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Joshua Manesh
Emek Hebrew Academy
Sherman Oaks, CA

                  The History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire

     Since 1492, through five centuries, the Ottoman sultans and the modern day Turkish
Republic welcomed the Jews and offered them a safe haven from persecution in the
European countries. The Ottoman Empire at its zenith became one the largest empires in
world history covering most of the Mediterranean basin region extending from north Africa
to eastern Europe. It has been suggested that one of the characteristics that extended the
domination of the Ottoman Empire was its allowance of religious freedom for the different
nationalities and minorities under its rule. While many European nations expelled,
persecuted or tried to convert the Jews under their dominion, the Turkish people of the
Ottoman Empire remained as an outstanding example of tolerance of different nationalities
and different religions.

     The history of the Ottoman Jews is rich with mutual complimentary cultural influences.
The Jews coming from Spain established the first printing press that emerged as an
important tool of the modern culture. Many Jewish doctors served in the courts of Ottoman
sultans and in the Ottoman army. Jews engaged in commerce and enhanced trade between
countries of the region for the benefit of all. The religious freedom allowed famous Rabbis to
flourish and produce outstanding works of comments on the Old Testament.

     Until World War I, the land of Israel also known as Palestine, remained under the rule of
the Ottoman Empire. During this period, the Jewish population in the region lived as loyal
subjects of the greater Ottoman Empire. After World War I, the British Empire gained control
of Transjordan and Palestine which ended in 1948 with the declaration of independence of
the State of Israel.

Prior to World War II, the Turkish government issued a decree prohibiting entry visas to
Jews escaping the Nazi regime. However, some Turkish diplomats in foreign countries
worked hard to help Jews escape from deportation to concentration and death camps.
Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Memorial Institute in Israel, awarded the medal of "The
Righteous Among the Nations" to the Turkish ambassador, Mr. Selahattin Ulkumen for
saving Jews of the Greek island Rhodes while risking his own life. One of the tragic cases
took place in 1942. A ship named Struma carrying 769 Jewish refugees arrived in Istanbul. Its
passengers were not granted permit to land.

     In contrast to the policy of entry prohibition against refugees, the Turkish government
decree left the doors open to Jewish scientists who came to Turkey. By firsthand account,
the Turkish honored their German Jewish teachers who escaped to Turkey and taught at
universities in Istanbul.

     During World War II, the Sephardic communities in Turkey and Bulgaria were the only
communities that did not suffer the Nazi Holocaust, thanks to the wisdom of the leaders of
these countries. In contrast, nearly the entire Sephardic Jewish community of Greece was
killed during World War II by the Nazi death machine.

     After World War II, while the British rule tried to prevent the movement of the Jewish
refugees into Israel, the modern day Turkish republic allowed its Jewish citizens to freely
immigrate to Israel. The current population of Turkish Jews in Israel is estimated at about
100,000, although a precise figure is difficult to obtain. This represents a relatively small
community in the general population of about 6 million in Israel. The major wave of
emigration from Turkey, to Israel took place between 1940-1950. This migration from Turkey
was not a result of a desire to escape from Turkey but rather emanated from the national
desire to return to the homeland of our forefathers as each day, three times a day, we prayed
to return to Jerusalem.