ISTANBUL: Turkey on Thursday reopened a restored century-old synagogue built during the Ottoman Empire but closed for several decades, which Ankara says should become a symbol for the coexistence of different religious communities on Turkish territory.

A special ceremony was held at the Buyuk Sinagog (the Great Synagogue) in northwestern city of Edirne attended by top officials including Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, as well as leaders of the Turkish-Jewish community.

The synagogue — which served the Jewish community in Edirne until 1983 and a few years later suffered a roof collapse — was reopened as an active place of worship after a five-year $2.5 million restoration project.

The restoration project saw the synagogue’s lead-clad domes and stately interior as well as its precious Torah rolls restored.

Leading the first service in the restored synagogue — built in 1907 under Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II — was Rabbi David Azuz, state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

He had also led the last prayer service before the synagogue was closed to worship.

The project is seen as part of efforts under the 12-year domination of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to lift restrictions on Turkey’s small but historically significant non-Muslim religious minorities.

The authorities insist the restoration of the synagogue shows their tolerance towards Turkey’s 20,000-strong Jewish community, many of whom trace their ancestry back to Jews who started to take refuge in the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century following their expulsion from Spain.

“The faithful restoration and reopening of the Great Synagogue stands as another example of the culture of peaceful coexistence on Anatolian soil,” the office of the Turkish prime minister said in a statement.

But the reopening comes after a wave of anti-Israel sentiment in predominantly Muslim Turkey which reached its peak after Erdogan declared that the Jewish state had “surpassed Hitler in barbarism” following Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2015

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