Knowledge On the Move: Turkey Rooted Jews in Israel

• In Event: Jewish Perspectives on the Republic of Turkey: Past and Present

Abstract

This paper foregrounds the significance of Kayades, a Ladino term employed by the Jewish community in Turkey as a means of identity formation, alongside Avlaremoz, which surfaced as a response to Kayades following the year 2016. The interpretations attributed to the term Kayades, meaning silence, provide insights into the life of the community in Turkey. The concept of the Kayades is also consistent with Walter F. Weiker’s characterization of Jews from Turkey as Unseen Israelis (1988) in his ethnographic study of Turkish Jews in Israel. Furthermore, he emphasized that the "unseen" character did not emerge post-migration in Israel; rather, it had been transferred from Turkey to Israel. Therefore, the descriptions of Kayades and Unseen are congruent with each other, and Kayades represents migrant knowledge carried through migrations.
Moreover, I contend that Avlaremoz, meaning “Let’s Talk,” signifies a rupture that becomes apparent through the questioning of historical realities silenced by Kayades, as well as features that are consistent with the official historical narrative, such as tolerance, more than five hundred years of coexistence and the portrayal of being a model minority. At this juncture, an important question arises: If Kayades is being transferred to Israel as migrant knowledge, is Avlaremoz also being transferred to Israel? In Weiker’s terms, are Turkish Jews in Israel still silent and unseen? The answer to this question will be addressed with the data obtained from my field research conducted among Turkish Jews in Israel in 2022.
The presentation will commence with a brief introduction to the terms “Kayades” and “Avlaremoz” and the meanings attributed to these words. Subsequently, insights obtained from in-depth interviews conducted with Turkish Jews residing in different cities of Israel will be elaborated upon through the lenses of the concepts of Kayades and Avlaremoz. The discussion will be guided by the sentences extracted from these interviews.

Author

• Adem Muzaffer Erol, Universität Potsdam