A Study Of The Jews In The Republic Of Turkey(1923-1980)

Turkish Jews actively participate in the process of modernization, so they play an irreplaceable role in the Republic of Turkey. This paper takes Turkish Jews between 1923 and 1980 as the research subject. It focuses on the transition of Jews about their survival and social status in different periods of the Republic of Turkey. Which indicates that Turkish democratization affects the social status and political participation of non-Muslim minorities. This paper consists of three parts.The first part is introduction, including the basis of subject, the research status at home and abroad, research methods and innovations and so on.The second part is the body part which has four chapters. The first chapter is the historical review about the Turkish Jews. It describes the general situation of Jews in the Ottoman Empire and the definition of political status in Millet System for non-Muslim minorities, and then explains the effects about Jewish political and social situation made by empire reforms from different angles. The second chapter mainly focuses on the situation of the Jews under the Republican People’s Party during the one-party system. This chapter starts from the relevant provisions of "Treaty of Severs" and "Treaty of Lausanne", researching on national policies and the minority status changes in the newborn Republic of Turkey. The exclusiveness of Kemalism leads to the constraint and oppression of Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities, which produces multiple effects on citizens’political status of the Jews. During World War II, Turkish government launched Wealth Tax and Labor Battalions. These two policies created panic among the Jewish population, left great traumas in the heart of Jewish people, resulting in a large number of Jews to leave Turkey. The third chapter discusses Jewish social situation under the multi-party rule in Turkey from 1950 to 1980.It mainly analyzes Turkish official policies for the non-Muslims minorities and social dilemma for the Turkish Jews from international and national levels. This part highlights the positive effects on Jews in political, economic and cultural aspects during Turkey’s democratization process. The fourth chapter comments on the factors contributing to the improvement of the social situation of the Jewish community under different latitudes, The transition from one-party to multi-party weakens the legal boundaries between Muslims and non-Muslims in Turkey, the Western countries, the regional countries and bilateral relations all prompt the advance of the social status of the Jews in Turkey.The third part is the conclusion, which is the summary about the situation of the Jews in Republic of Turkey from the macro angle, noting that the improvement of living condition of the Turkish Jewish community share a same pace with the Turkish democratization process from 1923 to 1980. After 1980, the multi-party democratic system tends to be mature and the political environment becomes more and more stable, so the civil Rights of Turkish Jews will be effectively Safeguarded.