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The Urfa Events occurred in 1947, the year I was in Istanbul. There used to be a Jew from Siverek called Hayim Sorkaya Hayamo Haymun. He was a haberdasher too. His eldest son, Hayim Haymun, was a ne'er-do-well, who spent his family's money. He left his home in 1944. He became a disciple of Sheik Muhammed [Urfa's highest ranking religious Muslim] and wanted to convert to Islam. He took the name of Ahmet Kemal. The people in Urfa didn't like this situation because they were very religious and were ill disposed towards converts. This boy's family wasn't very well off and they say, they [the Muslim population] tempted him by offering him money. Anyway, after a while this boy went to Ankara to do his military service. During his military service he fell in love with a Jewish girl. The boy's parents went to Ankara to see him. The girl accepted to marry him on condition that he reconvert to Judaism. He agreed and told his family the good news. His parents went back to Urfa very happy and spread the news. The Muslim people of Urfa got very angry when they heard this news. In the fall of 1946, Hayim Ahmet Kemal came to Urfa on leave. His sheik tried to brainwash him into not reconverting to Judaism. Hayim was indecisive and went back to Ankara. Hayim's wish to reconvert caused great open hatred for the Jews and especially the Sorkaya family.
On the night of 30th December 1947, the rabbi of Urfa, Azur, Rabbi Yusuf Kohen and Isak Hayim gathered to recite the kadish [Kaddish] for the soul of Sorkaya's father-in-law. After dinner, the rabbis left. There was a maid working in that house, called El Medeh. There was a terrible rainstorm that night. After the household had gone to bed, El Medeh opened the door to unidentified murderers and became the cause of the murder of the whole family. El Medeh disappeared after this crime. The seven members of the Sorkaya family, Isak Hayim Sorkaya, his wife Mazal, his sons Yosef, Yaakov, his daughters Rashel and Ester and his mother-in-law Semha were all stabbed to death. Then the murderers went out into the street and started shouting, 'The Jews killed the Jews.'
The police took in all the Jewish men for questioning. My father, who was 68, had gone to other villages on business at that time. However, the murderers accused him and Yusuf Kohen [65] of killing the Sorkaya family while staying at their house. So when my father got back from the villages, they caught him. My father, Ezra Azur Bozo, Nesim Binler, the shochet Davut Hidir, the rabbi Azur and Yosef Hamus were all caught and tortured with the bastinado for days and nights. [Bastinado: originally a Spanish word, referring to a form of torture which consists of beating the soles of the offender's bare feet with a hard object, like a cane or rod. The word can also refer to the device used to inflict torture.] My father didn't accept the accusations. He was so terribly beaten up that he couldn't stand on his feet. When they took him to hospital, he was bleeding all over, and when he got better they threw him into jail again. Our family applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but they didn't answer. We wrote the President letters but there was no answer from there either. We even went to the American Consulate. My father couldn't wear any shoes because his feet were bleeding all the time. [During interrogations his feet were beaten. It is an old method of torture, practiced in the Ottoman Empire.] My poor father - may his soul rest in peace - told us that they would cover their heads with sackcloth and then start the bastinado on his feet shouting, 'Confess, confess!' My father would say, 'What shall I confess? Why should I confess to something I did not do?' My father couldn't hurt a fly. They transferred him to Malatya [a city in Southeastern Anatolia] for the trial. We sent him lawyers. After these events, the Muslims of Urfa started boycotting the Jews in Urfa. They wouldn't do business with them, they wouldn't pay their debts to them and nobody would sell them anything. However, during the trial, with the good lawyers and pressure from everywhere, the officials realized they would look really bad, and they decided in favor of my father and he was released.
My father came to Istanbul as soon as he was released.
On the night of 30th December 1947, the rabbi of Urfa, Azur, Rabbi Yusuf Kohen and Isak Hayim gathered to recite the kadish [Kaddish] for the soul of Sorkaya's father-in-law. After dinner, the rabbis left. There was a maid working in that house, called El Medeh. There was a terrible rainstorm that night. After the household had gone to bed, El Medeh opened the door to unidentified murderers and became the cause of the murder of the whole family. El Medeh disappeared after this crime. The seven members of the Sorkaya family, Isak Hayim Sorkaya, his wife Mazal, his sons Yosef, Yaakov, his daughters Rashel and Ester and his mother-in-law Semha were all stabbed to death. Then the murderers went out into the street and started shouting, 'The Jews killed the Jews.'
The police took in all the Jewish men for questioning. My father, who was 68, had gone to other villages on business at that time. However, the murderers accused him and Yusuf Kohen [65] of killing the Sorkaya family while staying at their house. So when my father got back from the villages, they caught him. My father, Ezra Azur Bozo, Nesim Binler, the shochet Davut Hidir, the rabbi Azur and Yosef Hamus were all caught and tortured with the bastinado for days and nights. [Bastinado: originally a Spanish word, referring to a form of torture which consists of beating the soles of the offender's bare feet with a hard object, like a cane or rod. The word can also refer to the device used to inflict torture.] My father didn't accept the accusations. He was so terribly beaten up that he couldn't stand on his feet. When they took him to hospital, he was bleeding all over, and when he got better they threw him into jail again. Our family applied to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but they didn't answer. We wrote the President letters but there was no answer from there either. We even went to the American Consulate. My father couldn't wear any shoes because his feet were bleeding all the time. [During interrogations his feet were beaten. It is an old method of torture, practiced in the Ottoman Empire.] My poor father - may his soul rest in peace - told us that they would cover their heads with sackcloth and then start the bastinado on his feet shouting, 'Confess, confess!' My father would say, 'What shall I confess? Why should I confess to something I did not do?' My father couldn't hurt a fly. They transferred him to Malatya [a city in Southeastern Anatolia] for the trial. We sent him lawyers. After these events, the Muslims of Urfa started boycotting the Jews in Urfa. They wouldn't do business with them, they wouldn't pay their debts to them and nobody would sell them anything. However, during the trial, with the good lawyers and pressure from everywhere, the officials realized they would look really bad, and they decided in favor of my father and he was released.
My father came to Istanbul as soon as he was released.
Period
Year
1947
Location
Urfa/Şanlıurfa
Türkiye
Interview
Harun Bozo
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