Istanbul – Turkish Synagogue Vandalized Following First Prayer Service Held In 65 Years

Istanbul, Turkey – Vandals spray-painted hate graffiti on the Istipol Synagogue in Istanbul just days after a one time prayer service was held, the first to be held in 65 years, the Turkish publicationToday’s Zaman reported Tuesday.

Following a one-time prayer service held in the synagogue located in the largely Jewish neighborhood of Balat, vandals wrote “Terrorist Israel, there is Allah,” on the external walls of the structure in white paint. 

“Writing anti-Israel speech on the wall [outside] of a synagogue is an act of anti-Semitism,”  İvo Molinas, the editor-in-chief of the Jewish community’s weekly newspaperŞalom, said in an interview with Today’s Zaman. 

“There is widespread anti-Semitism voiced in Turkey and it gets in the way of celebrating the richness of cultural diversity in this country,” he added.

Molinas expressed upset at the immediate linkage made between the Jewish community in Turkey and the State of Israel, emphasizing that the Turkish Jewish community is not connected to Israeli policy. 

“Of course there are some connections between our community and Israel; members of our community have family that live there and might have emotional connections but we have nothing to do with their political policies,” Molinas said according to the report.

Sixty-nine percent of Turks harbor anti-Semitic attitudes, according to the Anti-Defamation League and a study conducted in late 2014 by the Hrant Dink Foundation found that anti-Semitism is the most common racial or religious prejudice expressed in Turkish media.