Synagogue under restoration will not be turned into museum, says top official

A historical synagogue under restoration in the northwestern province of Edirne will not be turned into a museum, a top state official has said, despite earlier remarks from the province’s governor.

“All decision regarding the functions of the buildings owned by the Directorate General of Foundations is taken by the directorate,” Foundations Director General Adnan Ertem told the Anadolu Agency on Nov. 22.

“Our intentions is to keep that building as a house of worship to serve all visitors,” he added.

Edirne Gov. Dursun Şahin created uproar when he told reporters on Nov. 21 that he ordered the historical Büyük Synagogue (the Great Synagogue), built in 1907 in Kaleiçi village, be turned into a museum, citing a recent Israeli raid on al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

“When those bandits blow winds of war inside al-Aqsa and slain Muslims, we build their synagogues,” Şahin said. 

“I say this with a huge hatred inside me. We clean their graveyards, send their projects to boards. The synagogue here will be registered only as a museum, and there will be no exhibition inside it.”

Ertem said the building, which has been under restoration since 2010 on a budget of 3.7 million Turkish Liras, would serve both as a place of worship and visit, similar to Süleymaniye and Sultanahmet mosques. 

“All visitors should be able easily pray there, which is the biggest synagogue in Europe, that is our intention” said Ertem. 

The Jewish community in Turkey had applied to the governor’s office to have sermons and wedding ceremonies at the synagogue, whose restoration is almost completed.

A main opposition lawmaker has called for the governor’s resignation for his “anti-Semitic”...