled with tears. My father did not forget this moment throughout his life.193 In addition to that, Deborah Cohen’s father, Yakup Arkadaş, was a grain broker who sold grain, wheat and lentils in Gaziantep. He started as an accountant in a local Muslim’s company called Habeşler or Öz Habeşler in Gaziantep. After three or five years of work in the company, his boss passed away. Since his boss’s children were young, he did not want to leave them as orphans. So he continued to do business for the orphans. In the meantime, Yakup Arkadaş’s salary and share in the company increased year by year and he became a partner in the company. Eventually, the children grew up. He eventually left the business after distributing shares to the orphans.194 Deborah Cohen’s father-in-law, Rafael Cohen (Turkish Raful Cohen), was a pistachio broker in Gaziantep. He was a very rich Jewish landlord, possessing a lot of land and properties in Kurdish villages of Gaziantep, such as Ehneş, Cavut, Kertuşa and Çanakçı in the 1930s. Raful Cohen passed away in 1937. His mother lived on her own with six small children. The youngest child was one year old and the eldest was fourteen. Benjamin Cohen was five.

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Therefore, his mother had to sell all the properties and lands at a cheap price to provide a better living for her children.195

3.10 Education In general, Eastern Jews had low literacy. The Gaziantep Jewish community was the only highly educated community among the Eastern Jews. Religious functionaries such as hahams tended to be the only literate Jews in the eastern communities. It was a tradition for Jewish boys to attend the heder, kuttab or Talmud Torah, which was situated in the courtyard for religious education. They learned Hebrew and religious scripts, and memorized prayers in the synagogue.196 At first, the haham wrote the shapes of the letters and their place within the alphabet on the board for the children to remember. After the child learned the alphabet, the haham wrote syllables, combinations of letters, on the board. The children learned the sounds and syllables and how to pronounce them. Once they learned the sounds of the letters, they began to recite the Torah, and continued to study blessings and prayers. The younger children received guidance from the haham, while the older children assisted the haham and taught the younger children to read and to memorize the Torah. The children stayed in the kuttab the entire day under the watch of the haham. They sat on the floor in front of him. The studies were demanding, and the children could receive corporal punishments, like flogging.197 Girls were not sent to school. Usually they were under their mothers’ supervision to learn how to perform all household duties. Jews initially passed through a religious education in the synagogue before attending public school. Some religious Jews preferred not to go to the public school. They considered it inappropriate to go to a secular school instead of Talmud Torah, heder or kuttab. Joseph Dag’s father from Diyarbakır believed that if he went to the public school it would be somehow giving up their religion, since public schools were profane and non-religious schools.198 After the implementation of compulsory public education, Jewish children started to go to elementary school. Girls attended school as well. Joseph Dag was the only one among his family members who attended school. He went to Süleyman Nazif primary school until the third grade. He said he was the one who held the flag and sang the national anthem İstiklal Marşı.199 Another interviewee from Diyarbakır, Amos Karayazı, pointed out that since it required money, they could not afford to send their children to public school. When Samuel Onurlu was beaten on the first day of the school by other students, he dropped out of school.200 Additionally, Shimon Cankatan stated: We were three Jewish children attending primary school in the Jewish community. However, it was challenging for us to go to school every day. Since we were Jews, other kids threw stones at us on the way to school when passing through the neighborhood. Many Jewish children did not want to go to the school because they knew that if they went, other kids would fight and beat

Social life, culture and collective memory 107 them. Beside, Jewish students could not resist them, since they were short in numbers. But teachers liked Jewish students and were nice to them.201 There was only an elementary school in Başkale. Secondary school was established in the city in 1954. Therefore, most of the Jews attended only primary school. Eldad Yakışan was called to attend the secondary school when it was established. However, since he assisted in his father’s business, he could not make it. Sefer Güner, brother in-law of Avigdor Şekerci, could go to the secondary school. None of the Jews of Başkale had a high level of education or even a high school degree. Only Eliyahu İlim, from the Jews of Van, completed high school. He went on to university, but quit in the third year from the chemistry department.202 Yitzhak Khader was born in Urfa in 1922. After four years of religious education in kuttab, he attended, in his words, Turan Mektebi, meaning Turkish school, in 1928. His elder brothers Selim and Yoseph Khader were educated at the same school. Yitzhak Khader continued in school until third grade, when his family immigrated to Israel, crossing the Turkish-Syrian borders from Aleppo to Damascus then to Jerusalem.203 He shared a memory from his school years: There were two types of students in Turkey: one, students who attended school only in the morning session, the other, students who attend the afternoon session. Jewish children in Urfa usually attended school in the afternoon. They did not want to go to school on Friday afternoon due to respect for the Shabbat restrictions. At the end, because of social oppression, they agreed to go school as long as they could be exempt from writing on the blackboard or in their notebooks. Muslim students were angry with this decision. One drew a line with a piece of chalk in the schoolyard where the Jewish students fell behind that line. Along the line, the angry student wrote that Jews are here, which meant they should not cross that line. However, all teachers and school management loved the Jewish students because they were very clever and never failed. Interestingly, Yitzhak Khader still remembered the school principal İhsan bey. When principal İhsan bey learned about the incident, he punished the student and said this was the punishment for doing that to your Jewish friends. Furthermore, he hung a warning on the entrance gate of the school to draw students’ attention. It said that those are your friends and you cannot do such things to them. Then the case was closed.204 Another interviewee who completed primary school in Urfa was Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil). He emigrated a year after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1949. He was 19 years old when his family left the city. He finished the Cumhuriyet İlkokulu (“Republic Primary school”) in Urfa. In 1999, Yoseph Hıdır visited the city where he was born. In the course of the visit while he was passing through a street, he came across his elementary school, Cumhuriyet İlkokulu. He got so excited, and he went inside. He met the school principal and told him that once he had studied there.205

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Yoseph Hıdır had not forgotten his school number – it was 125. In a short while, the principal found his school report and gave it to him. Very few Jewish girls in Urfa attended the primary school, and there was no one who had a higher level of education in the Jewish community of Urfa. Jews of Siverek were mostly illiterate. Yitzhak İşran and his brother were among the few people who attended school among the Jews of Siverek. However, Yitzhak İşran continued only until third grade and his brother until second grade, so he could assist his father in his business. He said his primary school principal’s name was Abuzer Bey. Another one who went to school was Moshe Ok’s brother, Yoseph Ok. He continued only until second grade.206 The Jews of Gaziantep were the most literate Jewish community among the Eastern Jews of Turkey. The majority of the community had a high school education. Boys and girls attended the school together. Deborah Cohen and afterwards her sister Rozi Cohen were among the first Jewish girls in Gaziantep who went to high school in the 1960s. Rozi Cohen graduated from Gaziantep teacher training school and worked for one year in a village and five years in the city center. Another, Elisabeth Haseki, graduated from Gaziantep High School and worked for a national bank for five years in the city. All the sisters said they had never encountered a dispute stemming from being a Jew.207

3.11 Shabbat Sabbath/Shabbat, ‫שבת‬, is considered as “the most important of all Jewish holidays and the central observance of Jewish life”.208 It is the seventh day of the week, consecrated as a day of rest on which all work is forbidden. It commemorates that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. The Shabbat begins before sunset on Friday and runs until nightfall on Saturday night. Lighting candles and reciting a blessing indicate the onset of the Shabbat. Any kind of labor including cooking is prohibited during the Shabbat. Jewish communities would ask a goy, a gentile or non-Jew, such as their Muslim neighbors, to light their fire or candles during the Shabbats. Meals are cooked before Shabbat begins. The table is set for a special dinner and fine foods are prepared. The meal begins with the chanting of Kiddush, the prayer over wine.209 Generally three types of meals are eaten during the Shabbat: the first meal on Friday evening, the second on Saturday morning and the third late Saturday afternoon. Shabbat morning is spent at the synagogue in prayer and reading from Torah. The afternoon worship includes a short Torah reading. Shabbat is ended by the habdalah/havdalah blessing at sundown.210 Shabbat services and meals are a joyous moment for Eastern Jews who gather a large number of family members around the same table. The Gaziantep Jewish community was mainly composed of large families. All family members came together on the occasion of Shabbat dinner on Friday nights. The dinner traditionally began with Kiddush and blessings recited over two loaves of challah bread. Preparations started before sundown. Women started to cook earlier for Shabbat dinner. A common dish made for Friday lunches

