Antisemitism in Turkey 2018

The unofficial number of Turkish Jews in Turkey is estimated at 10,000 Jews. The community itselfreports a higher number which is unlikely to be correct. A slow but steady wave of emigration fromTurkey has been part of Jewish community's life, thus the community is shrinking with each passingyear. Most of the Jews have immigrated to Israel but some left to the U.S. and Canada. About 2,000Turkish Jews have applied for Portuguese citizenship after Portugal's government decided to grantnationality to descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Portugal and Spain in the15th century.203 The nationalist and Islamist push of the AKP (Justice and Development Party), theparty of President Erdoğan, worries the small Turkish Jewish community, mainly concentrated inIstanbul. With the rise of violence and antisemitism, many are considering leaving the country.204The community faces antisemitic manifestations on an almost daily basis in the media, especiallyby nationalist and Islamist national and local newspapers such as Yeni Akit and Milli Gazete andespecially when Israel is on the news.The consequences of the 2016 coup attempt caused fears amongst the Jewish community, and thedeterioration of the Turkish economy strengthened the unstable feeling and push Jews out of Turkey.With a most powerful Erdoğan, and especially due to his rough assertions against Israel and hisantisemitic approach, the position of the average Turkish Jew is complicated. It should be stressedthat Erdoğan is definitely the main reason for the growing antisemitism in Turkey. Polls clearlyconfirm this assertion, and the legitimacy that anti-Israel sentiments receive as well as the supportantisemitic journalists and columnists receive from the current government further reinforces it