Expulsion to cultural integration: 500 years of Sephardic Jews in Türkiye

The 15th century witnessed enormous and dramatic changes in Spain, culminating in the centuries-long "Reconquista" movement by Catholics aimed at capturing Andalusia from Muslim control. The union of Queen Isabella of Castile-Leon and King Fernando II of Aragon in 1469 marked a watershed moment in Catholic unity, leading to the tipping point in this endeavour.

In the aftermath of the Reconquista, not only did the Muslim population of the southern European peninsula, but also the Jewish community there, faced harsh times. The Alhambra Decree, signed in 1492, issued the Jews with a stark choice: either embrace Christianity and remain inside their familiar confines, or flee the areas they considered home.

"Jews were asked to change their religion. Those who did not convert were subjected to terrible torture, those who converted were followed very closely, and it was checked whether they had actually converted, and at the slightest suspicion, they were again subjected to terrifying torture,” Karen Gerson Sarhon, general coordinator of the Ottoman-Turkish Sephardic Culture Research Center, tells TRT World.

Unwavering in their religious views, Jews living in Andalusia sought solace amid a longing for a nation where they could practise their faith without compromise. At this critical juncture, the Great Ottoman Empire made a humane gesture.

Sultan Bayezid II, son of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, deployed a fleet of ships to rescue the persecuted Jews, ferrying them to the welcome embrace of Ottoman territory, where the refugees found the haven they had sought, and where diversity thrived harmoniously, with Islamic law safeguarding their presence by providing a secure existence.

The presence of the Jews in Ottoman lands precedes their formal expulsion from Spain in 1492. The environment of hostility that afflicted mediaeval Europe had already begun driving many Jews to seek safety and establish roots in the Ottoman Empire.

In a letter written in 1454, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati, a prominent figure in the Ottoman lands, eloquently portrayed the plight of the Jews persecuted out of mediaeval Catholic Europe, characterising their journey as a transition “from the shadow of the cross to the shelter of the crescent”.

A lasting legacy

As a result of the waves of migration that began in 1492 and continued subsequently, Jewish people established themselves in significant areas across the Ottoman lands, from Istanbul to Thessaloniki, Izmir and Edirne. For decades, several Jewish factions prospered under the benign umbrella of Ottoman tolerance and protection, free from the shackles of religious persecution.

The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, gained significant rewards by providing a safe home to the Jews, also known Sephardim, who shared the knowledge they brought with them.

One of the most momentous examples is the establishment of the Ottoman Empire’s first printing house in Istanbul in 1493, by the visionary brothers David and Samuel Ibn Nahmias. The Ottomans also gained vital insights from Jewish knowledge in fields as diverse as trade and medicine.

“When we say Turkish Sephardic, every cultural element, whether it's music, food or language is Ottoman. Ladino, spoken by the Jews here, is a language that completed its development in the Ottoman Empire. When we say Turkish Sephardic music, it is Ottoman music again,” says Sarhon, who was born in Istanbul in 1958.

Throughout the decades, Sephardic Jews have maintained their presence, accounting for an overwhelming 95 per cent of Türkiye's contemporary Jewish community. The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews, established in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Sephardic Jews in these lands, is a visual testament to this enduring history. This museum in Istanbul depicts their distinguished past.

The future of the past

The present size of the Turkish Jewish community is estimated at around 20,000. The vast majority live in Istanbul, with a community of about 2,500 in Izmir, and other smaller groups in Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Canakkale, Iskenderun, Kirklareli, etc.

There are 16 synagogues in use in Istanbul today. Some are very old, especially Ahrida Synagogue in Balat, which dates from the middle 15th century. The 15th and 16th-century Jewish cemeteries of Haskoy and Kuzguncuk in Istanbul are still used today.

Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, many Jews have moved to Israel, mainly for both ideological and economic reasons. Sarhon is among those who chose to stay here. She sees Türkiye as her homeland. “A person cannot easily leave one’s homeland. Regardless of the circumstances, a person can leave the place where he was born and grew up, only as a last resort,” she says.

On the other hand, those who returned to Israel still maintain ties with Türkiye. Ovi Roditi Gulersen is the chairman of an organisation founded in Israel in 1960, called the Turkish Union. “It is very important for us to protect the Turkish and Ladino languages. Turkish is important to preserve our ties to our relatives and our past life in Türkiye. Ladino is important to keep our traditions alive. For this reason, we organise our activities, such as theatre, conferences and music, in Turkish and Ladino languages,” Gulersen tells TRT World.