“We thank Jewish Italy for its support to Turkey: any help is important”

By Daniel Reichel

“We thank the Italian Jewish community for their support. We need all the help we can get.” The voice of Rabbi Mendy Chitrik expresses weariness, concern and gratitude. He left Istanbul, where he works as the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, on February 6th, a few hours after the earthquake, to assist with the rescue of the small Jewish community of Antakya, in southern Turkey.
A journey of more than thirteen hours by car, made with some friends, with the aim of saving as many people as possible.
“The city is in terrible condition”, he said. Thousands of lives are at risk, including those of the president of the local Jewish community and his wife, Saul and Tuna Cenudi. According to the news, they are alive. “But they are still buried under the rubble”, Chitrik, Rabbi of the Istanbul Ashkenazic community and Chabad emissary to Turkey, told Pagine Ebraiche. Their house collapsed, as well as hundreds of buildings across the city. Two hospitals were also destroyed by the massive quakes.
Antakya, as visible in the pictures taken by Chitrik, is devastated. The synagogue is one of the few buildings that are still standing, although it is extremely damaged. After checking on the local Jewish community members, the Rabbi went to the synagogue accompanied by some of them. They were able to recover the Seforim (the Torah scrolls) that were stored there. Now they are in Istanbul, says the Rabbi. Lamentably, he had to take them with him. At his side, on the return journey, were also twelve people from the community. Now the objective is to find them “a decent accommodation”. But the atmosphere is one of great sadness. “They know they almost certainly won’t live long enough to return to their hometown”.
The Rabbi fears that the 2300-year-old Jewish history of Antakya has now been irreparably interrupted by the earthquake. Help is needed. The Union of Italian Jewish Communities has launched a fundraiser for the victims of the earthquake. “We appreciate it. It is so, so helpful”, says Chitrik, adding that he is in constant contact with Israel’s aid delegation.
“The Israeli search and rescue teams on the ground have successfully rescued 4 trapped persons, among them are kids. – announced Israel’s deputy ambassador to Turkey, Nadav Markman – Our teams are working simultaneously in various sites around the clock in full coordination with the Turkish authorities”.
In total, there are four teams, and one of them is setting up a field hospital. “In these conditions, everything can be useful. – stresses Rabbi Chitrik – Clothes, medicine, food. What is important is that the aid gets to the right destinations”.

From top, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Istanbul Mendy Chitrik; the devastation in Antakya; the Torah scrolls recovered. The photos were taken by Rabbi Chitrik.

Translated by Annadora Zuanel, revised by Martina Bandini, students at the Secondary School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.