Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

Turkey’s small Jewish community got a rare chance to showcase its culture in Istanbul on Sunday during the European Days of Jewish Culture event. “Our target is non-Jews who want to know more about us,” said Nisya Isman Allovi, director of the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews that organised the event, which was attended by about 1,300 people.

I've been asked a lot lately how we Jews cope in Turkey with the recent surge in terrorism. The answer isn't clear cut. As a Turkish Jew, a woman, and a journalist covering the Middle East, I am often asked about anti-Semitism, freedom of the press and the difficulties facing women in Turkey. Recently, a new question has been added to the list: “How do you cope with the terror attacks?” The recent surge in terrorism has been shocking by all means. Especially when foreign missions – like Israel – issue travel warnings about imminent attacks, and when reports surface that the Islamic State seeks to target Israelis and Jews. Remembering the recent attacks on Jews in Europe – the kosher market in Paris, the Jewish museum in Belgium, the Grand Synagogue in Denmark and the Jewish school in Toulouse – makes us even more wary. And when three Israelis were killed along with one Iranian in Istanbul last month, the terror felt ever closer to home.

The Chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Hungary organized a two-day event in Istanbul on Holocaust and Holocaust education. The event included semi-academic panel and musical performance by Hungarian artists including the well-known Budapest Klezmer Band. Hungary is the chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) this year. The Hungarian Consulate in Istanbul organized a two-day event on October 7-8 th  in Istanbul on Holocaust and Holocaust education. Chief Rabbi of the Turkish Community Isak Haleva, Ambassador of Hungary Gabor Kiss, Israeli Chargee d’Affaires Amira Oron, Consul General of Hungary Balazs Hendrich, Consul General of Israel Shai Cohen, Deputy Consul General Shira Ben Tzion and the President of the Turkish Jewish Community Ishak Ibrahimzadeh were among the guests of this event which took place at Kadir Has University, Cibali campus.

The Spanish government, belatedly coming to grips with the historic mistake of forcing the Jews out of the country, is now trying to apologize through granting them citizenship The Spanish government adopted a long-anticipated bill to grant citizenship to Sephardic Jews, but applicants face serious challenges For quite some time, people had been talking about the Spanish government's plans to grant citizenship to Sephardic Jews, a religious minority forced out of the Iberian Peninsula several centuries ago. Considering that the Jewish community faced persecution for refusing to become Christians, it would be more accurate to use the term "readmission."

Adio Kerida (Goodbye my Beloved), a sad song about the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, two countries they called home, echoed cheerfully through the walls of Edirne Great Synagogue during its re-opening ceremony. When this meaningful song was sung altogether once again at the end of the ceremony, some had tears in their eyes and some had their hands on their hearts. However, this five hundred years old requiem that symbolizes the yearning of Sephardic Jews had a whole different meaning, this time. All the Jews of this land and especially the Thrace Jews who were expelled from their homes in 1934, sang this song as “one”, with pure joy. And this time the tears that ran down their eyes were tears of joy instead of tears of sadness.

I was excited; this is the best word to describe my feelings that day. Every detail of the ceremony had been worked on for weeks. We were going to Ankara! And to commemorate the Holocaust nonetheless, this was huge! The victims of the Holocaust were officially going to be commemorated in my country, as it will be in many other countries. And in Ankara, at the heart of Turkey!