A report of a continuous, rigorous policy of anti-Jewish discrimination in present day Turkey, brought to Sofia, Bulgaria, by a leading Jewish resident of Constantinople, whose identify can not be disclosed for obvious reasons, was denied by Ahmed Moukhtar Bey, Turkish Ambassador to Washington, in reply to an inquiry by the ” Jewish Daily Bulletin.”
The query was motivated by the following report received from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent in Sofia.
” A member of the community of Constantinople, well abreast of Jewish affairs in his country, while en route to Sofia, stated the following to our representative in this city on the subject of the situation of the Jews in Turkey.
” There exists at the present time in Turkey an exceptional regime against the Jews. The latter have been entirely alienated from all the official departments and from all public administrations. The doors of the upper-grade schools of the Government have been closed on them tightly. No longer is any Jewish student seen at the University of Turkey. We no longer have, as before, any representative of our element either in the legislative chamber or in the municipal boards.
” Our schools do not receive any material support on the part of the Government. There are imposed upon us, on the other hand, Turkish instuctors for the teaching of the Turkish language to whom we have to pay high fees. We even are obliged to pay them regularly at the end of each month without caring whether or not we have funds to pay to the other instructors. Our school teachers are forbidden to teach the Turkish language in our own school. Upon the least resistance on our part we are threatened with the closing of our schools.”
The Turkish ambassador in his reply declared:
” I wish to reply point by point to the accusation of this gentleman, which are devoid of all foundation.
” It is absolutely false that any exceptional regime is being applied to the Jews in Turkey.
“The public administrations continue to avail themselves of their sevices, unless they do not know Turkish, which is obligatory, as French is in France, English in England and so on.
“The liquidation of the monarchial regime at the time of its removal from the capital to Angora did awy with a certain number of officials of the departments among whom were Turks, Jews Greeks and Amenians. As to the Jews particularly, they were very scared since it has been the private enterprises that have at all times auracted them. Moreover, they did not ask to follow the Government to Angora.
“The higher-grade schools hold their doors wide open to them and they even have professors at the University. If they have no representatives in the Chamber. It is because they are in a weak minority, incapable of convincing public opinion and mustering votes. It is understood of course that as anywhere clase the Turkish Parliament is represented by political parties and not by political parties and not by ethimical clements. The same is true with municipal boards. Legally. there is no opposition to election of a Jew.
“No private school none whatever, is supported materially by the Government. However. in the Jewish schools, as in any other establishments of tuition, Turkish must he taught regularly by instructors the selection of whom must be approved by the competent authorities in order to put an end to the quibblings looking to a curb on the language of the country.
“It is not true that hight fees are alloned to these instructors save a normal minimum commensurate with the salaries of the school establishment of the State, often lower than those allowed by private schools to their own teaching bodies. A Jew is not fochided to teach Turkish if, passessing the qualifications necessary, be is in a position to do so. There is nothing more normal than to demand regular payment of salaries, at the end of each north.
“Upon the least resistance or our part, it is said, we are theated with the closing of our schools.” It is a position of Knowing in order to be able to reply to you on this score, when this threat took place, and whether the resistance that provoked it was minor or liable to fall under the hand of the law.
“I am surprised, for my own account, to see this gentleman bring his outery all the way to Sofia, when the Jewish element is one of the minorities enjoying best treament in Turkey, ” the ambassador coocloded.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
