Synagogue victims remembered

The victims of a terrorist attack against synagogues in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district were commemorated Sunday on the sixth anniversary of the event.

The ceremony took place in front of a peace statue erected in memory of those killed on the Nov. 15, 2003 attacks against the Neve Shalom and Beth Israel synagogues.

Many people, including Rabbi İsak Haleva, religious head of Turkey’s Jewish community, İrfan Üstündağ, Istanbul’s deputy mufti, and Ahmet Misbah Demircan, Beyoğlu’s mayor, gathered in the Kuledibi neighborhood to mark the event.

The Nov. 15 suicide bombings targeted the synagogues while similar attacks were launched just five days later against the British consulate and the local headquarters of the HSBC bank. A total of 58 people died, along with the four suicide bombers.

Haleva said his community prays that such things would not happen again anywhere in the world, adding that the only consolation was that Turkey came together firmly in the wake of the tragic events in contrast to the desires of enemies abroad. “In olden times, even murderers thought they would be protected in places of worship; no power would hurt them there because the place of worship was holy,” said Havela in decrying the attack.

Demircan hoped such grief would not be experienced again. “Beyoğlu has been home to different tongues, colors and beliefs for thousands of years,” he said. Demircan asked those involved in terrorism to reconsider their actions. Üstündağ, meanwhile, said the people responsible for the attack were ultimately unsuccessful because all of Turkey condemned the attack while sharing the grief.

Aydın Kara, who lost sight in both eyes because of the blast, criticized Havela at the ceremony for not helping him enough. Havela, however, said the community could not offer support every year. Kara said the relatives of the deceased had been paid compensation, but that he had experienced economic difficulties that caused his wife to leave him.

Kara then threw eggs at the synagogue’s door, forcing plainclothes police officers to remove him from the area.