Cyprus has a special place in Jewish history. Jews are deeply rooted in this island country, whence they once obtained wine for the incense used in the Temple (Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 4), possibly produced by Jews living there. Jews have lived in Cyprus for millennia, according to historical records. Hadassah Magazine reports: Cyprus and Eretz […]
September 4, 1990: Ex-Muslim Mufti Murdered in Turkey
(Originally published on Israel Hayom under the title “Choosing between freedom and Islamism”, on August 26, 2014.) The book you are holding in your hand is a book of a new era marked for a more beautiful world. It is obvious that a more beautiful world cannot be achieved without a freer world. And […]
Turkey: Erdogan Government Endorses the Taliban
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently clarified his stance on the Taliban, referring to Islam as the common ground between Turkey and the jihadist organization. On July 20, Erdogan said that Turkey could negotiate with the Taliban about Turkey’s plan to run the Kabul airport after the withdrawal of the US troops. He […]
Turkey Releases Islamic State Terrorists Who Kidnapped Yazidi Child and Attempted to Sell Her Online
Three members of the Islamic State (ISIS), who kidnapped a Yazidi child, transported her from Iraq to Turkey and attempted to sell her online, were released in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, where they currently reside. In the indictment accepted on March 8 and prepared by Ankara’s prosecutor’s office, the three men are charged with “membership […]
Turkey Keeps Main Orthodox Christian Theological School Closed for 50 Years
July 29 marked the 50th anniversary of the closure by the Turkish government of the Halki seminary, formally the Theological School of Halki, in 1971. The school served as the main school of theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church’s Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The US Department of State released a statement, urging Turkey to […]
How Turkey Treats Its Historic Churches
Kadiköy Surp Takavor kilsemizin halli. Her daim önunde basın açıklamasi yapilmasın diye polis bekler.. pic.twitter.com/EvkARZGHQn — Murad Mıhçı-Մուրատ Մըխճը (@MuradMihci) July 11, 2021 A viral social media video showed a group of young Turkish men dancing on top of the Saint Takavor Armenian Church in Istanbul on July 11. Turkish media reported that while some […]
Historic Church Used as a Stable in Southeast Turkey
Churches across Turkey, which are devoid of their congregants due to continued Christian persecution, are systematically desecrated by the government and many citizens of the country. One of the latest victims is the Assyrian/Syriac Mor Aday Church. It is being used as a stable by local villagers in a district in southeast Turkey, reported […]
June 15: 106th Anniversary of Turkey’s 1915 Assyrian Genocide
Tuesday, June 15 marked the 106th anniversary of the beginning of the Assyrian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey committed between 1915 and 1923. During this period, Assyrians — alongside Greeks and Armenians — were exposed to genocide, in which around 300,000 Assyrians perished. Assyrians call the crime “seyfo,” which means “sword” in their language, as […]
Turkey: 86-year-old Greek man murdered; court rules against ‘hate crime’
The case concerning the brutal murder of an 86-year-old Greek Christian citizen of Turkey in 2019 has finally concluded. The court ruled against it being considered a hate crime. It also rejected the intervention of Turkey’s Human Rights Association (IHD) in the case. The victim, Zafir Pinaris, lived a desolate life on the island […]
The Big Turkish Myth: ‘There is no Anti-Semitism in Turkey’
Since Islamist terrorist groups in Gaza started indiscriminately throwing rockets on Israeli civilians on May 10, Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been bashing Israel with anti-Semitic slurs. On May 17, for instance, referring to Jewish people, Erdogan said: “It is in their disposition that they are only satisfied by sucking blood.” That hateful […]