History of the Jews in Turkey

The history of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey covers the 2,400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey . There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 4th century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed to the Ottoman Empire (including regions part of modern Turkey) in the late 15th century . Despite emigration during the 20th century , modern day Turkey continues to have a small Jewish population.

There have been Jewish communities in Asia Minor since at least the 5th century B.C. and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire (including regions part of modern Turkey) in the late 15th century ( see History of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire ), twenty centuries later. Despite emigration during the 20th century , modern-day Turkey continues to have a small Jewish population.

There have been Jewish communities in Anatolia since at least the fifth century BCE and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain by the Alhambra Decree were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the late 15th century, including regions now part of Turkey, centuries later, forming the bulk of the Ottoman Jews . Today, the vast majority of Turkish Jews live in Israel , though Turkey itself still has a modest Jewish population, where the vast majority live in Istanbul , and the remainder in Izmir . Jewish Population by country 2021 "Antiochia Arabic" .

There have been Jewish communities in Anatolia since at least the beginning of the common era. Anatolia's Jewish population before Ottoman times primarily consisted of Greek-speaking Romaniote Jews , with a handful of dispersed Karaite communities. In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, many Sephardic Jews from Spain, Portugal and South Italy expelled by the Alhambra Decree found refuge across the Ottoman Empire , including in regions now part of Turkey. This influx played a pivotal role in shaping the predominant identity of Ottoman Jews . By the end of the sixteenth century, the Jewish population in the Ottoman Empire was double (150,000) that of Jews in Poland and Ukraine combined (75,000), far surpassing other Jewish communities to be the largest in the world. Turkey's Jewish community was large, diverse and vibrant, forming the core of Ottoman Jewry until World War I . Early signs of change included education reforms and the rise of Zionism . The community declined sharply after World War I, with many emigrating to Israel , France and the Americas . Turkish Jews in Israel became leaders of the Sephardic community, and their Ladino language was a prominent characteristic. Today, the vast majority of Turkish Jews live in Israel, though Turkey itself still has a modest Jewish population, where the vast majority live in Istanbul , and the remainder in İzmir . Jews are one of the four ethnic minorities officially recognized in Turkey, together with Armenians , Greeks , and Bulgarians . The Jews of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic . The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire . "תורכיה" . יד יצחק בן־צבי (in Hebrew) . A Brief Overview of Current Issues and Minority Schools" . Turkey is a nation–state built on remnants of the Ottoman Empire where non-Muslim minorities were guaranteed the right to set up educational institutions; however, since its establishment, it has officially recognised only Armenians, Greeks and Jews as minorities and guaranteed them the right to manage educational institutions as enshrined in the Treaty of Lausanne. [...] Private language teaching courses teach 'traditionally used languages', elective language courses have been introduced in public schools and universities are allowed to teach minority languages. "EU enlargement conditions and minority protection : a reflection on Turkey's non-Muslim minorities" . East European Quarterly . 40 : 489– 519. Turkey signed the Covenant on 15 August 2000 and ratified it on 23 September 2003. However, Turkey put a reservation on Article 27 of the Covenant which limited the scope of the right of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or to use their own language. This reservation provides that this right will be implemented and applied in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Turkish Constitution and the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. This implies that Turkey grants educational right in minority languages only to the recognized minorities covered by the Lausanne who are the Armenians, Greeks and the Jews. "The (In-)Validity of Turkey's Reservation to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" . The fact that Turkish constitutional law takes an even more restrictive approach to minority rights than required under the Treaty of Lausanne was recognised by the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in its concluding observations on the combined fourth to sixth periodic reports of Turkey. The CERD noted that "the treaty of Lausanne does not explicitly prohibit the recognition of other groups as minorities" and that Turkey should consider recognising the minority status of other groups, such as Kurds. 50 In practice, this means that Turkey grants minority rights to "Greek, Armenian and Jewish minority communities while denying their possible impact for unrecognized minority groups (e.g. Minorities and nationalism in Turkish law .