Community Magazine December 2003

I never thought that I would have to describe our shul this way. I have been attending the Beth Yisrael synagogue since I was a child. My mother used to bring me there on Shabbat, and before that, she used to take my brothers, Salvo and Moshe— just like the 8 year old girl Anna who came with her grandmother… It was a special Shabbat for our Talmud Torah Minyan. The Nehmad Family, whose roots are from Aram-Soba (Allepo Syria), had just finished redecorating our shul. That Shabbat would mark the dedica- tion of our new additions, including the Teva which was dedicated in honor of my uncle Eliyahu Bildirici. For this occasion, the Chief Rabbi of Turkey and other Jewish leaders, including many people from our Syrian community, were in atten- dance to take part in the celebration. The Beth Yisrael Synagogue is com- prised of two connecting buildings. One building houses the main shul and the other one accommodates smaller Minyanim on two of its four floors. The remaining floors are set up for classes and other activities, including the main Midrash, which was dedicated by Dr. Moshe Antebi. The explosion affected this second building which was being used at the time by our Youth Minyan and the Early Minyan. This building is right on the street where the bomb detonated. At the time of the bombing, we were reading the Torah. We had just come to the point in Perashat Lech Lecha, where the angels, who would eventually destroy the city, were visiting Lot, and the people of Sodom were trying to force their way into 40 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE The Istanbul Bombings AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT Exclusive personal story from the terrorist attack of Nov 15, 2003, during Shabbat Prayers at the Beth Yisrael Synagogue in Istanbul. B Y : MU R AT B I L D I R I C I , I S TA N B U L , T U R K E Y s xc