- Population
- 67,700
- Location
- Tel Aviv-Yafo (Florentin, Jaffa), Bat Yam, Holon, Yehud-Monosson, Jerusalem; kibbutzim and moshavim such as HaGoshrim, Nahsholim, Gvulot, Burgata, Avital, Geva Carmel, Givat Nili and Tal Shahar
Turkish Jews in Israel are mostly Sephardim whose ancestors found refuge in the Ottoman Empire after the expulsion from Spain in 1492. About 7,300 came during the British Mandate, and in 1949-51 some 34,500 arrived, nearly 40 percent of Turkey's Jews, settling in Jaffa, the Florentin quarter of Tel Aviv and the southern suburbs, while others founded kibbutzim such as HaGoshrim in the Hula Valley. A steady trickle has continued ever since, quickening in the Erdogan era as antisemitism and the breakdown of Turkish-Israeli relations pushed Istanbul's shrinking community to leave. The older generation speaks Ladino, Turkish and French, and many families keep Turkish food, music and an affection for Turkey that makes them strong advocates of good relations between the two countries.