TURKISH JEWISH COMMUNITY MEETING WITH PRIME

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISTANBUL 001625 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM TU SUBJECT: TURKISH JEWISH COMMUNITY MEETING WITH PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN Classified By: Consul General Deborah K. Jones for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. At their request, PM Erdogan met with Istanbul's Jewish Community in the wake of last month's events in Lebanon and perceived growing animosity towards the community here. While initially skeptical, the PM offered a sympathetic hearing and gave assurances he would take steps to calm the environment. End Summary ¶2. (C) Coincident with this summer's conflict in Lebanon, Turkey's Jewish Comunity noted growth of "nasty" Turkish press newsaper articles regarding the conflict. An increase in personal innuendo and some actual threats agaist members of the community surfaced in parallelto growing criticism of IDF operations in the prss. When we visited the community in early Augut, they were working to lower their already low rofile and considering other steps to manage increaing animosity against Jews in Turkey. Among a vriety of options, the community was considering ancellation of a Daniel Barenboim concert schedued for August 16 in Istanbul, more careful organzation of an annual Iftar dinner and visits to nespaper editors to request more responsible editorial oversight of articles regarding the conflict in Lebanon. At the time, Lina Filiba, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Community in Turkey, commented that the negative sentiments Turks were then directing toward acquaintances in the community were often just below the surface but that in times like these, the "polish" was wearing very thin and sentiments were coming out into the open. ¶3. (C) In that growing atmosphere of tension and fear, Jewish Community President Silvyo Ovadya requested a meeting with Prime Minister Erdogan to express their concerns and request a statement from him. The Prime Minister's summer travel plans delayed the meeting until Saturday, September 2. Ovadya and Filiba provided us a summary of the 15 minute meeting, noting that in the end, the Prime Minister recognized the danger overheated rhetoric could pose to community members and agreed to make appropriate remarks following the Parliamentary vote Tuesday, September 5, on Turkish troop deployment to UNIFIL. In his meeting with the Prime Minister, who was accompanied by advisor Egemen Bagis, Ovadya related several of the incidents that had heightened the sense of insecurity for the Jewish community. Among these were increased incidents and level of vitriol leveled against Jews in Turkey in various internet chat rooms. In August, a cantor received an anonymous phone call in the middle of the night and was told to take extreme care for his personal safety. Twenty of the harshest incidents against the community have been referred to a local prosecutor. According to Ovadya, the Prime Minister was at first slow to recognize the basis of the community's concerns; however, he eventually agreed that the situation merited his intervention. Ovadya was taken aback when several times the PM referred to Israeli PM Olmert as "your" prime minister (i.e., the Jewish community,s PM). Ovadya in turn used the conversation to identify members of the Jewish community as Turks first, Jews second. Ovadya received assurances that the situation would be addressed and feels confident the Prime Minister will make appropriate comments in the near future. ¶4. (C) Comment. Erdogan's agreeing to make a statement in support of the local Jewish Community, many of whom trace their ancestry to Spanish Jews who fled the inquisition in the 1500s, is a positive step and should help forestall opportunistic attacks. However, the Prime Minister's reference to Olmert as "your PM" is reflective of sentiments held by a broad spectrum of Turks of all political persuasions. End comment. JONES