Two historical synagogues, namely La Signora and Algazi, located in Kemeralti Bazaar in Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast, were vandalised on October 7, the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel that sparked the beginning of the war in Gaza, local news portal Egeli Gazete has reported.

The Signora Giveret Synagogue, or La Signora (Geveret) Synagogue, was built by Portuguese merchant Donna Gracia Mendes in the 16th century while the Algazi was built by Ishak Algazi in 1724.

(See the history of Jews in Turkey (they are Sephardic) here and the list of major synagogues in the country here.)

Currently, about 2,000 Jews live in the city of Izmir.

The perpetrators of the vandalism painted bloody handprints and wrote "5.60" with red dye on the doors of both synagogues.

Photos: The same form of damage was pictured on both doors. Photo Credit: Egeli Gazete.

One person has been detained in connection with the incident.

Jews in fear

Turkey's Jews have been living in fear since the start of the Gaza conflict, Nesim Bencoya, the coordinator of the Izmir Jewish Heritage Project, told another local news portal, bianet.

“We weren't there that day, we were informed about the incident through a photograph sent to us,” he said.

“Someone came and drew bloody hand signs on both doors with red paint and wrote '5.60' with a number. I don't know what it means, maybe a code,” he added.

“Someone told me it could be part of a verse from the Quran, but I didn't look into it,” Bencoya added.

Netanyahu's policies

“The incident happened on the anniversary of October 7th,” Bencoya recalled, adding: “Of course there are things that should be protested against and everyone has the right to protest, but to blame the Jews in Turkey for [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu's policies or to expose them to such acts of hate is extremely wrong and can have bad consequences.”

“Of course, someone could have gotten mad and done it that way,” Bencoya was further quoted as saying.

"Living on the edge"

“They destroyed two 200-year-old doors… Considering all these events, we can say that the Jews in Turkey are living on the edge,” Bencoya continued.

“They are constantly on guard and have to watch their backs. They don't know what will happen tomorrow. This feeling of anxiety is very bad, why should they live like this? No one should live like this,” he concluded.

5.60

bianet said the 5.60 painted on the door of the synagogue could be a reference to verse 5:60 from the Quran.

The verse reads: “Shall I inform you of those who deserve a worse punishment from Allah than the rebellious? It is those who earned Allah’s condemnation and displeasure—some being reduced to apes and pigs and worshippers of false gods. These are far worse in rank and farther astray from the right way.”

According to the interpretation of the Quran by Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), the context of the verse indicates that it is about Jews.