Chabad Lubavitch of Turkey
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Chabad-Lubavitch in Turkey: Rabbi Mendy Chitrik's Istanbul mission since 2001, which works inside the established Turkish Jewish community and its chief rabbinate, a resort-based centre in Antalya, and the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
| Chabad-Lubavitch in Turkey
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Chabad-Lubavitch emissary operation |
| Founded | 2001 (arrival of Mendy Chitrik in Istanbul) |
| Founder(s) | Mendy Chitrik |
| Headquarters | Istanbul |
| Area served | Turkey, mainly Istanbul and the Antalya resort area |
| Key people | Mendy Chitrik (Istanbul; rabbi of the Ashkenazi community; chairman of ARIS); Menachem Litzman and Shira Litzman (Antalya) |
| Remarks | Sidebar slot is titled "Chabad of Istanbul"; this country-level page covers it |
Chabad-Lubavitch in Turkey is led by Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, who arrived in Istanbul in 2001 with his wife. In his words, they came "per the request of the Turkish Jewish community".[1] Unlike Chabad missions that set up beside an existing community, Chitrik serves inside the established, mainly Sephardi Turkish Jewish community. He has been rabbi of its small Ashkenazi community since 2003, and runs kosher supervision for the Turkish chief rabbinate's exports.[1][2] He describes Chabad in Turkey as "very much integrated into part of the local Jewish community".[1] JTA calls him "Chabad's emissary in Istanbul".[3] In 2019 Chitrik founded the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS), a mainly Chabad network of rabbis in Muslim-majority countries, and he chairs it from Istanbul.[4][5] A second Chabad centre in Antalya, run by Rabbi Menachem Litzman, has served Israeli tourists.[6]
Emissaries and entities
- Mendy Chitrik (Istanbul). Chitrik says he came to Turkey in 2001, aged 24, "to help the Jewish community with education and other projects", and "eventually" became rabbi of the Ashkenazi community.[1] The Forward describes him as "an emissary of the Chabad movement" who "also serves as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Turkey".[4] Israel Hayom calls him "chief rabbi of the Ashkenazic community of Istanbul".[5]
- Menachem Litzman (Antalya). In 2009 CrownHeights.info reported that "Chabad of Antalya, Turkey, headed by Shliach Rabbi Menachem and Shira Litzman, organized over 10 Chanukah parties in hotels all over Turkey for thousands of Israelis", and handed out menorahs at the airport.[6] In an undated item from around 2009–10, COL quoted Litzman telling Walla! that "we are not afraid" despite Israeli–Turkish tension.[7]
- Editor's note: No Turkish registration of a Chabad body was found. The West Asia overview lists Chabad houses in Bodrum, Marmaris and Ankara, but no source for them was found, so they are left out here. The current status of the Antalya centre after 2010 was not confirmed.
Relations with the established community and the chief rabbinate
Turkey's Jewish community of about 15,000 is overwhelmingly Sephardi. It is led religiously by the Hahambaşı (chief rabbi) and is represented by a lay president.[3][1] Chabad's place in it is that of a recognised part of the community, not a rival.
- Isak Haleva, Hahambaşı from 2002 until his death on 14 January 2025, was listed by ARIS among its most senior rabbis, above Chitrik's executive board. On Haleva's death Chitrik, "who had known Haleva for over 20 years", told JTA that he "gained the love and appreciation of the entire community".[3][2]
- David Sevi, elected unopposed in September 2025 and installed at Neve Shalom synagogue in December 2025, "is a member of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States", according to JNS.[8]
- Five other Istanbul rabbis are listed as ARIS members: three members of the Bet Din of Istanbul, and the rabbis of Beit Israel and of Büyükada (see below).[2]
- Chitrik says he is "responsible for the kashrut of the Turkish rabbinate for all exports", acting as "a representative of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and the Orthodox Union".[1] (Chitrik's own account.)
- Editor's note: No source was found reporting friction between Chabad and the Turkish chief rabbinate. The sources above are mostly Chitrik's own statements, Chabad-side reporting and obituaries. An independent account from the Turkish community (e.g. Şalom newspaper or the community's own statements) was not consulted.
Relations with the Turkish state and Israel
- COLlive reported in November 2022 on a regional visit to Bahrain, Israel, the UAE and Turkey by Rabbi Levi Shemtov of American Friends of Lubavitch. The emissaries taking part included Chitrik. It said the dignitaries they met included "His Excellency Hasan Doğan, Chief of Staff of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye), following a meeting which occurred earlier with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan".[9] (Chabad-side. The wording does not make clear who attended the earlier meeting with Erdoğan.)
