Feeling hatred against a person or a group just because they are Jews -- this is racism in its simplest form. Jews are scattered around the world and can be found almost in every country. It is for this reason one can potentially encounter some form of anti-Semitism in almost every part of the world.
What can be said say about the situation in Turkey? The tragedy in Gaza has incited Turkish society against Israel. Society's sensitivity about Jews is increasing. The row between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos has triggered a debate about anti-Semitism in Turkey. Is Judeophobia a main trend in Turkey? If there is, among which social or political groups is it widespread? Those who answer these questions without paying attention to the Turkey's special historical experiences come to the wrong conclusions.
In every society, common enemies are more important than common values. In order to keep society together and manage it, common enemies are invented. Judeophobia is a type of enmity invented in Christian societies in the Middle Ages. Whenever something goes wrong, all eyes turn to the Jews. The Jews who are relatively well educated and wealthy are advertised as enemies. Society's fury is channeled toward Jews. Is this the case in Turkey?
Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is a term coined by the Germans to mean "hatred of Jews." It is wrong from our perspective. Anti-Semitism etymologically refers to Semites as a whole. Since the German people know only Jews as Semitic people, it is perfectly understood why they invented such a term. Along with Arabs, Eastern Christians such the Syriacs are also Semitic. The divine religions that came after Prophet Abraham, i.e., Judaism, Christianity and Islam, are also referred to as Semitic religions. Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Jesus are both Semitic. Semitic races are descendants of Shem, one of the sons of Prophet Noah. Turks have long regarded Arabs as the "supreme race" because Prophet Muhammad was an Arab. Because Arabs, too, are Semitic, anti-Semitism is the wrong term. The correct term should be "hatred of Jews," or Judeophobia in the West. The sentiment rising in Turkey following the Gaza massacre is not hatred of Jews. This reaction is limited to the Israeli state and it can be properly described as anti-Zionism.
Why is the hatred of Jews so ubiquitous?
Christianity can be blamed for the widespread hatred of Jews. It can even be said that the source of the hatred of Jews that has taken root in Muslim societies is largely Christianity. In particular, we must emphasize that Turks have imported the hatred of Jews from outside. Christianity is a religion that bears a hatred of Jews. The reason for this from a religious point of view is that Christians believe that Jesus was crucified by the governor of Rome because of a Jewish conspiracy.
However, the main reason for this hatred is that Jews have long been used as enemies needed by closed societies. Jews have formed in their respective societies a group of people with the highest intellectual capacities. Scientists and physicians of Jewish origin are abundant in every society. Moreover, jobs requiring special skills and experience such as banking or processing precious metals have been dominated by Jews. Jews have these skills, and their wealth has always leads to suspicions and envy from other people.
Relations between Turks and Jews
Jews came to the Ottoman Empire 500 years ago. Actually, they were invited and aided by the Ottoman sultan. Mehmet the Conqueror invited Jews to the Ottoman Empire since he needed their intellectual skills. Since the arrival of the Jews in the Ottoman Empire, the most common form of religious conflict seen within the borders of the empire was between Christians and Jews. Since the Middle Ages, Christians had spread rumors that during Passover, Jews tended to abduct Christian children, place them in pinned barrels and add their blood to unleavened bread (matzo); this rumor had caused many bloody incidents in every Passover. Actually, these rumors were the most troublesome and common complaint the Ottoman judges had to deal with. The Ottoman administrative authorities had to take extra measures in order to protect Jews from Christians, and the Ottoman judges were ordered not to hear the cases concerning these rumors.
In the Ottoman nation (millet) system, there was inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims. Non-Muslims had a hierarchy among themselves. Orthodox Greeks were at the top of this hierarchy while Jews were at the bottom. The Islahat (reforms) decree that the Ottoman state announced in 1856 abolished not only the inequality between Muslims and non-Muslims, but also the hierarchy among non-Muslims. Ahmet Cevdet Pasha, a historian of the time, notes that when the Islahat decree was introduced, the Greeks objected to it, saying, "The state equated us with Jews. But we were content with the supremacy of Islam."
During its lifespan, the Ottoman Empire had problems with almost all ethnic groups. The only community it had no problem was the Jewish community. If you pay a visit to Gelibolu where 250,000 Ottomans died in World War I, you will see the graves of many Jews, most of whom were physicians, who fought and died together with Turks. The pan-Turkism movement that became widespread among Ottoman intellectuals in the age of nation-states cannot be understood without discussing influential Jews such as Parvus Efendi and Moiz Kohen.
Who is to blame for Judeophobia?
Judeophobia is rising in Turkey. This can't be denied. There are two reasons for this.
First, the same reasons Jews are viewed with hatred around the world exist in Turkey as well. The fact that Jews are a qualified and organized minority leads to the creation of myths.
Almost all Jews have been living in cities for ages. In every society they live in, Jews' level of education is far above the average of their respective societies. These qualities are combined with the hegemonic power of the US and they are defined as a shadowy power capable of doing everything.
Second, the marginal groups who tend to explain everything through conspiracy theories create enemies from this shadowy power. Neo-nationalists lead the pack. There are too many "Jewish conspiracies" in the content of the Ergenekon investigation. These marginal neo-nationalists delve into genealogical research and depict whoever resists them as Jews. This is an important point. The hatred of Jews is provoked by secular and neo-nationalist groups rather than by conservative people in Turkey. Neo-nationalists claim that Turkey faces a Jewish conspiracy.
Islam does not promote the hatred of Jews. The hatred of Jews in the Muslim world started after the establishment of the Israeli state and the start of the Palestine issue. This hatred has been imported to Turkey from there. When Prime Minister Erdoğan told The Washington Post, "Whoever promotes hatred of Jews will find me to be an opponent," this was compatible with the experience in these territories. Nevertheless, the hatred of Jews is not strong among devout people of Turkey. What is in the ascendancy is anti-Semitism produced by secular groups and largely imported from Europe. The genealogical prying curiosity mostly because of Sabatayism, which was fashionable among these groups, implies that there is fascist, not Islamic, Judeophobia in Turkey.
In the past, Turks had no problems with Jews. For this reason, Judeophobia is a movement alien to us. It is a form of enmity imported largely from Europe and partially from the Middle East, common to secular and neonationalist groups rather than religious groups.
