TURKEY’S JEWS SEEK EQUAL DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

PanARMENIAN.Net
03.02.2009 15:07 GMT+04:00

The biggest problem of Jews in Turkey is that most people perceive
them as foreigners and not citizens of this country, according to
the leader of the Jewish community in Turkey.

"Turkey’s Jews ask for equal democratic rights while the concerns of
the Jewish community in Turkey about possible antagonism over Israeli
attacks in Gaza remain. We want equality and democracy, not tolerance,"
Silvyo Ovadya said.

"Everybody can criticize Israel’s policies and we respect
that. However, any anti-Israel statement can easily turn
into a condemnation of Jews," Ovadya told Milliyet daily in an
interview. "What we are concerned about is the Jewish part, not the
Israel part. We do not want people to insult our religion," he said.

"Whenever there is a war in the Middle East anti-Semitism goes up
in the world. One reason is the inability to distinguish between an
Israeli national and a Jew who is a citizen of another country. This
is exactly our problem in Turkey, people see us as part of Israel,"
Ovadya said.

Explaining that their biggest problem was that people saw them as
outsiders, Ovadya said they had no problems worshiping or holding
religious services. "Of course there are restrictions. For example
have you ever seen a Jewish ambassador or military officer? However,
our problem is something else. We do our military service, we fulfill
all our civic responsibilities and we are raised with Turkish culture
and language. When somebody calls us foreigners despite all that,
it offends us," he said.

Referring to the protection afforded by the Treaty of Lausanne
to minorities, Ovedya said they wanted the Turkish Constitution
and democracy to protect their rights as they would any other
citizen. "Today Jews in France or Britain do not go to the synagogue
or Jewish schools because of a Lausanne-like treaty. They do so based
on their democratic rights. I am not a guest or a foreigner. I am
a Turkish citizen just like you. All we want is acknowledgment," he
said. "I do not ask for tolerance. If this is my country, why should
anybody tolerate me?" he added.