By Joshua Rosenstein, Special to JTNews
Bella Israel was born in Istanbul. The Seattle resident, who attends Temple De Hirsch Sinai, immigrated to the United States 45 years ago while many of her relatives remained in Turkey. Her nephew was wounded in one of the Turkey synagogue attacks on Nov. 15. Twenty-four people, including some attending a Bar Mitzvah, were killed.
“I am terribly saddened and scared.” she said of the attacks, “I just don’t know what is coming next.”
Israel said she remembers the street that one of the attacked synagogues sits upon, described how narrow the street is, and how an explosion must have destroyed buildings on both sides. Her nephew, by a miracle, was only lightly wounded in the hand, but around him people died.
“It was very traumatic,” she said, “they are still in shock.”
Recognition of this shock brought Israel to a memorial program for the victims of the recent bombings in Istanbul on Nov. 23. The American Jewish Committee and the Consul General of Turkey quickly put together the program at Seattle’s Town Hall cultural center, which involved short talks given by representatives from a diverse group of religious and cultural organizations. Over 100 people of all faiths filled the pews and stood at attention for a moment of silence for those who had died. Town Hall donated the use of the venue.
The program opened with remarks by Carol Gown, president of the local AJC chapter.
John Walls, president of Seattle’s Sephardic Bikur Cholim synagogue, spoke about the history of the local Jewish Turkish community. Jews first came to Turkey from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 14th century. Many of Sephardic Bikur Cholim’s congregants are of Turkish origin. The congregation will celebrate its 90th birthday next year.
Walls was followed by the Honorary Consul General in Washington, John U. Gokcen, who used the metaphor of a “mixed salad” — the healthiest dish — to describe Turkish culture. Gokcen spoke about growing up with Jewish, Armenian, Greek and Turkish friends and peers. He explained how “valuing of each others’ faith and cultures, and sharing in celebrating holidays together,” was one of the defining characteristics of modern Turkey.
He stated that the target of the attacks was Turkey’s secular republic and inclusive democracy and not any specific faith.
At the end of his remarks he urged the audience to exchange hugs in the traditional Turkish manner, like he had done at a recent breakfast with members of the Sephardic Bikur Cholim congregation.
The program also included a musical performance by Dr. Munir Beken, a musician and ethno-musicologist who teaches at University of Washington.
Before beginning to play, Beken mentioned that he was asked to perform to help put a human face on the tragedy. He accomplished this by playing several pieces on his small stringed instrument called an oud. The notes, twanging and soft, rippled up and down Middle Eastern scales evoking the dusky Mediterranean hills and smells of exotic spices.
After brief talks by representatives of Christian and Muslim organizations, Rabbi James Mirel of Temple B’nai Torah took the stage, accompanied by Hazzan Isaac Azose of Sephardic Bikur Cholim. Hazzan Azose has relatives still living in Turkey and discovered that one of his cousins was killed in the blast at the Nev’e Shalom synagogue.
At the end of Rabbi Mirel’s remarks, Hazzan Azose chanted the traditional Sephardic prayer of mourning. His rich voice echoed in the domed chamber and resonated over the crowd. During his brief remarks about his Turkish heritage, he mentioned a long list of villages he had visited on a recent trip to Turkey. As he spoke about them, various members of the audience nodded their heads in remembrance.
Rabbi Rick Harkavy, executive director of the AJCommittee, said that he was pleased with the way the program turned out.
“The program was sponsored by Jewish, Muslim and Christian organizations to show solidarity with the people of Turkey,” he said. “Often Jews and Muslims are depicted in a confrontational way; this program allowed our respective communities to come together to show our concern, both emotional and intellectual, for the victims of terrorism.”
The AJCommittee and The Consulate General of Turkey organized the Memorial Program on extremely short notice. Nonetheless they managed to bring together an impressive array of representatives. Other speakers included British Consul General David Broom, Akif Ozbek of the Turkish American Cultural Association, Sister Joyce Cox representing the Seattle Archdiocese, and Ahkmet Kuru, a Muslim scholar of political science and religion at the UW.
After the program ended, Rabbi Harkavy stood on the empty stage watching the small groups of people talking. Community members mingled, expressing their sorrow, offering condolences to those touched by the tragedies.
“It is not so much this program that is important, but rather what it can lead to,” Rabbi Harkavy said. “I think the fact that we were able to work together on this is extremely significant, and I hope we will continue to work together and understand each other in the future. We can’t underestimate the power of all these different groups working together.”
The memorial program was co-sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, Hadassah, The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, Assembly of Turkish American Associations and the Turkish American Cultural Association.