Social life, culture and collective memory 109 was Ecce/Icce, fried meatballs cooked with a mixture of minced meat and eggs. Another main course made during the Shabbat was Beyyêt, lamb stuffed with rice in an earthenware pot and cooked under a low coal or wooden heat during the whole Friday night till Shabbat morning. It was eaten as breakfast in the Shabbat morning when men came home from synagogue at about ten or eleven o’clock. Almost all men went to synagogue on Saturday mornings; therefore they had to wake up earlier. Dishes were hot since they were kept in a brazier topped up with coal, which also kept the rooms warm. Smoking, driving, doing business or lighting a fire on Shabbat was strictly avoided. Accordingly, Jews asked Muslim neighbors to light their candles to notify the onset of the Shabbat. I have been told that the former mayor of Gaziantep, Asım Güzelbey, was one of those who lit the Jews’ candles and fire in the Shabbat during his childhood.211 Similar to the Gaziantep Jewish community, the Jews of Urfa also used a goy to light the fire or candles during Shabbat. Usually help was requested from a Muslim neighbor and they did that without expecting anything in return. Yitzhak Khader stated that: In winter time when it was cold, we wanted to eat a hot meal and we asked a Muslim neighbor to come and light the fire since it was prohibited for Jews to light anything during the Shabbat.212 The Jews of Siverek also strictly followed the Shabbat rules. They did not work, cook, or light anything during the Shabbat. They asked their Muslim neighbors as well. All family members sat at the same table in the Shabbat dinner. If someone within the community did not attend the Shabbat services on Saturdays, people would say: Why did not he come, otherwise he converted and became a Muslim. Additionally they said he did not know anything about Judaism.213 In addition to that, the Jews of Başkale did not work during Shabbat. However, according to Avigdor Şekerci, they went to the teahouse to play cards or şeş beş, backgammon, with their Muslim friends. Eldad Yakışan said that in case of emergency, they opened their shops no matter what time it was on Saturday. For instance, if someone died, local people would ask for things for the funeral, and the Jews opened their shops. He added that: One day, a judge and a prosecutor were surprised when they saw the Jews’ shops were closed on Saturday during their visit to Başkale. They asked the reason. Local people responded that Jews did not open their shops on Saturdays, because of their faith, and usually they read from Torah in the synagogue. Both of the men wanted to go to the synagogue to join the Shabbat service. The rabbi, Avigdor Şekerci’s father Yona Ben Rahamim, let them enter. They were impressed and amazed when they listened to the prayer. In the end, they valued the rabbi and then went on their way.214

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Some Jewish shopkeepers from Diyarbakır had Muslim partners. So, Jews did not come to work on Saturdays, but their Muslim partners opened the shops. Wellknown families like the Hayat, On, Yordan and Bozo families used to have shops not only in the bazaar but also outside. Since they were very religious, they did not work on Shabbat.215

3.12 Holidays In addition to Shabbat, the Eastern Jewish communities celebrated five major holidays that were called festivals in Judaism and described in the Torah. These holidays are: • • • • •

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year; Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles; Pesah, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which commemorates the exodus from Egypt; and Shavuot, Festival of Weeks, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known as High Holidays. The Jewish holidays depict three central notions that summarize the Torah. The fall holidays, starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Sukkot, reflect the theme of creation. Pesah depicts the theme of redemption. Shavuot reflects the theme of revelation.216 According to the Torah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shavuot are to be observed for one day each; and Succot and Pesah are to be observed for seven days each. Jews in the diaspora celebrate these holidays by adding one extra day except for Yom Kippur. So, Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot became two days, and Sukkot and Pesah became eight days in diaspora.217 Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah, ‫ראש השנה‬, literally head of the year, is the Jewish New Year. It is the first festival of the High Holidays. The Torah determines Rosh Hashanah as a one-day holiday but it is traditionally celebrated for two days among the Jews in diaspora, even in the land of Israel. The holiday is marked by synagogue worship and characterized by blowing the shofar, an ancient musical instrument made of a ram’s horn.218 None of my interviewees mentioned blowing shofar, but Yoseph Hıdır showed me some shofars that he had brought from Urfa (Figure 3.6). Similar to the other holidays, Rosh Hashanah usually began with a festive meal with family members. Symbolic foods were served, depending on local customs of the Eastern Jewish communities. Families visited gravesites before the Rosh Hashanah holiday. They spent most of their time worshiping in the synagogue. Jews and Muslims neighbors also visited each other and celebrated together during the holidays.219

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Figure 3.6 Shofars Belonging to the Urfa Jewish Community Courtesy of Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil), 29.05.2012, Jerusalem.

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur, ‫יום כיפור‬, Day of Atonement, is marked by fasting and intensive prayer in the synagogue. It is observed from sundown with approximately 25 hours of fasting. On Yom Kippur, there are some prohibitions, such as against eating, drinking, and wearing leather shoes or having sexual intercourse. People confess and pray for the remissions of sins.220 The holiday is one of the most widely observed rituals among Eastern Jews. According to interviewees, many worshippers remained in the synagogue for the entire day and refrained from work that day.221 On the day of Yom Kippur, Jews of Başkale woke up at six or seven in the morning and all the men went to the synagogue. They read Torah the whole day. Some took a break for half an hour or went home, then returned to the synagogue and read again. They went home at about half past six or seven in the evening to break their fast.222 Similarly, the Jews of Gaziantep worshiped and prayed intensively in the synagogue for the entire day. They went early in the morning and remained there until the evening. After the last prayer, they broke their fast with some snack foods in the synagogue, and then they went home.223 Joseph Dag from Diyarbakır stated that since there was no electricity at that time in the synagogue, they used to light candles three days before the holiday. Candles were big and tall. It was the children’s job to light the candles.224

