Neve Shalom Synagogue Attack, Istanbul, 1986
Istanbul, Turkey
6 September, 1986
This relates to the attack on the Neve Shalom synagogue which took place in 1986, not to be confused with the one in 1992 which did not cause casualties, or the attack in 2003, which did.
On Shabbat morning, 29 Jews were gathered at the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul for prayers. During Torah reading, two strangers entered the synagogue and barricaded the doors from the inside using an iron bar. They then open-fired with submachine guns, poured gasoline on the bodies and ignited them, and finally blew themselves up with hand grenades. Twenty-two of the Jewish worshipers were killed. (Washington Post) The attack "turned the elegant Neve Shalom Synagogue into a charred and blood-stained slaughterhouse." (New York Times) The JTA called it the "Bloodiest Synagogue Massacre Since [the] Nazi Era." The bodies were so disfigured that they were buried in a common grave.
This was a high-coordinated terrorist attack, carried out by the Fatah Revolutionary Council with the support of Syria, Libya and Iran, who shipped supplies to the terrorists in diplomatic pouches.
The bullet and bomb marks in the upper left corner were never repaired as a memorial to this event. The names of the victims were inscribed on the wall by the entrance. (AP)
The Washington Times noted that there had not been a history of antisemitism in Turkey beforehand, and that the attackers were foreigner terrorists, not people from the city or country.
6 September, 1986
This relates to the attack on the Neve Shalom synagogue which took place in 1986, not to be confused with the one in 1992 which did not cause casualties, or the attack in 2003, which did.
On Shabbat morning, 29 Jews were gathered at the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul for prayers. During Torah reading, two strangers entered the synagogue and barricaded the doors from the inside using an iron bar. They then open-fired with submachine guns, poured gasoline on the bodies and ignited them, and finally blew themselves up with hand grenades. Twenty-two of the Jewish worshipers were killed. (Washington Post) The attack "turned the elegant Neve Shalom Synagogue into a charred and blood-stained slaughterhouse." (New York Times) The JTA called it the "Bloodiest Synagogue Massacre Since [the] Nazi Era." The bodies were so disfigured that they were buried in a common grave.
This was a high-coordinated terrorist attack, carried out by the Fatah Revolutionary Council with the support of Syria, Libya and Iran, who shipped supplies to the terrorists in diplomatic pouches.
The bullet and bomb marks in the upper left corner were never repaired as a memorial to this event. The names of the victims were inscribed on the wall by the entrance. (AP)
The Washington Times noted that there had not been a history of antisemitism in Turkey beforehand, and that the attackers were foreigner terrorists, not people from the city or country.
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