A memorial service was held Thursday at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul to mark the fourth anniversary on the Jewish calendar of a terrorist attack that took the lives of 22 worshipers.
The suicide attack occurred during Shabbat morning services on Sept. 6, 1986. The two Arab gunmen responsible, believed to have belonged to the Abu Nidal terrorist group, died in the attack.
Strong security measures have since been taken at the synagogue, which was completely renovated, “but our main confidence is in God,” the rabbi said.
“It was a blow we did not expect,” he said of the bloody attack, which occurred in a Moslem country where the Jews have felt comfortable for nearly 500 years. “With God’s help, may it never happen again,” he added.
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.
