AROUND THE JEWISH WORLD Turkey’s Jews remain wary of Islamists’ political strength

ISTANBUL, March 16 (JTA) — Nine months have passed since a group of Turkish legislators took action that brought down the first Islamist-led coalition in modern Turkish history. The leader of the deserters was Cefi Kamhi, the only Jewish member of the Turkish Parliament. “I was Ciller’s Trojan horse,” Kamhi said in an interview, referring to the head of the True Path Party, who was foreign minister in the Islamist-led coalition of Necmettin Erbakan. Despite concerns that Erbakan would steer Turkey away from its traditional relationship with the West, his government continued to strengthen military ties with Israel. Indeed, Kamhi was instrumental in putting the finishing touches on parliament’s approval of a military accord with Israel. But Kamhi quit the coalition because he believed that the Islamists had acquired too much power — a view held by Turkey’s military as well. The army, acting by its mandate in the constitution to be the guardian of the secular character of the country according to the legacy of the founding father of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, forced Erbakan to step down. “The army acts, and then it goes back to its bases,” said Kamhi, who is the son of a prominent Jewish businessman in Turkey. For now, the emergence of the current secular coalition, led by Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz of the Motherland Party, has eased the worries among Turkey’s 28,000 Jews — a tiny minority in a Muslim country of more than 62 million people. Kamhi stressed that it was now time to keep the Islamists away from political power — a task that is not so easy. While Erbakan has been banned from political activity for five years — and his Welfare Party has been outlawed — the movement he headed remains strong. All but five of the 158 of the Welfare Party’s legislators are still in parliament — now members of a newly formed party called Fazilet, or wisdom. “Of course we are concerned,” said Kamhi. “One must continuously work on preserving the secular nature of Turkey.” When a delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations visited Turkey earlier this month, they heard — from Jewish leaders as well as from political figures such as Yilmaz — the pride Turks take in the 500-year tradition of Muslim-Jewish coexistence in Turkey. Indeed, they have good reason to be proud. Turkey served as a safe haven for Jews ever since the deportation of Jews from Spain in 1492 through World War II. But the worries are there. A huge plaque at Neve Shalom Synagogue, one of 17 synagogues in Istanbul, commemorates the names of the 22 victims murdered during an Arab terrorist attack during Shabbat prayers on Sept. 6, 1986. The plaque is a constant reminder that elements hostile to Jews exist in this traditionally friendly country. As a result, the Jewish community has enhanced security. Istanbul’s only Jewish day school and other Jewish institutions are well guarded. Members of the Conference of Presidents’ delegation had to pass through two steel doors and a metal detector before they could enter. Parents of children attending the Jewish school are devoted to their Jewish identity and willing to spend $3,000 in annual tuition, an exceptionally high expense in Turkey. The country’s Jewish community subsidizes 40 percent of the school’s annual budget. But some of these children may not be staying in Turkey. Etel Baruch, 14, said she plans to go to the United States when she finishes school. Her friend Edna Diler, on the other hand, said she would eventually go to Israel. “I love Israel because everyone is Jewish there,” she said. Some 5 percent of Turkey’s Jews attend synagogue daily, with a better attendance on Shabbat. Two or three times a year, the community sends a delegation of officials able to perform Jewish rituals to the small community in neighboring Syria. The political situation, combined with the dwindling numbers of involved Jews, has taken a toll. “Six years ago, when we visited the community as it celebrated its 500th anniversary here, the atmosphere was more upbeat,” said Rabbi Jerome Epstein, executive vice president of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. With its small numbers, Turkey’s Jews appear not to be involved in the religious pluralism debate raging in Israel and the United States. “You have come to an organized community, which has no divisions. We have Jews who keep the mitzvot more, those who keep them less and those who keep them so-so. But we are all united,” David Asseo, the chief rabbi of Turkey, told the Conference of Presidents’ delegation. But this unity might not mean much if there is an Islamic victory in the next elections, slated for 1999 — a victory that many political pundits are predicting. “We are very much concerned by the growing popular support of the Islamic Party,” Daniel Navaro, deputy vice president of the Jewish community in Istanbul. “We had a pretty bad experience last year. “But,” he added after a short pause, “we hope for the better.”