Antakya Jewish Community was also Destroyed by the Earthquake

Antakya was one of the cities affected dramatically by the disaster that took place early Monday morning. The city which aid units could not enter for a very long time due to the roads being damaged suffered a great destruction.

The small Jewish Community of Antakya was also badly injured in the earthquake.

A group from the Turkish Jewish Community, going over to the city, tried to reach the community members living there.

It is stated that some community members left the city with their own opportunities, and those who could not leave were reached and helped to get out of the city. 10 community members were also helped get to Istanbul via Adana.

Unfortunately, the Antakya Jewish Community's President Şaul Cenudioğlu and his wife Tuna Cenudioğlu, who had been missing for 4 days were found dead under the rubbles by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Israeli International Emergency Response Team ZAKA. President Cenudioğlu was striving to keep alive the Antakya Jewish Community, consisting of only 16-17 people of average age 60-70.

The synagogue is damaged

The Antakya Synagogue is also said to be damaged by the earthquake. While most of the buildings on the street went down, there are also cracks and holes at the synagogue building.

The historical hand-written Sefer Torahs were taken somewhere safe outside the city.

One of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, the Antakya Jewish Community has a history of over 2200 years.

Rabbi Mendy: It is not possible to walk on the streets

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik who was among the group that went to help Antakya on the day of the earthquake, about the terrible view of the city had said:

"The roads are a disaster. 50-60% of the buildings have collapsed. It is impossible to walk on the streets. There is nothing in the name of rescue.

We could reach the synagogue only by going over the rubble. We found two members of our community refuged at the synagogue. Again we found two community members among the rubble, refuged in a car, hungry and thirsty for hours."

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