American Young Professionals Visited Turkey

Young Professionals of the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America visiting Turkey, recently came together with the young people from the Turkish Jewish Community. The young people from the two countries socialized with each other during the wonderful Shabbat dinner at the Ortaköy Ets Ahayim Synagogue.

Most of the young people visiting our country have roots in Izmir, Manisa, Çanakkale, Çorlu, and Edirne. So the group, in their speeches during the Shabbat dinner, stated how meaningful and emotional visiting our country has been for them.

Ethan Markus leading the organization on behalf of the Sephardic Brotherhood, during his speech expressed how excited and happy they all were to be in Turkey. Markus said that we all were a family since the young people from different parts of the States had a special connection due to their roots. The guest speaker also added that the young people of the Turkish Jewish Community, should they visit the United States, would be able to feel at home in the Sephardic kehillot (synagogues) built by Turkish Jews.

Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America representatives also stated that the teens and the youth of the Turkish Jewish Community were welcome to participate in the Sephardic summer camp in the States.

The Ortaköy Synagogue Rabbi Naftali Haleva expressed that they were very happy to welcome the young people coming from America at their synagogue and to see all the young people mingle as if they all were a family. Rabbi Haleva thanked Ortaköy Ets Ahayim Synagogue President Alber Elvaşvili and the board of directors, Director of Sephardic Brotherhood Ethan Markus, Berna Habib who showed around the guests through our cultural heritage, Levavi Catering who organized the Shabbat dinner, and all the young people who made the Shabbat dinner more meaningful by participating. Rabbi Naftali Haleva added that it is vital to organize these kinds of activities and that there would be more.

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