Herzog set to meet Turkish Jewish leaders in Istanbul

President Isaac Herzog will meet with Jewish leaders in Istanbul today after an eventful day in Turkey yesterday which saw a historic meeting between Herzog and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Herzog, accompanied by wife his wife Michal Herzog, will meet representatives of the Turkish Jewish community at the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul.

There are around 31 synagogues in Turkey that are currently active and 16 Jewish cemeteries.

There are around 15,000 people in Turkey’s Jewish community, the vast majority of whom are in Istanbul.

The Neve Shalom Synagogue was founded in the late 1930s and later expanded to become Istanbul’s central and largest Sephardic synagogue.

Terrorists carried out deadly attacks against Neve Shalom three times.

On Saturday, September 6, 1986, during morning prayers, 22 worshipers were murdered in a terrorist attack by the Abu Nidal organization.

On Saturday, November 15, 2003, again during the morning prayer, two vehicles exploded simultaneously at the entrances to the Neve Shalom and Beit Yisrael synagogues. A total of 26 people, including worshipers, security personnel, and 11 passersby lost their lives and hundreds were injured.

Another terror attack on Neve Shalom in 1992 ended without any casualties.

At the same time as Herzog’s visit to the synagogue, in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers will hold face-to-face talks in their first contact since Russia invaded its neighbor two weeks ago.

Russia’s Lavrov and Ukraine’s Kuleba will be joined Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Late yesterday, Cavusoglu told Israeli and Turkish reporters that he will visit Israel as early as April 3rd. His announcement came minutes after President Erdogan and President Herzog finalized their long-awaited mutual statements on the renewal of relations between the countries.

However, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, said no date has been set for Cavusoglu’s visit, a reaction that embarrassed the Israeli delegation in Ankara.

Before getting on the plane en route Istanbul, Herzog spoke to Israeli reporters and said that Cavusoglu will be invited to Jerusalem with a formal invitation.