Kesher Talk

Am Yisrael Chai! Beth Israel synagogue in Istanbul reopened this week, with a Shabbat service.

Isak Haleva, the chief rabbi at the Beth Israel synagogue, delivered a sermon that stressed the importance of dialogue in this predominantly Muslim but secular country. Haleva was one of those wounded in the nearly simultaneous suicide bombings at Beth Israel and the Neve Shalom synagogue during Sabbath prayers on Nov. 15.

. . . "The fact that we opened this synagogue in such a short period shows that they (the terrorists) did not achieve what they wanted. We are continuing our lives here. This is a symbol of that," Jewish community spokesman Silvio Ovadya said of the service, which was closed to the press. "Our lives must go on."

. . . Ovadya said some 200 members of the Jewish community packed into Beth Israel on Saturday morning and said prayers for the victims of the attack. Local government officials also attended the service. "The synagogue was full. If we were afraid, nobody would have come," Ovadya said.

posted by Judith @ 12/13/2003 11:55:03 PM