President Yitzhak Herzog and his wife Michal met this morning (Thursday) with representatives of the Jewish community at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul. During the visit, the president was received at the prayer hall with shofar cheers, commemorated with the memory of those killed in the terrorist attacks that took place in the synagogue in 1986 and 2003, and lit a memorial candle. Later, the president participated in the recitation of a psalm and was invited to ascend to the Torah in the prayer hall, reciting Kaddish in memory of his late mother, who passed away last January.
The meeting was accompanied by the community’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Yitzhak Haliba, Turkish Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Ahmet Misabach Demirjan, presidents of the Jewish community Isaac Abraham and Erol Cohen, Jacques Ashkenazi, honorary consul in Izmir and Chabad emissary in Turkey, Rabbi Mandy Chetrik. Neve Shalom Synagogue is the largest and largest Sephardic synagogue in the city.
In his opening remarks, the President said: “My brothers and sisters from the Jewish community, Michal my wife and I are happy to meet you, and to bless, as it is written about one who has not seen his friend for a long time:” Blessed are you, O Lord our God, State his words. On this special occasion, I ask, together with you, to pray for the peace of our brothers and sisters from the Jewish community in Ukraine, and to pray that the Blessed One will preserve and save them from all trouble and distress. “
The President added: “Both my father and my grandfather mentioned in their historic visits here the way in which Turkey opened its gates and its heart, to the girls and the Jewish people who found rest here for their feet. The deportees from Spain and the veteran Turkish Jews integrated into Turkish society, and played a major role in writing the history of the Jewish people. A long line of rabbis, poets, sages, merchants, entrepreneurs, leaders and leaders, are just part of the historical past of the Jewish people here in this country. “
Herzog added: “My brothers and sisters, all of Israel is bound by a bond of mutual responsibility, of a partnership of destiny; And you, members of the Jewish community in Turkey, are an example and role model for this. You are a symbol of mutual guarantee, of tradition, of community, that face all the challenges. I know that the Jewish community here in Turkey and also this synagogue – “Neve Shalom”, have experienced severe terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, the rabbi around the world – Jewish schools, synagogues, supermarkets and Jewish businesses – were and still are targeted by haters. I strengthen your hands, and welcome the commitment of the authorities to the safety and freedom of the Jews of Turkey. “
“I met yesterday on a historic visit to Ankara with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, we had a good, open and honest conversation. At our meeting, I told him how important relations between Israel and Turkey are to me. I told him that I believe that all of us – members of all religions in the Middle East – can and should live in peace. I was happy to hear from him that he agrees with me, and that he also thinks that regional stability is especially important, and that what unites us, between all peoples and religions, should be strengthened. ” Added.
In conclusion, he said: “We understood that we both believe that precisely in the days of war winds, and a terrible tragedy in Ukraine, one should follow the path of the legacy of the children of Abraham. A legacy of respect, tolerance and friendship. And of an uncompromising struggle against hatred and racism, anti-Semitism and hatred of the other. Our world needs more peace, more “Neve Shalom”, and less wars, tragedies, and struggles. As the words of the prayer: “He who makes peace in his heights will make peace on us and on all Israel and on the whole world and they said: Amen.”
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