The Neve Shalom Synagogue massacre happened on 6 September 1986 when a group of suspected

Abu Nidal Organization The Abu Nidal Organization (ANO; ), officially Fatah – Revolutionary Council ( ), was a Palestinian militant group founded by Abu Nidal in 1974. It broke away from Fatah, a faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization, following t ...

terrorists killed 22 worshipers inside the

Neve Shalom Synagogue The Neve Shalom Synagogue (; ) is a Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at Büyük Hendek Caddesi 61, in the Karaköy quarter of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, in the Istanbul Province of Turkey. History The synagogue was built i ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Background

The

was a

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

synagogue in Istanbul's Beyoglu district. It had been closed for repairs.

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

morning on 6 September 1986 marked its reopening.

Attack

Around 9:17am of 6 September 1986 during Shabbat services, when worshippers were reciting the

parasha, a pair off terrorists entered on the men's side of the

mechitza A ''mechitza'' (, partition or division, pl.: , ) in Judaism is a partition, particularly one that is used to separate men and women. The rationale in halakha (Jewish law) for a partition dividing men and women is derived from the Babylonian ...

and opened fire on the crowd with machine guns. They then doused the bodies of the dead and injured with

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

, which they lit on fire. Witnesses said they heard the gunmen speaking

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

among themselves. The attackers took out "extremely powerful"

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s and blew themselves apart, killing themselves and disfiguring their bodies so badly that investigators were unable to identify who they were. The grenades set off a fire in the building that lasted several hours. The assailants gained access by posing as television cameramen assigned to cover the event for Israeli television. One of them spoke Hebrew to a guard. By the end of the massacre, 22 people had been killed. The victims ranged in age from 30 to 82. Three of the people killed were

Persian Jews Iranian Jews, (; ) also Persian Jews ( ) or Parsim, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the History of ancient Israel and Judah, biblical era, they originate from the Jews who relocated to Iran (his ...

, including an Iranian-born

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. Around two dozen were wounded, including four women hit by splinters in the

women's gallery The Women's Gallery was a collectively established and run art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, showing only the work of women, that ran for four years between 1980 and 1984. History In 1977, artist Joanna Paul developed a project called ...

. The death toll would have been higher if a

Bar Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

planned for that morning had not been cancelled.

Aftermath

Two previously unknown Lebanese groups both separately claimed responsibility for the massacre, but the authenticity of the claims have been doubted. The

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

, although it never claimed responsibility, was widely suspected of perpetrating the attack, which bore the group's stamp. Turkish police suspected the shooting was done by Abu Nidal but with the assistance of other groups, which it believed were likely

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. All the victims were buried in the Ulus Ashkenazi Jewish Cemetery.

Reactions

The Neve Shalom massacre was widely condemned in Turkey and internationally. The

Cabinet of Turkey The Cabinet of Turkey () or Presidential Cabinet () is the body that advises the President of Turkey on executive affairs. It is composed of the President, Vice President and the heads of the ministries. After the Council of Ministers was abol ...

arranged a

special session In a legislature, a special session (also extraordinary session) is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year (often delayed by confli ...

shortly after on Prime Minister

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, bureaucrat, engineer and statesman who served as the eighth president of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th prime minister of Turkey from 1983 ...

's orders, who described the incident as "heinous" and "odious assault." Jewish synagogues and institutions were provided heavy security in fear of another attack.

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

wrote a letter to the Jewish community of Istanbul sharply condemning the massacre.

Israeli Prime Minister The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a president as the head of state. The presiden ...

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

denounced the attack as "beastly" and vowed "not orest until we cut off this murderous hand."

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

associate dean

Abraham Cooper Abraham Cooper (1787–1868) was a British animal and battle painter. Life The son of a tobacconist, he was born in Greenwich, London on 8 September 1787.on of On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

the imagery and savagery of

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

References

{{Istanbul Bombings 1986 murders in Turkey Antisemitism in Turkey Massacres in 1986 Synagogue massacres Massacres in Turkey Abu Nidal attacks 1986 in Judaism 1986 mass shootings in Europe Mass shootings in Turkey 1980s in Istanbul Mass murder in Istanbul Suicide bombings in 1986 Suicide bombings in Istanbul 1986 building bombings Building bombings in Istanbul Synagogue bombings Synagogue arson Building and structure arson attacks in Turkey Arson in 1986 1980s fires in Europe September 1986 in Turkey 20th-century attacks on Jewish institutions Terrorist incidents in Turkey in 1986 Palestinian terrorist incidents in Europe 20th-century mass murder in Turkey Suicides by explosive device Violence against men in Europe Terrorist incidents in Istanbul Beyoğlu Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Turkey

Background

Attack

Aftermath

Reactions

See also

References