The Denver Jewish news., 1925-05-28
The Jews in Modern
Turkey
By DIR. YAKlR BEHAR.
(Constantinoplel

students of the Turkish world, an i'm
portant book, written by Elliot Grin
mel Mears, has been published, under
the name Modern Turkey" 1t aims
to interpret the political and econo-
mic events during the stormy period
from 1908 to 1928.
The author, who lived for many
years in the Orient, appears to be
well versed with the subject with
which the book deals.
Admiral Mark Lamport Bristol,
acting representative of the United
States in Turkey, in the preface to
the book, expresses his Aconviction
that it will be a great help to all
those who wish to study the Turkish
problem.
One of the chapters of Modern
Turkey" is devoted to the national
minorities, their activities and their
aspirations. In view of the interest
manifested in the various European
countries and in America in the atti-
tude of the Turkish Government to-
ward the national minorities, this
/ chapter takes on added significance.
In this review of the situation of the
rational minorities in Turkey, the
study on the situation of the Jews in
Turkey by Chain Nahum Effendi,
formerly Chief Rabbi of the Turkish
Empire and now chief Rabbi Of the
Jewish community in Cairo is present
ed.
Chain Nahum Effendi concludes his
study of the situation in Turkey with
the following remarks:
To-day, as in the past, the Jews of
Turkey are marching in the path of
progress and participating in every
movement which tends to praise the
intellectual and commercial standard
of the country that has given them
shelter in their hour of distress,
They, however, do not fail to cooper
ate with the rest of the Jews in the
intellectual economic and commercial
IrtSlOTdllOI VI L dltSlillt'
"The Jews" he says, Individually
and collectively have contributed to
the political, economic and commercial
development that has taken place in
the Turkish Empire
Il In the general introduction, Mr.
Mears notes that in Turkey, as else
where, there are Christians and
Christians, Jews and Jews, Moslems
and Moslems, and observes that the
regions which gave birth to Moham-
mechanism, Christianity and Judaism
must attract the attention of states
men and writer's, the world over.
Speaking Of the most important prob
lem for Turkey, concerning the num-
ber, the verility and the capacity of
its population, he remarks that the
non Moslems (Armenians, Greeks and
Jews) have had yearly increases in
their population that is to be at
tributed more to their sanitary pre-
cautions than to their fecundity.
l Mr.. Mears, speaking Of the char
pcteristics Of the races in Turkey,
recalls that the well-known writer
Tekin Alp a Macedonian jew, was
one of the eXponents of Pan-TOuran-
ism and that the loss of Salonica, as
per the terms of the Treaty of Lon
don, caused an important exodus Of
the most advanced elementAa thought
and commerce, the majority of which
has established itself in CONSTANT
nople, Smyrna, and Palestine.
Lady Fanny Blunt, whose work "The
People of Turkey" (London 1879 is
cited by the author, expresses her
self as follows:
! an few countries is the contrast
Of wealth and indigence among the
Jews as striking as in Turkey, On
one side may be seen wealth, so great
as to command respect for its pos
/ sessessors, and given them an in
/ fuenCe in the localities in which they
spring up greater than that of all
/ other -nationalities; whilst hard by
one sees poverty and wretchedness of
the most sickening nature. The prin-
! cipal cause of this is the limited
sphere Of action allotted to, or rather
adopted by the Jewish Communities.
They evince a strong repugnancc to
going beyond the few trades general
| ly practiccd by the laboring classes.
The rest content themselves with per
. forming the coarsest and dirtiest work
OF the town. From generation to
generation the jews will cling to these
lallings without allowing themselves
to be tempted to raise themselves in
the social scale by taking to agricul-
tural or other pursuits that might
insure them a comfortable home and
an honorable living
These pcssimiatic prophecies Of