UPDATE - Israeli president meets Turkiye’s Jewish community at Istanbul's Neve Shalom Synagogue

UPDATE - Israeli president meets Turkiye’s Jewish community at Istanbul's Neve Shalom Synagogue

Isaac Herzog expresses happiness to meet with members of Turkish Jewish community

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM ISRAELI PRESIDENT; REVISES DECK

By Gulsum Incekaya and Burak Dag

ISTANBUL (AA) – On a state visit to Turkiye, Israel's president on Thursday met with the members and representatives of the country's Jewish community at a synagogue in Istanbul.

Isaac Herzog entered the Neve Shalom Synagogue and Culture Center Synagogue amid traditional Jewish musical horn shofars and the song Shalom Aleichem (Peace be with you), a staple song for the eve of the Sabbath.

Opening his speech with a prayer for Ukrainian refugees, Herzog said: "On this special occasion, I want to pray with you for our brothers and sisters in the Ukrainian Jewish community."

He also lit candles in memory of Jews killed in the synagogue in terror attacks in 1986 and 2003.

He also expressed his happiness to meet members of the Turkish Jewish Community.

Poets, scholars and traders living in Turkiye constitute an important part of the Jewish history, he said, adding; "You, members of the Jewish community in Turkiye, are setting an example and a model for this."

He went on to say that his late father, Israel's sixth President Chaim Herzog, and his mother Aura Herzog had visited Neve Shalom in 1992 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Jews' expulsion from Spain and taking refuge in the Ottoman Empire.

Turkiye, a largely Muslim but multi-faith country, has had Jewish communities since ancient times, and many expelled Spanish, and Portuguese Jews were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Istanbul, in particular, still retains a Jewish community. Turkiye is also known for taking in rescued Jews during World War II.

Herzog also added that his grandfather and former Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog had come to Turkiye to try to save European Jews from the hands of Nazis.

"Sadly, there have been hate incidents around the world targeting Jewish schools, supermarkets and businesses. I welcome authorities’ commitment to the safety and freedom of the Jews of Turkiye," he said.


- Important steps to improve relations

Herzog said that he had an open and honest meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday and took important steps to improve bilateral ties.

"I also told President Erdogan that members of different religions in the Middle East can live in peace and that we must live (together)," he said.

He said Turkiye's president also agrees that regional stability is particularly important.

On Twitter, the Israeli president said that he was "moved to recite over the Torah at Istanbul's Neve Shalom Synagogue and to meet the Turkish Jewish community."

Isak Haleva, the chief rabbi of Turkiye, also stated that they were very pleased with Herzog's visit to Turkiye.

Herzog’s historic visit to the synagogue will leave deep traces in the hearts of the Turkiye’s Jewish community, Haleva added.

Herzog’s meeting with Erdogan is seen as a step towards improved relations with Turkiye.

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