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Title: Musa'nin Evlatlari Cumhuriyetin Yurttaslari
Author: Rifat N. Bali
Publisher: Iletisim Yayincilik
Review: Iletisim Yayincilik A.S. Istanbul, 2001. ISBN 975-470-887-8
(order from: iletisim@iletisim.com.tr)
Reviewed by Rachel Amado Bortnick
With his many published books and articles, Rifat N. Bali has made his mark as a thorough, objective and courageous historian
of Turkish Jewry in the twentieth century. His most recent book, "Musa'nin Evlatlari, Cumhuriyetin Yurttaslari" (Children of
Moses, Citizens of the Republic) contains definitive studies on various specific events and situations, each of which can be
read in any order, independently of the others.
One of these studies, for example, deals with the Jewish Battalion in the Operation Army dispatched from Salonica to Istanbul to
quell the rebellion of 31 March 1909. A song reflecting the patriotism of the Jews in this battalion was composed in
Judeo-Spanish (lyrics included in the book) and has been performed and recorded by Janet and Jak Esim of Istanbul.
Another one examines the history of the Moris Shinasi Hospital in Manisa, named after a Jew, still in existence as a Children's
Hospital. Musa Eskenazi was born in Manisa in 1855, but left the city with his brother Solomon "barefoot and with only two
'medjidiyes' in his pocket. " Befriended by a Greek who taught him the business of the tobacco trade, he eventually came to the
United States, where he changed his name to Morris Shinasi, became a millionaire, and upon his death left a generous sum of
money to be used to build a hospital in his native town. Those interested in genealogy will find the first chapter, "the Story
of a Family", especially interesting, not only for the story but for the archives that Bali researched.
Some chapters in the book cover the Republic years in more depth than in his previous books. Among these are: the tragedy of
the Struma (the boat which sank in the Black Sea in February 1942, with 769 Jewish refugees on board, after having been refused
passage through the Istanbul Strait) based on the latest findings; the (immaterialized) Attempt in Istanbul to Rally in Protest
against the Nazis; and the Economic Position of Turkish Jews in 1938.
The last section of the book is titled "An Unnoticed Aspect of the Republic: Anti-Semitism". Some information on this subject,
covered in the previously mentioned French-language book, is here presented in Turkish.
But additionally, there is a chapter on the anti-Semitic perception of the Sabbateans (Donmeler) as "secret Jews" and enemies.
Bali's research brings into light difficult periods in the lives of the Jews of Turkey, and belies all allegations that
"anti-Semitism never existed in Turkey." However, it is important to remember that anti-Semitism was not a government policy,
but resulted from the intense pursuit of forging a new and united nation-state from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire on the one
hand, and from the influence of anti-Semitic currents in Europe on the other. No doubt Bali's books will eventually be
translated into English, so that more historians can appreciate and benefit from his research.
Sema Karaoglu |
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