CRYPTO JEWS IN TURKEY

The heretical Jewish sect that emerged and developed under the leadership of a rabbi from Izmir named Sabbatai Zevi in ​​the 17th century gained an interesting identity when its members became Muslims. This community, which appeared to be Muslim but secretly practiced its own beliefs, established a strong social influence in Thessaloniki and its surroundings from the 19th century onwards. It played very important roles in Ottoman politics and cultural life.

Feyziyye Schools

Group D

The Dönme came to Türkiye in three waves, settling in Istanbul and Izmir. There are smaller numbers in Bursa and other provinces. These waves were the Balkan War (1913), the Thessaloniki Fire (1917), and the population exchange (1924). 

In Istanbul, they generally lived in Nişantaşı, Teşvikiye, Taksim, and Maçka. The Wealth Tax of 1942 was collected from the Dönme—known as Group D—at a rate double that of Muslims and half that of non-Muslims. However, İş Bank provided loans enabling some to pay their debts, effectively rescuing the Dönme—meaning the regime protected them.

The Yakubis, who had long preferred to abandon their identity, became military and civil bureaucrats. The Kapancıs, who shed their identity later, engaged in industry and foreign trade. The Karakaş were small tradesmen. Most are involved in the textile trade. Many of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) members were Karakaş.

To prevent the Dönme, feared to become competitors in trade after migrating from Thessaloniki, from entering, revelations made by a Karakaş Dönme named Rüştü about the community were suppressed by the government. Some within the community say of Karakaş Şükrü, “He had capital in Thessaloniki. To prevent it from being transferred to Türkiye, he claimed the group wasn’t Turkish, but rather lived a crypto lifestyle and was therefore insincere.” Others say, “He blackmailed the group to escape a financial crisis he was facing at the time.”

The Dönme attained significant positions in the new era. Deputies, ministers, governors, undersecretaries, and professors emerged from among them. Their lifestyle became an example of secularism. They dominated cinema and the press. One of Türkiye’s first film companies, İpek Film, belonged to the İpekçi family. They have always lived in constant conflict with the Jews. Jews consider Sabbateans heretics and do not accept them into their fold. Muslims, on the other hand, call them Dönme and do not consider them sincere Muslims.

Şemsi Efendi (Simon Zwi), one of the descendants of Sabbatai Zevi

Ottoman modernization and Dönmes

They mostly lived in Thessaloniki, İzmir, and Istanbul. Those who had gone to Albania eventually settled in Thessaloniki. They were an intellectual community in contact with Europe, knowing several foreign languages. With these qualities, they played a significant role in Ottoman modernization and came to occupy key positions. They also brought others from among their own acquaintances into these key positions. Thus, at the beginning of the 20th century, an effective Sabbatean rule was established in the Ottoman Empire.

Most of those who deposed Sultan Abdulhamid II belonged to this group. There were many Sabbateans among journalists, filmmakers, and writers. 

Some notable figures include: Talat Pasha (grand vizier), Mithat Şükrü Bleda (general secretary of The Committee of Union and Progress), Cavit Bey (minister of treasure), Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın (journalist), Hasan Tahsin (journalist), Halide Edip Adıvar (writer), Ahmed Emin Yalman (journalist), Halil Lütfi Dördüncü (journalist), Fatin Rüştü Zorlu (minister of foreign affairs), Ahmed Salih Korur (prime ministry secretary), Sıddık Sami Onar (law professor), Sahir Erman (law professor), Emre Gönensay (bureaucrat), Abdi İpekçi (journalist), İsmail Cem (journalist), Dinç Bilgin (businessman), Engin Cezzar (actor), Halil Bezmen (businessman), and Sabiha Sertel (journalist). 

Among these, Sabiha Sertel, Sahir Erman, and Halil Bezmen were Kapancı. Halide Edip, the Ece family, and Ahmet Emin Yalman were Yakubi. Cavit Bey, Talat Pasha, the İpekçi family, Engin Cezzar, and Mısırlı Triko were Karakaş.

To ensure both an intellectual upbringing and preservation of identity among Sabbatean children, institutions such as Feyziyye Schools and Şişli Terakki High School were established. Many Sabbatean youths and some Muslim children were accepted into the school only for appearance’s sake.

Şemsi Efendi (Simon Sevi), the principal and religious teacher of the Thessaloniki Feyzi Elementary School, was a successful educationalist. Terakki High School belonged to the Kapancıs; Işık High School to the Karakaşs.

The Yakubis, in order to live comfortably in this society, distanced themselves from the Sabbatean tradition early on. When the Kapancıs arrived in Turkey during the population exchange, they decided to distance themselves to avoid discrimination. However, the Karakaşs tried to maintain their tradition despite everything. 