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Tel Aviv was like a “ghost city” on Yom Kippur and since people refrained from work, the city lapsed into silence. I was in Israel on Yom Kippur during my fieldwork in 2012 and I fasted 25 hours like a Jew. In the late afternoon, I went to a synagogue chosen randomly behind the Ramat Aviv mall in Tel Aviv. I introduced myself to the rabbi, saying I was a Muslim from Turkey and that I had fasted for Yom Kippur. I asked permission to join the prayer and he kindly let me in to join. Since I was a beginner in Torah reading, I asked the rabbi to provide a guide to assist me in reading. He kindly assigned a guide as well. I estimate that the prayer lasted for more than two hours. Women sat and prayed behind an oriel window, so as not to be seen. At the end of the prayer, we broke our fast in the synagogue with snack foods. Then the rabbi invited me to his home to eat the fast meal. I was surprised at, and appreciated, his kind invitation. Sukkot Sukkot, ‫סוכות‬, literally meaning booths, is the Festival of Tabernacles. The holiday lasts seven days in Israel and eight in the diaspora. Work is forbidden during the first day and also for the second in the diaspora. Jews build a sukkah, booth, and it is customary to eat meals and some even sleep in the sukkah during the seven festival days. The sukkah symbolizes the dwelling of the Jews as they wandered the desert for 40 years after their exodus from Egypt.225 Four species of plants etrog, citron; lulav, closed frond of the date palm tree; hadass, a branch of myrtle tree; and aravah, branches with leaves from the willow tree, are held together and symbolically waved during the Sukkot as Jews’ service towards God. The waving ceremony of four species of plants occurs on all seven days.226 In the course of my visit to a sukkah in Tel Aviv, a rabbi asked me if I wanted to wave the four species. I said yes, and started to perform the ceremony under the rabbi’s guidance. None of my interviewees mentioned performing the four-plant ceremony among the Eastern Jewish communities. Perhaps it was not easy to procure those species of plants, since they did not grow in the region at that time. Sukkot is a celebrated holiday among the Eastern Jews. For instance, at Sukkot there would be a sukkah both at the synagogue and in the courtyards of almost every house, but in general those who had large gardens in Urfa and Diyarbakır. The Jews prayed, ate and slept in the sukkah. Yitzhak Khader remembered that his father slept in the sukkah at nights.227 Avigdor Şekerci from Başkale said they constructed the sukkah in the courtyards of their houses but not in the synagogue.228 Sukkah was called Mutalla in the Gaziantep Jewish community. The Jews of Gaziantep had a sukkah both at the synagogue and in the yards of almost every house until they started living in apartment buildings. Jews, who prayed in the synagogue, entered the sukkah for Kiddush. After the prayer, some Jews stayed in the synagogue and slept in the sukkah. Jews visited each other during the holiday Sukkot. Deborah Cohen said all Jews used to visit first the rabbi of the Jewish community, her grandfather Haham Yoseph Arkadaş Levy, in their home. Visitors

Social life, culture and collective memory 113 usually paid respects first to the elders of the community. Then the other members paid their short visits. During these visits, holiday candies, chocolate, pistachios and liquor or wine were offered to the guests.229 Hanukkah Hanukkah, ‫חנוכה‬, literally means “dedication”, and is also known as the Festival of Lights. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the second temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the second century BCE. It also marks the miracle of a one-day supply of olive oil lasting eight days. Hanukkah is observed for eight days by kindling an eightbranched candelabrum known as Hanukkiyah, Hanukkah lamp, commonly known as a menorah. On the first night, one candle is lit and placed in the menorah; on the second night, two candles, and so on. Finally, on the eighth night, the menorah is completely filled with eight lit candles. Special foods were prepared in oil, such as jelly doughnuts (called sufganiyot in Israel), to commemorate the miracle of the oil.230 Eastern Jewish communities gathered with family members each night of Hanukkah to light the menorah and recite prays as the candles were lit. Yitzhak Khader said his family celebrated Hanukkah in Urfa. After the prayer, his father gave a candle to each child to light and place in the menorah.231 Jews of Başkale observed Hanukkah for eight days just as other Eastern Jewish communities. However, since they did not have Hanukkiyah, they placed the lit candles in a plate.232 The Jews of Gaziantep lit the candles by order of age, meaning that the eldest in the family lit the first candle, then the others followed suit. In addition, two women went from one house to house to collect goods for poor Jews during Hannukah in Gaziantep.233 Tu Bishvat Tu Bishvat, ‫טו בשבט‬, literally means “the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat”. Traditionally, trees are planted on this day. Tu Bishvat is also celebrated by eating nuts and dried fruits and other natural produce of the soil associated with the land of Israel.234 Tu Bishvat did not appear to be a common holiday among the Eastern Jews of Turkey, since the majority of my interviewees could not remember it. Local people did not leave the Jews of Başkale alone during the entire night of the Tu Bishvat holiday. They came to the houses of Jews with their bags and asked for nuts, dried fruits or fruits, such as apple and grape. In the course of asking for those foods, they rhymed the following verses in Kurdish: Serê salê Binê salê Tiştek dane bin cihalê* Xwedê bihêlê mal xwe malê heyy heyy!235

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It went on like this until morning, and people did not let the Jews sleep. They recited those verses only during Tu Bishvat holiday once a year. The Jews also delivered fruits from house to house on Tu Bishvat. The Jews of Gaziantep cooked kadayıf, shredded wheat with syrup, and prepared baklava with pistachio nuts for Tu Bishvat. A large table filled with fruits and nuts was set up on the eve of the holiday, and all family members gathered around. Jewish children had great fun on Tu Bishvat. Their mothers sewed bags for them for the holiday, and put one kind of each fruit and nut inside. Children kept the bags for a few days and ate the food inside bit by bit. Purim Purim, ‫פורים‬, literally meaning lots, is a holiday commemorating a historical event: the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman’s plot in the Persian Empire to kill and destroy them. The event is recorded in the Megillah of Esther, the Book of Esther. The most important ceremony during Purim is the reading of the megillah in the synagogue. During the reading of megillah, every time the name of Haman is mentioned, a special noisemaker called greggers or graggors is used to draw out the name of the enemy Haman. It is also customary to send gifts of food and drink to family, neighbors and friends, and to make donations to the poor and needy within the community. Jews also celebrate by dressing up in costumes and figurative masks.236 The Jews of Başkale prepared a special dessert called zlobiye, a kind of cake made from dough, once a year during the Purim. Along with the zlobiye, they made Noah’s pudding, a dessert with wheat grains, nuts and dried fruits.237 The Jews of Diyarbakır prepared a kind of cookie called kuliçe for Purim.238 The Jews of Urfa also made cookies during Purim. They took an image of Haman and shot it with a toy gun.239 Similarly, Jewish children in Gaziantep played a kind of paper game in the synagogue. They wrote the enemy Haman’s name on a slip of paper and mixed it with others. The one who picked the paper with Haman’s name written on it would kill using a toy gun. Additionally, teenagers performed shows narrating the historical meaning of this holiday in the 1960s when the Rabbi Avraham Palti was in Gaziantep. Daniel Haseki recalled one of these presentations. He said they performed Ester Amaka during a Purim. The other plays staged during the Purim were the Life of Prophet Yoseph, the Life of Prophet Jacob and his children, and the last was Ester Amaka.240 Pesah (Passover) Pesah, ‫פּסח‬, or Passover, is also known as the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Pesah commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Dietary laws prohibit the eating and keeping of any hamets, leaven, during the holiday. Therefore Jews remove all hamets from their homes before the Pesah holiday starts. Matza (plural: matzot), unleavened bread, is eaten during the whole Pesah holiday in memoriam of the fact that because the Israelites left Egypt in a hurry, they

