Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey’s ancient Jewish community has begun to flee amid rising threats from Islamists and nationalists.

A prominent Jewish executive reported that the community of some 12,000 was being eroded by fears of attacks. Mois Gabay said the number of young people leaving Turkey after high school graduation. has increased sharply.

“We face threats, attacks and harassment every day,” Gabay said. “Hope is fading.”

In an article in the Jewish newspaper Shalom on Dec. 10, Gabay voiced rising fears in the Turkish Jewish community. The community has been threatened that it would be penalized for Israeli policy by Islamists close to President Recep Erdogan.

In November 2014, Edirne Gov. Dursun Ali Sahin, a key ally of Erdogan, threatened to end services in the main synagogue in the northwestern province amid battles between Israeli police and Palestinians around Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

“Hatred of Jews did not start with the re-establishment of the state of Israel,” Turkish analyst Uzay Bulut said. “In modern Turkey, it has been promoted systematically for more than 90 years.”

Sahin, who later apologized, was defended by the government, particularly Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc. In December, a nationalist youth group attempted to stage a protest march against a synagogue in Istanbul, home to much of the Jewish community.

“Around 37 percent of high school graduates from the Jewish community in Turkey prefer to go abroad for higher education,” Gabay, who works in tourism, said. “This number doubled this year compared to the previous years.”

Gabay, citing threats on the social media, said he feared that the next step would be the killing of a Jew. He said anti-Semitism in Turkey has been ignored by the government and the rest of society.

“Hate speech is now a crime, but when is a lawsuit ever opened over hate speech against our community?” Gabay asked. “I don’t blame the government alone for this. The opposition, civil society, unions and the democratic public sphere should be a shield for us. They should monitor these incidents.”

Ankara has repeatedly blamed Israel and Jews for problems in Turkey. On Dec. 17, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, who echoed Erdogan, suggested that a corruption investigation against Erdogan’s family and associates was facilitated by the Jewish state.

“The hands of this plot attempt are inside the country while its mind is abroad,” Ala said.

  Number of young Jews in Turkey choosing to live abroad doubled last year, WorldTribune.com