Esther Benbassa is the daughter of a Jewish family that emigrated from Spain to the Ottoman Empire. She is presently an academic and politician. Benbassa, who has been participating in politics since 2012 as a representative of the European Ecology-The Greens party in the French Senate, is also the Deputy Chairperson of the France-Turkey Friendship Group and the France – Israel Friendship Group. We talked to Benbassa about the issue of the Jews in Turkey and France, the approach of the governments of both countries against the Jews, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
Pinar K.Ekerbicer / Paris
Could you introduce Esther Benbassa to us?
I was born in Istanbul to a Sephardic family. After completing my primary school education at Istanbul Isik School, I continued my secondary school education at the Sainte Pulcherie French School. After finishing my secondary education, my family moved to Israel and I continued my education at a French school there. I sat my high school completion exam (French baccalaureate) at the French Embassy in Israel. Following my education, I started working. While I continued my university studies, I also worked in the tourism industry. As I finished university in Israel as top of my class, I was awarded scholarships to study in USA and France, and I chose France. Maybe back then in my youth I may have been mistaken, but I had grown up with French culture and for me French was the language of culture. When I was 23, I moved to France as a scholarship student and after marrying a Frenchman I gained French citizenship. I was a high school teacher for fifteen years. At the same time I worked on my post graduate dissertation. My first dissertation was not about Jews; it was about the French Commune that took place in 1871. After death of my father, I wanted to take a greater interest in the history of the community I belonged to. At that time most of the works that had been conducted on Ottoman Jews were amateur level. My second dissertation (thèse d’Etat) was on the last Chief Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, Hayim Nahum. Afterwards I started working as an upper level researcher at a research centre in France (CNRS). I have written 20-30 books to this date and they have all been translated into 14 languages. In 2000 I was selected as a professor to the Chair of Jewish History in the Sorbonne University which was established in the 19th century, and I am the first female professor to have held the position. I also have a research centre at the same university in which I conduct studies on Sephardic Judaism.
Could you also tell us about your role in the French Senate?
I had not been involved in politics until 2012. In 2012, when the Greens Party invited me to be a senator, I made my decision after 5-6 months of contemplation and later went on to win the election. They call me “the senator of the silent people” in the senate, because I work to protect human rights and the rights of the poor and the immigrants.
As the Deputy Chair of the France-Turkey Friendship Group, how do you regard the relationship between the two countries?
In the France-Turkey Friendship Committee I have been working to ensure the relations between the two countries and more frequent and more positive. It is slightly difficult to achieve this at the moment due to the increased religiousness in Turkey and the approach of the government towards minorities, with their approach towards Armenians raising particular difficulties. However, as I said, I am doing my best to ensure these relations are positive.
Are there any other Turkish citizens in the Senate and on this committee?
No, I am the first and only person in the senate of Turkish birth.
Anti-Semitism is on the rise both in Europe and in Turkey. What do you view as the similarities and differences between the types of anti-Semitism in Turkey and France?
As those who have researched Ottoman history know, minorities were never full citizens. However, in those times anti-Semitism originated more from the Greeks rather than the general public. In other words, it was not actually in opposition to religion. The reason for this anti-Semitism was the idea that “The Jews crucified Jesus”. It would be more correct to define this as anti-Judaism rather than anti-Semitism. During the time of Ataturk, the Jews – much like the other minorities – were not made full citizens. Anti-Semitism was a notion that was frequently encountered in the media during World War 2. The German Ambassador of the time, Franz Von Papen, was a renowned Nazi. Von Papen had an influence on anti-Semitism in Turkey. During the war Turkey helped Turkish Jews who were living in France, however those who did not have Turkish passports in accordance with the rules lost their lives in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp much like the other Jews in Europe. Even though Turkey did not join the war, their discriminatory approach towards minorities continued. The Wealth Tax (Varlık Vergisi) is an important point in this area. The Wealth Tax ended the minorities; the Jews, the Armenians and the Greeks… When it was apparent that the Germans would lose the war following the fall of Stalingrad, Turkey began emptying the work camps in Askale. Many of the Jews returning from the camps went to Israel. 30 thousand people emigrated from Turkey to Israel in 1949. The work camps in Askale and the Wealth Tax had tremendous impact on this immigration. I believe that if anti-Semitism persists in Turkey, many of the remaining Jews will leave Turkey.
Do you think that the Turkish government is making the correct approaches to the Jewish community? Following restoration, the Edirne Synagogue was recently re-opened for prayer. How do you view this development?
I view these developments as propaganda and mise en scene. A negative impression is being created with the constant expressions of “the Jews are killing Muslims; they are killing our Palestinians Muslim brothers.” By frequently mentioning the Jewish lobby and the interest lobby, Erdogan is keeping the message of “the Jews are rich, they have money, the Jews run the world” on the public agenda.
Turkey held general elections on June 7th and the Turkish Parliament currently has three Armenian, one Assyrian and one Romany members. However, no Jews were nominated for candidacy. How do you interpret this situation?
When you look at the 19th and 20th centuries, you can see that there were Jewish members of the parliaments. Now there are none and, if I am not mistaken, this is not a one-sided situation. The Jews also do not want to be members of parliament; they do not want to deal with politics. This is because in our present day Turkey there is not only anti-Semitism, there is also anti-Zionism. The Jewish citizens in Turkey are viewed as being responsible for every Israeli policy or as if they have influence on the decision making processes, and this creates problems. Jews in Turkey stay away from politics. The greatest reason for this is fear, as they know that if the slightest thing that they say is not well received by the public, there is a high likelihood that they will be designated as a target. In these circumstances it is impossible for a Jew to be elected as a member of parliament in Turkey.
What is your opinion on the studies on Judaism conducted by Turkish academia? Do you think it is sufficient?
Unfortunately, there is not a great interest in minorities in Turkey. I have observed only recent studies and works on Armenians, but those on the Jews are very unsatisfactory. This situation is quite unfortunate, as these communities lived together for years, continue to live together and there is a common culture at stake. This insufficiency may be the reason why the Jews have a negative image in the eye of the general public.
