Until recently the Republic of Turkey presented itself as a country where no tradition of antisemitism existed. Turkey intended to depict itself in sharp contrast to other Muslim Middle Eastern countries as a place where Jewish citizens (a miniscule minority) had lived for centuries in peace. Lately, however, there have been reports expressing fears
of a growing current of antisemitism in Turkey. Rifat Bali will analyze the historical and current situation in Turkey concerning antisemitism presenting the prevailing ideologies and their historical roots.
Rifat Bali (*1948) is a graduate of École Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Religious Sciences Divison of Sorbonne University. He is an independent scholar, a research fellow of Alberto Benveniste Center for Sephardic Studies and Culture based in the Religious Studies Department of EPHE, and a member of Ottoman-Turkish Sephardic Culture Research Center. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the history of Turkish Jews, antisemitism and conspiracy theories in contemporary Turkey as well as the editor of several monographs on the history of the Turkish Republic. His publications can be accessed here.
The discussion will be moderated by Prof. Marc Baer (Zentrum Moderner Orient).
Venue:
Zentrum für AntisemitismusforschungErnst-Reuter-Platz 7
10587 Berlin,
Raum 811 (8. Stock)
