Being Jewish in Turkey

Abstract Today the most distinguishing characteristic of the small community of Jews in Turkey is that they have a higher level of assimilation into the national identity compared to other secular and non-Muslim minority groups, notwithstanding the exclusionist policies of the Turkish Republic. This chapter examines how, in such a context, throughout the history of the Turkish Republic, the Jews, who stood out as the most tenacious non-Muslim minority group, were determined to become part of the national identity. They developed different identity strategies in different periods for both social integration and protection of their religious identity. This chapter explores the construction of their identity, structured in three different phases: the identification with Turkishness through assimilation, introversion due to disillusionment, and identification through integration.