Social life, culture and collective memory 115 could not wait for bread dough to rise. The Pesah Seder, a ritual meal eaten on the first night, is one of the most important home ceremonies. Traditions of the Pesah Seder are eating matza, unleavened bread, marror, bitter herbs, and four cups of wine, and reading the prayer text, Haggadah. A majority of the Jews spent their time the week before Pesah cleaning the entire house and removing all items and utensils that handled hamets. In Israel, Jews observe the Pesah for seven days, while diaspora Jews celebrate for eight days. Both the first and last day in Israel, and the first two days and last two days in the diaspora, are considered holy days and all work is prohibited.241 Pesah is the most commonly celebrated holiday among the Eastern Jews of Turkey. Similar to the other diaspora Jews, they also celebrated for eight days. Almost all Eastern Jews used to bake matza in their homes, except for the Jews of Gaziantep. They ordered matza from Istanbul. One week or ten days before Pesah, Jews went to the grain mill to grind matza flour. The Jews of Urfa and Diyarbakır baked the matza bread on the sac, sheet iron, and the Jews of Başkale in the tanur, clay ovens.242 Avigdor Şekerci from Başkale first kneaded the dough, and then his mother baked it in the tanur. He said matza made today does not taste the same as the matza made in tanur, and that he missed the taste of the matza they used to bake in Başkale.243 They also prepared a special food six months before for Pesah known as qaliya, braised lamb meat cubes browned in its own fat and buried under the ground until the holiday. Additionally, they cleaned the house and tin-coated all copper utensils in the week before Pesah.244 Since the Jews of Van could not find any Jewish male to bake the matza bread, a Muslim woman baked it for them in the last two years before they left the city. Accordingly, Eliyahu İlim’s grandmother kneaded the dough and the Muslim woman baked the bread.245 Eldad Yakışan said mostly Muslim friends and neighbors visited their houses to celebrate the Pesah holiday. Likewise, Jews also celebrated their Muslim neighbors’ High Holidays, such as Ramadan and the festival of sacrifice.246 Some wealthy Jews in Diyarbakır had two types of kitchens, to separate meat and milk: one for Pesah, and another for the rest of the year. The week before Pesah, Jews went to the grain mill to grind matza flour. Then several families came together to bake the matza bread and they did it in the sac in their houses. Besides they used to recite Pesah pray Haggadah in Aramaic and Hebrew. They knew only a few words in Hebrew, so they had an interpreter translate it into Arabic.247 The Jews of Urfa used to have a big Pesah Seder in their houses on the night of the holiday. The whole kitchen was cleaned up a month before Pesah, and family members were forbidden to enter the places prepared for Pesah. Similar to the other Jewish communities, the Jews of Urfa went to the mill to grind flour for matza. Then they distributed that flour to other Jewish families to make their own matza. They also made matza at home on the sac.248 Meticulously cleaning the entire house took most of the time of the Jewish women in Gaziantep. Copper products were sent to the tinsmith. I have been told that previously, matzot was baked in a basement beneath the synagogue complex.

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After a while, for some reasons, the Jews started to buy matza from Istanbul. Daniel Haseki’s father gathered all the orders of the Jewish community, and he then placed an order in Istanbul. People bought matzot based on the size of their families. Pesah was celebrated for eight days. Since the first two days and last two days were holidays, work was prohibited. The days in between were called Orta Bayram (mid-feast) in the Gaziantep Jewish community, and certain work was performed. All family members gathered for the ceremonial Seder meal. The Haggadah was recited. One of the special meals made for Pesah Seder was Sil İyyêm Eyyê, a kind of beet pastry, made with beet, onion and meat, and baked in the oven after scrambling a few eggs on top. Lamb bone zeroah was also served as part of the Seder meal. The Jews made special jams for Pesah as well. The Jews of Gaziantep did not eat outside for the duration of Pesah. At the same time, the Jews, especially women, went to the tailor to have new clothes sewn for Pesah. Usually they had two sets of clothes made: one for attending synagogue and the other for Pesah home visits. Primarily, the young visited the elders, and on the second day, elders returned the visits.249 Shavuot Shavuot, ‫שבועות‬, means the weeks that are known as the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. It is normally a one-day holiday, but for Jews living in the diaspora, it is two days. Shavuot commemorates the giving of Torah at Mount Sinai. During Shavuot holiday, the Torah and the Ten Commandments are read in the synagogue and it is traditional to eat dairy meals. It has no distinguishing rituals, as with Sukkot, Purim or Hanukkah.250 Shavuot was the least-remembered holiday among the Eastern Jews of Turkey. Therefore, I could not obtain much information regarding this feast. Only Yitzhak Khader recalled that they usually ate dairy foods such as cheese and milk. As a dessert, they ate sütlaç, milk pudding with rice.251 Deborah Cohen said the Jews of Gaziantep prepared a kind of dessert called Rizip Asa and Rizip Halip, rice flavored with saffron.252

Notes   1 H. H. Ben-Sasson & Others, A History of the Jewish People. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.   2 Interview notes dated 21 May 2012.   3 Interview with Gershom Şenyuva, 73, peddler, Jews of Hakkari, 13 February 2012.   4 Interview notes dated 21 May 2012.   5 Sabar, ibid.   6 Interview notes dated 21 May 2012.   7 J. Bennet, Human Values in Oral History. Oral History Review, 1983, 11, 1–15; S. Schrager, What Is Social in Oral History. International Journal of Oral History, 1983, 4, 76–95.   8 Benjamin II, ibid., p. 58.   9 Zaken, ibid., p. 28.

Social life, culture and collective memory 117  10 I. Doğan, Osmanlı Ailesinin Sosyolojik Evreleri: Kuruluş, Klasik ve Yenileşme Dönemleri. In G. Eren (Ed.), Osmanlı. Ankara: Yeni Türkiye Yayınları, 1999, pp. 371–396.  11 M. Şimşek, Süryanilerin Diyarbakrı’daki Mekanları. In Y. K. Haspolat (Ed.), Tarih Kültür ve İnanç Kenti Diyarbakır. Istanbul: Uzman Matbaacılık, 2013, pp. 47–59.  12 Şimşek, ibid.  13 Interview notes dated 19 April 2012 and 24 May 2012.  14 Interview notes dated 24 May 2012.  15 Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012.  16 Interview with Rachel Tsafon, 74, housewife, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012.  17 Interview with Malke Hıdır Yeşil, Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil and Yitzhak Khader, 29 May 2012.  18 Israel & Beldgreen, ibid.  19 Ibid.  20 Interview with Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012.  21 Interview with Elisabeth Haseki, Mary Ocak, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  22“Fakat bu düğmeci mahallesi dediğim hani Müslümanlar arasında Yahudi Mahallesi olarak tanınırdı. Yani birisi gelipte Yahudi Mahallesi diye sorarsa veya Yahudiler nerde oturursa, yani düğmeci mahallesini sorursa diyim daha doğrusu. Haa o derki “haa Yahudi Mahallesini mi arıyorsun” (interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012).  23 Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012.  24 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012.  25 Interview notes dated 16 March 2012; 03 May 2012 and 29 May 2012.  26 Braude, ibid.; Levy, ibid.; Lewis, ibid.  27 Lewis, 1984, ibid.  28 Shmuelevitz, ibid., p. 29.  29 Interview with Eliyahu İlim, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012; Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, 05 March 2012.  30 Considering the context, my interviewee might mean “hatred” instead of “jealousy” because relationships started to change after the foundation of Israel. Here are the original words my interviewee used in Turkish, “Çok iyi geçinirlerdi, çok çok iyi. İsrail kurulmadan evvel çok çok iyi geçinirdik yani beraber yaşardık. İsrail kurulduktan sonra biraz kıskançlık, biraz kıskançlık başladı. Biraz başladilar, eskiler değil, yeniler biraz başladılar şeylik yapmaya, kıskançlık yapmaya”.  31 R. Modiano, Harun Bozo. The Library of Rescued Memoirs Centropa, 2010, pp. 1–46.  32 “Bazen birkaç aile aynı avluda otururlardı, hatta ben hatırlarım bir tanesini biz eee bir yerde biz otururduk. Bir tarafta iki tane müslüman aile otururdu. Yani bir bahçenin içinde üç ev birinde biz otururduk. Diğer iki komşumuz da müslümandı” (interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012).  33 Interview with Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012.  34 Interview with Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012.  35 Interview with Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 05 June 2012.  36 Margosyan, 1995, ibid., p. 55.  37 Ibid.  38 Ibid., pp. 94; B. Erol, How Other Is the “Other”: Mıgırdiç Margosyan’s Gavur. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2004, 1, 179–186.  39 Margosyan, 1995, ibid.  40 Interview notes dated 05 June 2012 and 27 April 2012.  41 Ibid.  42 Israel & Beldgreen, ibid.  43 Ibid.  44 Interview with Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012 and Elizabeth Haseki, Mary Ocak, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.

