Neve Shalom Synagogue ( tr, Neve Şalom Sinagogu, he, בית הכנסת נווה שלום; lit. "Oasis of Peace" or "Valley of Peace") is a synagogue in the Karaköy quarter of

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, mean ...

district, in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The synagogue was built in response to an increase in the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

population in the old

Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notab ...

neighborhood (today encompassed by

district) in the late 1930s. A Jewish primary school was torn down in 1949 for that purpose and the synagogue was built on its ruins. The construction completed in 1951. Its

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s were Elyo Ventura and Bernar Motola, young

Turkish Jews The history of the Jews in Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Yahudileri or ; he, יהודים טורקים, Yehudim Turkim; lad, Djudios Turkos) covers the 2400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Romaniotes, Jewish commun ...

. The inauguration of the synagogue was held on Sunday, March 25, 1951 (17 Adar 5711,

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. I ...

), in the presence of the Chief Rabbi of Turkey of the time, ''Hahambaşı'' Rav. Rafael David Saban. Neve Shalom is the central and largest

Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

c synagogue in Istanbul, open to

service Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

especially on Shabbats, High Holidays, bar mitzvahs, funerals and weddings. Neve Shalom suffered three

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attacks: *On September 6, 1986, gunmen opened fire during a Shabbat service, which resulted in the death of 22 people. The attack was attributed to the Palestinian militant

Abu Nidal Sabri Khalil al-Banna (May 1937 – 16 August 2002), known by his '' nom de guerre'' Abu Nidal, was the founder of Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, a militant Palestinian splinter group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organizatio ...

. *On March 1, 1992, a bomb attack was carried out by two men, causing no damage or casualties. *On November 16, 2003, the synagogue was hit by one of four car bomb attacks carried out in Istanbul that week (see

2003 Istanbul bombings The 2003 Istanbul bombings were a series of suicide attacks carried out with trucks fitted with bombs detonated at four different locations in Istanbul, Turkey on November 15 and 20, 2003. On November 15, two truck bombs were detonated, one in ...

). Even though a local

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

militant group, the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front, claimed responsibility for the attacks, police claimed the bombings were "too sophisticated to have been carried out by that group", with a senior

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i government source saying: "the attack must have been at least coordinated with international terror organizations".

References

External links

Chief Rabbinate of Turkey

Neve Shalom Synagogue Official Website

Shalom Newspaper - The main Jewish newspaper in Turkey
{{Authority control Synagogues in Istanbul Beyoğlu Orthodox synagogues Synagogues completed in 1951 1951 establishments in Turkey Massacres in religious buildings and structures Palestinian terrorist incidents in Europe 20th-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations Terrorist incidents in Turkey in 2003 Terrorist incidents in Turkey in 1986 Terrorist incidents in Turkey in 1992 Abu Nidal attacks

See also

References

External links