Young Jews look to leave Turkey
A column published by a Jewish student in Turkey has highlighted the response of the Jewish community to recent incidents targeting them.
Turkish/Jewish columnist Mois Gabay has caused ripples across Turkey with "Young Jews leaving Turkey," writing in his community’s newspaper, Shalom, that Jewish youths graduating from high school are increasingly leaving Turkey.
Because of the anti-Semitism that manifested itself in Turkey following Israel’s recent operation against the Gaza Strip, the column aroused more interest than usual. While Turkey’s mainstream media reprinted Gabay’s piece and expressed concern, some political Islamist media went with such titles as "Super news from Jews: They are leaving Turkey."
Al-Monitor sought statistics after the story appeared. According to statistics of a community high school we were asked not to name, compared with previous years, the number of Jewish youths wanting to leave Turkey has doubled. According to numbers provided to Al-Monitor, in 2012 of 99 students at the community school, 23 wanted to go abroad; in 2013, 18 out of 96; and in 2014, 40 out of 108. The school officials don’t know how many of those going abroad will return after finishing their education.
According to the World Jewish Congress, about 20,000 Jews live in Turkey. The number of youths wanting to go abroad may not sound too high, but, as Shalom said, it should be considered as a warning bell.