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 45 Based on memoirs of Harun Bozo, in Harun Bozo, 2010, The Library of Rescued Memoirs, Centropa, Jewish Witness to a European Century.  46 Israel & Beldgreen, ibid.  47 Interview notes dated 27 April 2012.  48 Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012.  49 Benjamin II, ibid., pp. 54–62.  50 Interview with Rachel Tsafon, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Ruth Levy, Jerusalem, 19 April 2012.  51 Resmi Gazete (Official Gazette) 13 December 1934, Numbered 2879, Jurisprudence 3, V.16, p. 24.  52 Interview notes dated 24 May 2012.  53 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012.  54 Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012.  55 Interview notes dated 05 March 2012.  56 Israel & Beldgreen, ibid.  57 Interview notes dated 05 March 2012.  58 N. Güleryüz, Gaziantep Yahudileri. Istanbul: Gözlem Gazetecilik Basın ve Yayın A.Ş, 2012, p. 168.  59 Interview notes dated 21 May 2012.  60 See, Brauer & Patai, ibid.  61 Interview notes dated 05 March 2012.  62 Interview with Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012.  63 Güleryüz, ibid., pp. 235–240.  64 Interview with Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012.  65 Güleryüz, ibid., pp. 235–240.  66 Interview with Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012.  67 Ibid.  68 Interview notes dated 05 March 2012.  69 Interview with Amos Karayazı, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012.  70 Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012.  71 Interview with Anat Keskin, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012.  72 Interview with Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012, Elisabeth Haseki and Mary Ocak, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  73 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012, Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 May 2012.  74 Interview notes dated 21 March 2012.  75 Elisabeth Haseki and Mary Ocak, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  76 Ibid.  77 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012; Malke Hıdır and Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012.  78 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012.  79 Amos Karayazı, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012, Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012.  80 Interview with Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012; Mary Ocak, Judith Elmacı, Sarah Asil, Susan Çetin and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  81 Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012.  82 Güleryüz, ibid., p. 211.  83 Interview notes dated 21 March 2012.  84 Ibid.  85 Interview with Mary Ocak and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  86 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012, Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 May 2012.  87 Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012.

Social life, culture and collective memory 119  88

“wait barber wait” Let all the relatives come Then play . . .”

 89 Interviews with Malke Hıdır Yeşil, Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil and Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012.  90 Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012.  91 Güleryüz, ibid., p. 205.  92 Interview with Mary Ocak, Judith Elmacı, Sarah Asil, Susan Çetin and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  93 Ibid.  94 Elisabeth Haseki, Mary Ocak, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 March 2012.  95 Interview with Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 March 2012.  96 Interview with Mary Ocak, Judith Elmacı, Sarah Asil, Susan Çetin and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  97 Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012.  98 Interview with Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012.  99 Eliyahu İlim, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012. 100 ibid. 101 Interview with Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012. 102 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 103 Ibid. 104 Interview notes dated 21 March 2012. 105 Modiano, ibid., p. 52. 106 Interview notes dated 05 March 2012. 107 Interview with Mary Ocak and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012; Deborah Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012. 108 Interview notes dated 30 March 2013. 109 Interview with Anat Keskin, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 30 March 2012. 110 Interview notes dated 21 March 2012. 111 Ibid. 112 Interview notes dated 21 May 2013. 113 Benjamin II, ibid., p. 102. 114 Interview notes dated 21 May 2013. 115 Interview notes dated 16 March 2012. 116 Toval, ibid., pp. 26–27. 117 Ibid. 118 Interview notes dated 16 March 2012. 119 Ibid. 120 Şalom newspaper archives; “Gaziantep sinagogu’nun kapısı hurdacıya satıldı”, Şalom, 19 October 2005. 121 Interview with Avram Nechmad, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. 122 İbadete Açık. Retrieved 18 February 2014 from www.gaziantepmedya.com/ IBADETE-ACIK-5909.html. 123 Old location: Arap Şeyh Mahallesi, Yahudi Sokak, Numara 21; New location: Hasırlı Mahallesi, Küçükbahçecik Sokak, Numara 21. According to the index of Diyarbakır Museum it is located in map section 47, plot 242, parcel 18 and registry number is 393. 124 Bali, ibid., p. 380. 125 Obermeyer, ibid.; Bali, ibid. 126 Bali, ibid. 127 J. Niego, Israelites de Turquie d’Asie. Bulletin Mensuel Alliance Israélite Universelle (6–78), 1906, pp. 122–139.

120 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137

138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147

148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164

Social life, culture and collective memory Niego, ibid. Interview notes dated 19 April 2012. Interview with Ruth Levy, Jerusalem, 19 April 2012. R. Çatalbaş, Diyarbakır ve İnanç Turizmi. In Y. K. Haspolat (Ed.), Tarih Kültür İnanç Kenti Diyarbakır (pp. 255–286). Istanbul: Uzman Matbaacılık, 2013, p. 266. Israel & Beldgreen, ibid. Ibid. Benjamin II, ibid., pp. 59–60. Ibid. Israel & Beldgreen, ibid. Kahat, Amu, Asu You are welcome when entering and blessed When leaving the building. The synagogue tuvalna. With joy and happiness you will come. Mt (49?) in the hall of the king. And God will be merciful. Israel & Beldgreen, ibid. Interview notes dated 29 May 2012. Niego, ibid. Modiano, ibid. Israel & Beldgreen, ibid. Ibid. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Ibid. Ibid. Based on a news of the website of the town, recently, Tevfik Kızılay, a local from Başkale is residing in the Başkale Synagogue; Hasan Kahraman (Rojen Barnası), Başkaledeki Yahudi Camiası, 2011. Retrieved 04 June 2011 from www.baskalenews. com/yazar_detay.asp?id=118. Niego, ibid. Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 567; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 126. Interview notes dated 16 March 2012. Interview notes dated 27 April 2012. Bali, ibid. Interview notes dated 27 April 2012. Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. “Yaw Haham Efendi ben korkuyorum, niye ben korkuyorum bilmiyorum, geceleri ben yatağımdan fırlıyorum bilmem ne” interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview with Daniel and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012; Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012. Ibid. Interview with Malke Hıdır Yeşil, Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Yitzhak Hıdır Yeşil, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012. Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 41; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 263. Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alan Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012; Yoel Aslan and Amos Karayazı, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 387. Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alan Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012; Yoel Aslan and Amos Karayazı, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012 and Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012.

Social life, culture and collective memory 121 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176

177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202

Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 21; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 148. Interview notes dated 27 May 2012. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview Malke Hıdır Yeşil and Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012. H. Rabinowicz, Shehitah. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia of Judaica (pp. 434– 435). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007, p. 434. Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 149; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 587. Interview notes dated 01 June 2012. Interview with Ruth Levy, Jerusalem, 19 April 2012; Joseph Dag and his brother Alan Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Interview with Yoel Aslan and Amos Karayazı, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012. “Ben hatırlarım çocukken, bizim evimizde keserlerdi. Bir köşe vardı, bizi de hatta öteye çekerlerdi yani böyle iterlerdi bizi ondan hatırlıyorum. Biz bakmak isterdik bizi iterlerdi korkmayın diye. Köşe vardı, kuzuyu getirirlerdi, orda keserlerdi. Şey yaparlardı, kavurma yaparlardı” (interview with Anat Keskin, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012). Interviews with Daniel and Elizabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. Interviews with Malke Hıdır Yeşil, Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview notes dated 21 March 2012. Ibid. Ibid. Interviews Daniel and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012 and Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, 05 March 2012. Ibid. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012 and Rachel Tsafon, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Interview with Malke Hıdır (Yeşil), Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil), Yitzhak Hıdır (Yeşil) and memoirs of Yakup Bozo, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview notes dated 21 May 2012 and 20 June 2012. Interview with Malke Hıdır Yeşil, Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012, Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012, Gershom Şenyuva, Tel Aviv, 13 February 2012. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012 and Rachel Tsafon, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012, Ruth Levy, Jerusalem, 19 April 2012, Anat Keskin, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012. Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. Interview with Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012. Ibid. Interview notes dated 16 March 2012. Israel & Beldgreen, ibid. Interview with Joseph Dag his brother Alan Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Ibid. Interview with Amos Karayazı, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012, Samuel Onurlu, Mahane Yehuda, 24 May 2012. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012. Interview with Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 May 2012, Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012, Eliyahu İlim, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012.