- Erdoğan issued a Hanukkah message to Turkish Jews in 2016, through the Presidential Press Office. It called Jewish citizens an "inseparable part of our society".[10] In January 2025 he called the community's lay leaders to offer condolences on Haleva's death.[3]
- JTA notes that since October 2023 Turkey "has endorsed Hamas and cut off trade with Israel".[3]
- In November 2024 Turkey's National Intelligence Organization and police arrested in Istanbul the three suspects in the murder of the UAE Chabad emissary Zvi Kogan, and extradited them to the UAE, according to TRT World. See Chabad of United Arab Emirates.[11]
- In 2021 Chitrik said that after a social media user made a false accusation against him, the authorities questioned the man and opened "an official complaint against him", although Chitrik had not filed one.[5]
Funding and donors
Chitrik said in 2023: "The Chabad operation is funded by donations coming from passersby and local donors". He said the Istanbul Chabad house hosts "some 70 guests every Shabbat".[1]
- Editor's note: No donors are named in the sources, and no accounts were found.
Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
ARIS was set up by Chitrik in 2019. The Forward reported in March 2021 that he "founded ARIS 18 months ago", and Israel Hayom said that "the majority" of its 45 rabbis "are associated with Chabad".[4][5] ARIS lists these rabbis for Turkey:[2]
| Name | Role as listed by ARIS | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| Mendy Chitrik | Chairman; Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Istanbul | Chabad emissary |
| Isak Haleva (d. 2025) | Hahambashi, Chief Rabbi of Turkey (senior tier) | Turkish Sephardi chief rabbinate |
| Izak Alaluf | Rabbi of the Kemerburgaz community; member of the Bet Din of Istanbul | Turkish community rabbinate |
| Isak Peres | Rabbi of the Yeniköy community; member of the Bet Din of Istanbul | Turkish community rabbinate |
| Naftali Haleva | Etz Ahayim, Ortaköy; member of the Bet Din of Istanbul | Turkish community rabbinate (son of Isak Haleva) |
| David Zvi | Rabbi of Beit Israel, Istanbul | Turkish community rabbi |
| Avraham Gershon | Hesed Leavraam, Büyükada | Turkish community rabbi |
| Mendel Porush | Rabbi for kashrut, Istanbul | Not established |
David Sevi, chief rabbi since 2025, is described by JNS as an ARIS member, but he does not appear under that spelling on the ARIS list.[8]
- Editor's note: Only Chitrik is confirmed as Chabad. The others are listed with community roles, and no Chabad link was found for them. ARIS's Turkish membership is mainly the established Turkish rabbinate. Whether "David Zvi" on the ARIS list is the same person as David Sevi was not established.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Mendy Chitrik arrives in Istanbul at the request of the Turkish Jewish community (his account) |
| 2002 | Isak Haleva becomes Hahambaşı |
| 2003 | Chitrik becomes rabbi of the Ashkenazi community |
| 2009 | Chabad of Antalya (Menachem Litzman) holds Hanukkah events for Israeli tourists |
| 2019 | Chitrik founds the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States |
| Nov 2022 | Chitrik and Levi Shemtov meet the presidential chief of staff, Hasan Doğan |
| Nov 2024 | Kogan murder suspects arrested in Istanbul and extradited to the UAE |
| 14 Jan 2025 | Death of Isak Haleva |
| Dec 2025 | David Sevi, an ARIS member, installed as Hahambaşı |
See also
- Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia
- Zionist connections in Turkey
- Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
- Chabad Lubavitch of Cyprus
- Chabad of United Arab Emirates
- Chabad in Iran
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Meyer Harroch, "Getting to know the Jewish Community in Turkey: A Conversation with Rabbi Mendy Chitrik", New York Jewish Guide, 12 January 2023. Interview, Chitrik's own words; written on a press trip sponsored by the Turkish tourism agency.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, "ARIS Rabbis", accessed 19 October 2026. Self-published; mainly Chabad-led.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 David I. Klein, "Isak Haleva, Turkey's chief rabbi and face of Jewish minority, dies at 84", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 15 January 2025. Press.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 David Ian Klein, "Matzah in Beirut or a Seder in Samarkand? These rabbis are making it happen.", The Forward, 22 March 2021. Press.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 JNS and ILH Staff, "Rabbinical alliance bolsters Jewish community in Islamic states", Israel Hayom, 29 October 2021. Press.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Israelis Celebrate Chanukah with Chabad of Turkey", CrownHeights.info, 21 December 2009. Chabad-side.
- ↑ "השליח באנטליה ל'וואלה': 'אנחנו לא חוששים מהמתיחות'" ("The emissary in Antalya to Walla: 'We are not afraid of the tension'"), COL (col.org.il), undated (c. 2009–10). Chabad-side; in Hebrew.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 JNS Staff, "Turkish Jews install David Sevi as new chief rabbi", JNS, 5 December 2025. Press.
- ↑ "Shluchim Well Received in Mideast Capitals", COLlive, 11 November 2022. Chabad-side.
- ↑ Enes Kaplan, "Turkey's Erdogan releases message honoring Hanukkah", Anadolu Agency, 25 December 2016. Turkish state news agency.
- ↑ Alican Tekingunduz, "Turkish intelligence nabs rabbi murderers, extradites to UAE", TRT World, November 2024. Turkish state broadcaster.