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Europe
Turkish Press News
2003-11-17
These are some of the major headlines and their brief stories in Turkey’s press on November 17, 2003. EFL:
HERE ARE FIRST CLUES
Information regarding the bomb attacks on two synagogues of Istanbul started to become clear. Due to first clues, the assailants were from the Middle East and those who helped them were Turkish. The security camera of Neve Shalom synagogue showed the image of the terrorist who staged the suicide attack in a red lorry. The assailant who died in the bombing is believed to be an Arab. Police believe that those who helped the organization of the bomb attacks were Turkish. The two lorries were bought second handed and they were registered on Turkish citizens.
This sounds about right, the boomers are imported islamic cannon fodder with local support. Sounds like they made the same mistake with the trucks as they did in Bali and other locations, locals bought them and thought they couldn’t be traced when they blew up.

TURKEY IS OUR HOME, WE WILL NEVER LEAVE HERE
A Turkish citizen of Jewish origin gave the most meaningful response to terrorists who caused bloodshed in Istanbul by staging bomb attacks on two synagogues. Yusuf Habib Gerez, 77, said that ’’I will not leave Turkey even if they launch bombings for million times. Here is our home and it will always be so.’’ The words of Gerez were covered by Los Angeles Times newspaper of the U.S.

ANTI-TERRORISM TEAM OF U.S. COMES TO ANKARA
A special team came from the U.S. to investigate the connections of terrorist organizations Al Qaeda and Hamas in Turkey. The U.S. delegation’s official agenda is to have contacts about ’’freezing of assets to prevent financing terrorism and black money laundering and meeting with prosecutors and judges who are specialized in such cases.’’
FBI or Treasury Department, paper trails our speciality.

TWO ACTIVISTS DETERMINED
Police determined two activists who participated in fight voluntarily in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Chechnya. Security forces detained relatives of those persons. It was thought that two suspects had connection with Islamic terrorist organizations. Police reached important evidences from licenses of two trucks which were used in bomb attacks on two synagogues in Sisli and Beyoglu.
If they went to fight in Chechnya, they most likely had al-Qaeda travel agents. See what I meant about the trucks?

CHIEF RABBI IN TURKEY ASKS PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN A SAFE PLACE FOR SYNAGOGUE
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Ishak Haleva, the Chief Rabbi in Turkey, and expressed condolences over people who died in bomb attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul. Haleva asked Erdogan a new synagogue to be built in a safer place. Erdogan welcomed the offer and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu gave an instruction that necessary support would be made within the scope of the laws.
Murat was correct, Rabbi Haleva wants a new synagogue that has better security. Need space around it for blast protection. Works for me, the US has built new embassies for the same reason.
Posted by:Steve

#7  Most places are.I think that's because we're always more interested in what's nearest. I know much more about American and English history than I do about French history, and I had lotsa trouble finding books on the Holy Roman Empire. Until I started studying Russian, I knew next to nothing about Russian history, and it's only through purposeful reading that I know anything about Arab, Persian, Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian history.

I do know enough about Turkish history to recall that many of the sultans were pretty loopy. It probably came from growing up secluded, but with the knowledge that if you weren't the next sultan you were going to be culled when Pop died. They disposed of potential rivals by having them strangled.
Posted by: Fred   2003-11-17 8:37:02 PM  

#6  For a long time researchers in ancient Spanish went to... Turkey since Turkish Jews were the only people in world who spoke Spanish like in 1492.


But I heard of a Sultan who used to kill any Jew he met after sunset (he also did this to Christians so he was not anti-semitic :-).


I disagree with Murat about the lack of relationship between Turkey's lack of antisemitism and secularity: many of Mustafa Kemal's reforms reflect a will of reducing Arab influence in Turkey. I really think he was not fond of them. It was logical for his successors to adopt a policy of "the ennemy of my ennemy is my friend" and keep good relations, even military cooperation, with Israel.


Disclaimer: France is a shitty place to learn about Mustafa Kemal, specially if you don't speak a word of Turkish.

Posted by: JFM   2003-11-17 3:17:33 PM  

#5  In Turkey Jews and Muslims go well and have very friendly relations, actually it is not because Turkey is secular but because Turkey is not Arab, Turks and Jews have never had quarrel. The first Jews who got sanctuary in Turkey, where in the inquisition times around 1600BC, when Jews fled the Christian inquisition in Spain. They got sanctuary and land from the Sultan who was also the Caliphe.

The second time was during WW2 when thousands of Jews fled Hitlers armies, I remember well while I was a little kid there where Jewish neighbourhoods in my town, later most of them moved to Israel and the US.
Posted by: Murat   2003-11-17 11:02:29 AM  

#4  I watched a program on the news the other night about the Jewish Turks. Apparently out of the ME, the Jews in Turkey have the best relations w/Muslims inside their country. As Turkey is possibly the most secular of the ME countries & has the closest ties w/Israel out of any Muslim majority nation. I think if the Jewish leaders of Turkey want to move their Synagogues in order to 'harden' them up against terror attacks in order to protect their congregations and civilians in the area - then good. However, they should not be 'forced' to move. Time will tell.
Posted by: Jarhead   2003-11-17 10:43:46 AM  

#3  The Rabbi asked for the new synagogue to be built in a safer place. Murat wants to raze the other 16 to make sure the Jews know their place are safe.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2003-11-17 10:05:09 AM  

#2  The words of Gerez were covered by Los Angeles Times newspaper of the U.S.

in all likelihood then, he never said anything of the sort
Posted by: Frank G   2003-11-17 10:02:35 AM  

#1  Thank you Steve,

A must for Bulldog to read!
Posted by: Murat   2003-11-17 9:28:38 AM  

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