122 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235

Social life, culture and collective memory Interview with Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 05 June 2012. Ibid. Interview with Yoseph Hıdır (Yeşil), Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moshe Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012. Interview with Mary Ocak, Judith Elmacı, Sarah Asil, Susan Çetin and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012. R. Dosick, Living Judaism. New York, NY: HarperCollins Books, 1995, p. 123. Interview notes dated 16 March 2012; 21 March 2012. Ibid.; M. Graetz, Shabbat. In F. Skolnik (Ed.), Encyclopaedia Judaica (pp. 616–618). Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007, p. 616; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., 137; Werblowsky & Wigoder 1997, ibid., p. 595. Interview with Mary Ocak, Judith Elmacı, Sarah Asil, Susan Çetin and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012; Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. Interview with Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 05 June 2012. Interview with Yitzhak İşran and Moseh Ok, Jerusalem, 20 June 2012. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2019. Interview with Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012. Dosick, ibid., pp. 123–126. Ibid. Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 134. Interview notes dated 29 May 2012. Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 155; Werblowsky & Wigoder 1997, ibid., p. 751. Interview notes dated 29 May 2012 and 11 June 2012. Interview with Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 May 2012, Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 May 2012. Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012. Dosick, ibid., pp. 147–150; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid.; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 659. Dosick, ibid.; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid.; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid. Interviews with Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 05 June 2012. Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview with Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, 05 May 2012. Dosick, ibid., p. 151; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 152; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 300. Interview with Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 05 June 2012. Interview with Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 May 2012, Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. Interview with Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012. Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 708; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 168; Dosick, ibid., p. 156. Beginning of the year End of the year Put something “here” (bag / plate) God bless the householder

*I did not find what the word cihale means. My interviewee might have mispronounced the word. I thought it might be a bag or a plate since local people would come to ask for goods together with them. 236 Dosick, ibid., p. 557; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 119; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 158. 237 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 238 Rachel Tsafon, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012; Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012.

Social life, culture and collective memory 123 239 Interview with Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil and Malke Hıdır Yeşil; Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. 240 Interview with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012. 241 Dosick, ibid., p. 162; Neusner & Avery-Peck, ibid., p. 109; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 525. 242 Interview notes dated 21 May 2012 and 24 May 2012. 243 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 244 Interview with Avigdor Şekerci, Nahalat Binyamin, Tel Aviv, 21 May 2012. 245 Interview with Eliyahu İlim, Tel Aviv, 30 May 2012. 246 Interview with Eldad Yakışan, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 16 May 2012. 247 Interview with Joseph Dag and his brother Alon Dag, Jerusalem, 24 May 2012 and Yoel Aslan, Jerusalem, 01 June 2012, Shimon Cankatan, Rishon Lezion, 27 April 2012. 248 Interviews with Malke Hıdır Yeşil, Yoseph Hıdır Yeşil, Yitzhak Khader Jerusalem, 29 May 2012. 249 Interviews with Daniel Haseki, Bat Yam, 16 March 2012; Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012; interview with Mary Ocak, Judith Elmacı, Sarah Asil, Susan Çetin and Elisabeth Haseki, Bat Yam, Tel Aviv, 21 March 2012. 250 Dosick, ibid., p. 176; Werblowsky & Wigoder, ibid., p. 628. 251 Interviews with Yitzhak Khader, Jerusalem, 05 June 2012. 252 Interview with Deborah and Benjamin Cohen, Ashdod, 05 March 2012.

Conclusion Become visible and be remembered

This book is based on a year-long research trip in Israel, based on interviewing Jews that have emigrated to Israel from eastern Turkey. It is an attempt to reconstruct their life through retrospective memory accounts. What distinguishes this study from the others is the focus on Jews who lived in the eastern part of Turkey, in other words, the Eastern Jews of Turkey. The eastern provinces of Turkey, especially Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa/Siverek, Diyarbakır/Çermik, Mardin/Nusaybin, Van/Başkale, Hakkari and Cizre, constituted my research area. I chose eastern Turkey, especially the provinces mentioned earlier, because they were the only places where Eastern Jews once lived in the eastern part of Turkey. Currently, no Jews live in this area because they all immigrated primarily to Israel. The fieldwork was carried out adhering to the methodology of anthropology, including in-depth interviews, the gathering of life stories, attendance and observation of cultural events, archival research and the research of written sources. By employing these methods, my aim was to explore the cultural heritage of the last Jewish communities that once lived in eastern Turkey. Within this framework, I asked my interviewees how they would identify themselves. Interestingly, their responses varied. For instance, all the Jews of Gaziantep described themselves as Turkish, including the family from Mardin; the Jews of Urfa described themselves as Urfalim. Similarly, the Jews of Siverek said they were Sivereklim; and the Diyarbakır Jewish community described themselves as Diyarbakırlim. In light of such responses, the question arises why the Eastern Jews of Turkey identified themselves according to the place they came from instead of by ethnicity. Political, governmental and social developments in two newly established countries, Israel and Turkey, may have influenced how they described themselves. After the proclamation of the Republic in 1923, a serious reform movement known as Ataturk’s Reforms began to transform the new Republic of Turkey into a modern nation state. In a sense, these reforms constituted the basis of the nationbuilding process. This forced minority groups to adopt new reforms and policies after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Nationalism and secularism were two main principles of the reforms. On the other hand, after the Eastern Jews of Turkey immigrated to Israel, they found themselves among major ethnic categories: the Ashkenazim of Europe,

Conclusion

125

people of American descent, and the Eastern or “Mizrahi” Jews of the Middle East and North Africa and Sephardim. Mizrahi Jews and Sephardim constituted half the population, including the Eastern Jews of Turkey. Thus, other Israelis predominantly saw the Eastern Jews of Turkey, especially those emigrated from the eastern part, as Oriental Jews, in other words, Mizrahi Jews. The majority of the Mizrahi Jewish immigrants were illiterate and poor in comparison with the Ashkenazim Jews of Europe. Therefore, the Mizrahi Jews largely fell into the lower social strata, and Ashkenazim into the upper class.1 Accordingly, the Eastern Jews of Turkey preferred to be invisible and to refrain from displaying their differences in public at the beginning of their migration to Israel. It can be argued that as a result, they started to describe themselves according to the name of the places where they came from: Urfalim, Sivereklim, Diyarbakirlim or Çarmuklim. Additionally, they gave the name of those places to the newly established synagogues. After a while, they adopted the norms of the Israeli state and they did not get much involved in public protests or social movements against the state.2 My main reason for using the term Eastern Jews throughout the book was because of the way my informants introduced themselves and described their identity to me. Currently there are no Jews living in eastern Turkey. They all immigrated to Israel at different times. Migration waves took place before the establishment of the state of Israel and continued until 1979. As far as we know, the first immigration by Jews of Urfa to the land of Israel took place in 1896. The last one was by the Jews of Gaziantep to Israel in 1979. The emigration of the first Eastern Jews was largely illegal and unsystematic. Eastern Jews who immigrated before the founding of Israel crossed the border on a convoy of donkeys in a long journey. The first immigrants were poor, their living conditions were basic, and the large majority came from the lower classes. The main reason for their migration was to gain access to better opportunities to improve their economic status. After a couple of years, when they found new jobs and their earnings rose, they expanded their settlements and established a better living situation for their families. Jews who immigrated after the establishment of the state of Israel used different legal routes, traveling by airplane or ship. Migration to Israel was first made by one or a few members of a family. They then brought over their remaining family members so as to reunite the whole family. Whether voluntarily or compulsorily, they had a reason to migrate. There were similarities in the motives of Eastern Jews who immigrated to Israel before and after its establishment as a nation. The first and foremost reason was because conflicts within the societies they lived in had cost lives of the Jews. Such troubles and disturbances accelerated the immigration of the Jews of Urfa, Diyarbakır and Gaziantep. Probably, none of them would have wanted to abandon their forefathers’ lands if they did not have to worry about their liberty or security. Another shared motive was the expectation of a better life in Israel than in Turkey. The role of Schlichim, Zionist messengers, was another factor behind the voluntary migration. The migration of Eastern Jews from these lands caused a slow disappearance of centuries old communities that had once settled in the east of Turkey. However, in general, all Eastern Jews retain strong feelings towards the places they came