The section of Bülbülderesi Cemetery belonging to the Dönme community

Shema Yisrael

In recent times, an unserious literature has emerged about Sabbateans; in fact, a psychology of searching for a Sabbatean under every stone—like with Freemasonry—has become widespread. It is also a fact that Sabbateans themselves have remained silent in the face of propaganda claiming that well-known and respected figures are of their descent.

A Jewish journalist named Itamar Ben-Avi (1882–1943), in his memoirs published in 1940, wrote that in 1911 he conducted several interviews on war with a young Ottoman officer named Mustafa Kemal Bey, who was staying at the Kamenitz Hotel in Jerusalem before heading to Tripoli. Allegedly, he told him that he descended from those who believed in Sabbatai Zevi, but considered himself a Turk, and even that his father had hired a Karaite Jewish teacher to teach him a Torah printed in Venice; and that the only prayer he remembered was “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu ve Adonai Ehad” (“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is One”). When the journalist said, “Sir, this is the most important prayer of the Jews,” he replied, “It is also my secret prayer, sir, mine too!” This incident was recounted by Hillel Halkin in an article titled “When Kemal Ataturk Recited Shema Yisrael” published in the Forward newspaper of New York, dated January 28, 1994.

The story was revisited in the February 1999 issue of the Jewish Daily published in America; the same claim was repeated in an article titled “Was the Father of the Turks the Son of a Jew?” written by Heinz Gestrein in the July 24, 2007 issue of The New York Sun and the November 26, 1999 issue of Aufbau, a magazine published in America by German Jews.

This article is based on the Zachronoth magazine issued by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece. Is being from Salonica and studying at the Feyziye Schools enough to be considered a Sabbatean? One must think about this thoroughly. It is certain that Mustafa Kemal met Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the famous Hebrew scholar and father of Ben-Avi, in Jerusalem; but official sources do not confirm a meeting with Ben-Avi.

The Broken Caste

In his book “Hatırladıklarım”, (What I Remember), Zekeriya Sertel provides some interesting information while recounting his marriage to Sabiha Sertel: “The girl belonged to a ‘Dönme’ family. The Dönme were a handful of Jews who had escaped the Inquisition in Spain during the Middle Ages and took refuge in the Ottoman Empire, settling in Salonica. Afterward, they converted to Islam. Though they changed their religion, they couldn’t be considered to have fully embraced Islam. They also faced resistance from their surroundings. They did not observe any Islamic rules. They didn’t pray, fast, or mingle with Muslims and Turks. They lived as a caste.

They were intelligent, hardworking, skillful, and charming people. But they lived within their own shell, did not integrate into the Turkish community, did not intermarry with Turks, and maintained their narrow existence as such. They mostly dealt with commerce. Because of this, they had close relations with Europe. This situation also influenced their lifestyle. Their income was good, and their standard of living was higher than other communities.

After migrating from Salonica to Istanbul, they mostly settled in the Nişantaşı and Şişli districts, again forming their own community life. They even established two schools, ‘Feyziye High School’ and ‘Şişli Terakki High School,’ so they wouldn’t have to send their children to Turkish schools. They did not send their children to public schools but educated them in these institutions.

The girl I wanted to marry belonged to this community. If her family consented, it would be the first time that a Dönme girl married a Turk…

After migrating to Istanbul, tremors had begun within the ‘Dönme’ community. The caste had somewhat lost its unity. Their decision to intermarry with Turks would break the caste shell and completely disrupt the unity of this community…

They had informed the Committee of Union and Progress headquarters that I was about to marry a ‘Dönme’ girl. One day, Doctor Nazım, a well-known member of this committee, called me in. He congratulated me. He asked whether I realized the importance of what I was doing.

•       You may not be aware, he said, but you are paving the way for the union and integration of two communities that have looked askance at each other for centuries. You are delivering a death blow to the Dönme caste. We should properly evaluate this event and celebrate the union of the Turks and the Dönme on this occasion. This should be regarded as a national and historical event, he said.

I was surprised. - So, what should we do, sir, I asked.

•       We will officiate your wedding. We will announce it to the newspapers. We will turn this wedding from a family event into a national event…

At our wedding, the bride’s representative was the then Prime Minister and one of the most influential figures of the Committee of Union and Progress, Talat Pasha. My representative was Tevfik Rüştü Aras, who later became Atatürk’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. The prominent bigwigs of the Committee of Union and Progress were also present at the wedding…

The next day, all newspapers gave great importance to this news. From that day on, our marriage became a precedent among the ‘Dönme’ community. After us, many boys and girls began to marry Turks. Thus, the Dönmeh caste collapsed and passed into history.”