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Turkish Republic

Turkish Jewry Today

Turkish Jewry Today

February 15, 2007 | Rifat Bali
The Turkish Jewish community is one of the oldest of the Diaspora, dating back to the Roman Empire. Ninety percent of Turkish Jews live in Istanbul and most of the remaining 10 percent in Izmir. Demographically it is an aging community with a steady trend of emigration, in the past to Israel and nowadays mainly to the United States.
Turkish-Israeli Relations: Crisis or Continued Cooperation?

Turkish-Israeli Relations: Crisis or Continued Cooperation?

July 15, 1996 | Dr. George E. Gruen
For the first time in the 73-year history of the modern, secular Turkish Republic, the Turkish Grand National Assembly on July 8, 1996, narrowly approved Necmettin Erbakan, leader of the pro-Islamist Refah Party (RP), as prime minister. (Refah is usually translated as "welfare," but "well-being" or "prosperity" is probably closer to the actual meaning in Turkish. The party's symbol displays a full stalk of grain.)