126

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from. Almost all of them have Turkish television channels, watch Turkish serials and listen to Turkish music. They continue to follow the Turkish news to learn what is going on in Turkey. In general, Jews living in diaspora easily adopt the norm of the society where they live.3 They internalize their culture without having acculturation difficulties. Since Eastern Jews were a small minority, in many ways their and local society’s life became culturally intertwined. Their food and apparel are similar to those of the native people. Languages spoken among Eastern Jews were Aramaic/Lishan Didan, Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish. The Jews of Gaziantep spoke Arabic and Turkish. The Jews of Van, Başkale, Yüksekova and Hakkari regions spoke Turkish and Kurdish but the elders spoke Lishan Didan among themselves. The Jews of Diyarbakır, Urfa, Mardin and Nusaybin spoke Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic. This research showed that there were important cultural differences between the Western and Eastern Jews of Turkey. Since the Western Jews lived in cities, they were more urbanized, while Eastern Jews who lived in small cities and districts were rural. Western Jews were wealthier than Eastern Jews, since the former were merchants and tradesman while the latter were peddlers and shopkeepers. Each community was headed by the ḥakham, who was also a hazzan, mohel, and Shochet, and had a kuttab or heder. The difficulty of their living conditions affected their ability to practice their religion, to the extent that they did not attend services in the synagogue regularly. However, during the High Holidays the synagogue was very crowded. Information regarding the Jews’ culture for this research was mostly obtained through the elderly Jews who could still recall their life in the east of Turkey. They were very emotional while telling their stories, since it reminded them of the lands where they once lived. Nevertheless, they spoke frankly and honestly because they do not want to be forgotten, and they want their culture to become known.

Notes 1 See Lewis, ibid., 1985, p. 133; Toktaş, ibid., p. 121. 2 Interview with Zion Suliman, Tel Aviv, 16 April 2011. 3 Ben-Sasson & Others, ibid.

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Index

Aleppo 21, 24, 25, 28–31, 33, 52–54, 57, 61–62, 69, 78, 99, 101, 107 aliyah 62, 88 amulet 98 Anatolia 1, 5, 19–22, 24–26, 52–53 Antep see Gaziantep anti-semitism 58 Arabic 19, 28, 35, 42–43, 68, 76–78, 83, 86, 88, 95, 115, 126 arak 81, 90 Aramaic 19, 39, 41–42, 68, 115, 126 archive 20, 22–23, 28, 32–33, 39 Armenian 24, 27–33, 36–40, 52, 54, 70, 72–73 Ashdod 12, 27 Ashkenazim 1, 2, 19, 124–125 Assyrian 16, 18–19, 28, 30–33, 36, 37, 39, 43, 94 attar 104 Babylonia 1, 18–19, 21, 28, 39, 43 Bar Mitzvah 84, 96, 98–100, 102, 104, 107, 109, 111–115, 124, 126 Başkale 7, 24, 26, 39–42, 52–53, 56, 58–59, 64, 68, 71–72, 75–76, 77, 81–83, 85, 88–92 Bat Mitzvah 84 Bat Yam 68 Beyyêt 79, 109 Byzantine 1, 19, 27, 36, 43 Çarmuk see Çermik çarşaf 76 çerçi 104 Çermik 7, 22, 24, 35, 36, 52–53, 58, 74, 76, 91, 94, 124 childhood 5, 12, 59, 73, 82, 92, 109 Christian 30, 32, 37, 39, 40, 42 çifit 72

çiğ köfte 8, 54, 59, 79, 80 Cizre 7, 21–24, 42–44, 52–53, 68, 70, 74, 76, 91, 96, 97, 105, 124 clothes 11, 28, 35, 76, 82, 87, 116 compulsory 53, 88, 106 convert 12, 18, 19, 26, 54, 88–89, 109 cuisine 4, 68–69, 77, 78, 79 custom 4, 5, 11, 16, 21–22, 24, 35, 56, 68–69, 76, 84, 87, 89, 90, 103, 110 death 12, 29, 56, 57–58, 69, 102–103 diaspora 2, 3, 16, 18, 22, 57, 65, 110, 112, 115, 116, 126 Diyarbakır 1, 2, 7, 22–27, 32–35, 52–53, 55–56, 58, 59, 61–64, 69, 70, 72–78, 81–83, 85–94, 98–103, 105–106, 110–112, 114–115, 124–126 Diyarbekir see Diyarbakır dowry 84–85, 87 drahoma 84–86 economic 1, 2, 5, 9, 11–12, 18, 20, 22, 24–25, 51, 56–57, 72, 104, 125 education 11, 25, 69, 83, 92, 99, 101, 106–108 Egypt 1, 18, 22, 28, 110, 112, 114 emigrate 1, 3, 28, 51, 52, 53, 62, 72, 74, 81, 96, 98, 107, 124, 125 Eretz Israel 2, 21, 22, 58 Erusin 84 exile 3, 16, 18, 19, 20, 28, 61, 68 family 5, 6, 8–11, 33, 40–42, 52–55, 57–59, 62–65, 68, 70, 72–75, 77–78, 81–82, 84–85, 87–91, 95–96, 98–99, 102–104, 106–110, 113–116, 124–125 fieldwork 6–12, 26, 40–43, 54, 112, 124 firman 23, 28

138

Index

food 8, 10, 12, 21, 52, 54, 62, 71, 77–79, 81–82, 85, 88, 90, 100, 103, 108, 110–116 forefather 6, 12, 58, 59, 125 forgotten 1, 4, 5, 11, 22, 82, 108, 126 funeral 69, 102, 103, 109 gabbai 93, 99, 100 Gaziantep 1, 7, 9, 26–29, 52–53, 56–59, 63–64, 68, 70–72, 74, 76–77, 79, 81–85, 87–92, 98–99, 101–103, 105–106, 108–109, 111–116, 124–126 genizah 93 Gever 42, 53 Gurci 41 haham 71, 83, 88, 91–92, 96–103, 106, 112 Hakkari 7, 23, 25–27, 40, 42, 52–53, 56, 59, 64, 68, 100, 104, 105, 124, 126 hammam 70–71, 75, 85–87 Hanukkah 113, 116 hazzan 68, 98–100, 126 Hebrew 1, 4, 8, 10, 12, 18, 20, 27, 30, 35, 58, 59, 70, 78, 89–93, 95–99, 104, 106, 115 heder 92, 93, 106, 126 Hevra Kadisha 102, 103 holiday 12, 35, 40, 68, 73, 79, 83–84, 89, 90, 108, 110–116, 126 Holy Land 4, 16, 53, 61–62 homeland 2, 3, 8, 16, 18 household 19, 31, 33, 34, 37–38, 74–75, 77, 84–85, 106 hummus 78 ıçli köfte 81 immigrate 1, 5, 26, 28, 30, 33, 40, 42, 51–58, 62–64, 68, 107, 124–125 incident 9, 18, 51, 54–59, 69, 72, 107 intermarriage 89 interview 2, 4, 6–12, 20, 26, 28, 40–43, 51, 53–55, 69, 70, 73, 78, 79, 124 invisible 1, 125 Iraq 1, 20, 22, 28, 30, 41–42, 83, 99, 100 Islam 23, 26–27, 32, 43, 54, 69, 88–89; see also Muslim Israel 1–3, 5–12, 16–18, 20, 22, 26, 29, 35, 39, 41–43, 51–54, 56–59, 61–65, 68, 72, 79, 81–82, 90, 93, 96, 98–99, 104, 107, 110, 112–115, 124–125 Istanbul 1, 2, 5, 7, 19, 20, 24, 26, 33, 41–42, 52, 56, 58, 63, 64, 69, 76, 83, 85, 89, 92, 105, 115, 116 Izmir 1, 2, 5, 7, 26

