Erdogan extends Hanukkah greetings

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wishes his country’s Jews a Happy Hanukkah in an official message.

“My best wishes for the Hanukkah festival of all Jews, especially the inseparable part of our society’s Jewish citizens, with whom we have co-existed peacefully for centuries, and I wish them peace.”

Istanbul’s Jewish community on Saturday marked the first night of the eight-day holiday with a public candle-lighting, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, Israel’s Consul-General in Istanbul Shai Cohen, the President of the Turkish Jewish Community Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, Beşiktaş Mayor Murat Hazinedar, Istanbul Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomeos and other religious leaders, the Daily Sabah reports. It was the second annual Hanukkah candle-lighting