Jewish wedding in Turkey triggers online hate

A leader of Turkey’s Jewish community says an historic wedding in the country triggered a deluge of anti-Semitic speech online.

Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, president of the Jewish Community of Turkey, says that some social network users responded with hate speech to his invitation to watch a live streaming video of the first Jewish wedding in 41 years in Edirne, a city in western Turkey near its border with Greece.

“Many anti-Semites regurgitated their hatred in Periscope,” Ibrahimzadeh says in reference to the streaming service that offered the feed from the wedding at the Great Synagogue of Edirne, which reopened last year after decades of disuse following a five-year government-sponsored restoration. “They are the reason for Islamophobia. Hand in hand, we will overcome them.”

Some users wrote “kill the Jews,” NRG says. One user wrote: “Such a pity that Hitler didn’t finish the job,” while others referenced “occupied Palestine.”

On Twitter, Ibrahimzadeh urges the Turkish Justice Ministry and the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights Inquiry to investigate those responsible for the hate speech for inciting racist hatred.

“Don’t the comments on Periscope about the Edirne synagogue constitute a hate crime?” Ibrahimzadeh asks.

https://twitter.com/Karacaer/status/736919611988414465

— JTA