Jerusalem 3, 4, 8, 9, 12, 16, 21, 27–28, 30, 36, 39, 52–53, 56–57, 61–65, 68–69, 81, 102, 107, 113 Jewish neighborhood 36, 69, 70–71, 91, 95, 103 Judaism 5, 9, 12, 16, 17–18, 54, 92–93, 97, 99, 101–102, 109–110 Kabbalah 99 kabod 84 Kahke 79 Karaite 1 ketubbah 88 Kibbe 79 Kiddush 83, 108, 112 kiddushin 84–85, 88 kitchen 77–78, 115 Knafeh see Künefe kosher 73, 77–78, 88, 90, 100–102 kuliçe 114 Künefe 79 Kurd/Kurdish 3, 19, 24, 42, 43, 55, 68, 70, 105, 113, 126 kuttab 93, 95, 98, 99, 126 lahmacin see lahmacun lahmacun 54, 79, 81 Lebanon 28, 52, 57, 61–62 lubiye 79, 80 mahalle 25, 36, 37, 52, 69, 70–71, 91, 96 Mahane Yehuda 68, 81 Mahlıta 79 Mardin 1, 2, 7, 21–22, 24–27, 32, 36–38, 52–53, 59, 61, 68, 70, 74–76, 91–92, 94, 96, 100, 105, 124, 126 marriage 5, 11–12, 54, 69, 75, 84–88 matza 115 memory 4, 5, 12, 21, 59, 68–69, 107, 124 Mesopotamia 1, 18, 19, 21 messenger 58, 62, 93, 125 migration 3, 4, 12, 16, 19, 29, 33, 35, 41, 51–58, 62, 72, 125 mikveh 75, 87, 89, 93 millet system 1, 24, 71, 72 minority 1, 5, 6, 21, 24, 30, 37, 57, 68, 71, 81, 124, 126 Mizrahi Jews 1, 2, 3, 33, 63, 86, 125 mohel 68, 83–84, 86, 98, 100, 126 Morocco 1, 22 Mühimme Defterleri 23 Muslim 2–5, 7, 9, 12, 21, 23–24, 27–28, 30–33, 35, 37, 39, 40, 53–58, 63, 70–73,

Index 77, 81, 83–84, 88–89, 90, 97, 100–101, 103–105, 107–110, 112, 115; see also Islam Musta’arabim 19, 29 Nedunya 85 neighborhood 5, 32–33, 36, 52, 58–59, 68–71, 73, 75, 91, 95, 102–103, 106 Nisibin see Nusaybin non-Muslim 12, 23–24, 28, 30–33, 37–38, 51, 69, 70, 71, 81 Nusaybin 21, 24, 26, 36, 38–39, 43, 53, 57, 61, 68, 70, 94, 124, 126 Oriental/oriental 1, 2, 21–22, 125 origin 3, 16, 18, 20, 28, 40–41 Ottoman 1–3, 5, 12, 19, 21–25, 27–28, 30, 32–33, 36–37, 39, 40, 43, 51, 69, 70, 71–72, 78, 124 Palestine 18, 21–22, 51, 52–53, 57, 63 Pesah 61, 110, 114–116 pita 78 population 5, 6, 16–17, 19, 25–35, 37–43, 52, 68, 71, 81, 91, 104, 125 prophet 56, 76, 93, 94, 114 Purim 68, 114, 116 qaliya 78, 115 quarter 21, 25, 32, 69, 70–71, 73–74, 76, 81, 84, 87, 91–92, 96–97, 102–104 rabbi 8, 19, 21, 24–25, 28, 33, 35, 39, 41–43, 53, 55, 72, 76–77, 83, 84, 88–91, 94, 96–103, 109, 112, 114 Rakı see arak Rishon Lezion 12, 27, 68 Roma 3, 16 Roman 1, 18, 28, 30, 36, 38, 39, 40, 43 Romaniot 1, 19 Rosh Hashanah 104, 110 rural 2, 19, 24–25, 68–69, 78, 104, 126 Russia 17, 21, 41, 53 Sandek 84 şalvar 76 Şanlıurfa see Urfa Schlichim 57–58, 62, 125 school 9, 16–17, 25, 40, 73, 81, 90–92, 106–108 Sephardim 1, 2, 19, 28, 125 Shabbat 79, 81, 85, 87, 89, 90, 104, 107–108, 109, 110

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shadchan 86–87 Shavuot 110, 116 shehita 100–101 shiva 102–103 Shochet 68, 77, 98–102, 126 shofar 110–111 şifte 81 Siverek 7, 22, 24, 25, 31–32, 52–53, 56, 58–59, 63, 71, 73–75, 77, 81, 84, 87, 91, 96, 99–102, 104–105, 108–109, 124 Sohnut 61–62 Şorkaya family 54, 55, 57, 58, 59, 60 Sukkot 110, 112, 116 synagogue 4, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33, 35, 36, 39, 40, 43, 52, 58, 62, 68, 71, 79, 83, 85, 88–101, 103, 106, 108, 112, 114–116, 125–126 Syria 1, 20–22, 28, 30, 52, 54, 57, 61–62, 99 Talmud Torah 25, 90, 92–93, 106 tanur 75, 77, 115 tax 51–53, 93 taxpayer 29, 33, 37 Tel Aviv 8–10, 12, 16, 27, 68, 112 Torah 35, 39, 91–95, 97–99, 102, 106, 108–112, 116 tradition 3–5, 8, 11, 16–17, 19, 21, 28, 30, 39, 43, 54, 68–69, 74, 76, 78–79, 82, 84–86, 89, 90, 94, 102, 104, 106 traveler 12, 19–23, 30, 33, 35, 37, 39, 42–43, 69, 78, 90–91, 93 Tu Bishvat 113–114 Tunisia 1, 22 Turkish 7, 8, 10, 21, 26, 28, 31, 42, 51, 59, 61–62, 68, 79, 81, 83, 85–86, 89, 92, 95, 107, 124, 126 Urfa 1, 8, 21–22, 24–31, 51–55, 57–59, 61, 63–64, 68, 70, 72–79, 81, 83, 86–87, 89, 92, 95–96, 99, 100–105, 107–115, 124–126 Urmiye 83, 96, 99 Van 1, 7, 22–23, 25–27, 39–42, 52, 56, 58–59, 64, 68, 76–77, 89, 105, 107, 115, 124, 126 village 22, 24, 28, 57, 72, 77, 104–105, 108 voluntarily 3, 5, 53, 57, 125

140

Index

woman/women 11, 23, 52, 71, 77, 82–83, 85, 86, 89, 101–103, 115

Yom Kippur 68, 89, 94, 110–112 Yüksekova 40, 42, 64, 68, 104

Yahudiyan 36, 37, 70 Yemen 1, 21, 53 Yiddish 1, 59

Zaho 22, 83, 99, 100 Zakho see Zaho Zionism 2, 58, 62, 125