Earthquake shatters tiny Jewish community in Turkey's Antakya
Antakya was once home to a thriving Jewish community, but after this week's earthquakes, the few Jews who still lived there are unlikely to return.
As of Wednesday morning, the president of the small Jewish community in Antakya, Saul Cenudioglu, and his wife Fortuna are still missing. Their house was severely damaged during the first of the two earthquakes that struck southeastern Turkey on Monday. The other members of the small Antakya Jewish community — some 25 people in all — survived the earthquake.
Interviewed on Wednesday afternoon by Israel's public broadcaster KAN, the couple's daughter Rachel pleaded with Israeli authorities to send a rescue team to Antakya. So far, Israeli rescue delegations are setting up in Adana and Gaziantep.
A delegation from the Jewish community of Istanbul arrived to Antakya shortly after the earthquakes. Ashkenazi Rabbi of Istanbul Mendel Chitrik, who also serves as chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, headed the delegation. Roaming the streets of city, the delegation managed to locate most of the community members, mostly elderly, and brought them back with them to Istanbul.
While in Antakya, Rabbi Chitrik managed to enter into the town's old synagogue, which survived the earthquake but suffered severe cracks in its walls. The rabbi removed the ancient torah scrolls that were stored there and took them to a safe site.
