Israel Amb. To Turkey: “It’s Much Worse Than What You See In Photos”

Irit Lillian, Israel’s Ambassador to Turkey, spoke to Radio 103FM about the heartrending situation in the beleaguered country.

“It’s much worse than what you see in the photos,” she said. “Let’s start with the fact that Turkey is a country that when disasters hit – natural disasters – including earthquakes, they are generally very prepared. There’s also criticism here towards the emergency authorities regarding people who are still trapped and angry that they’re not being reached but overall the logistics are very complicated. Almost 50 delegations have arrived here from all over the world and all of them were received and transferred, even if it takes more time to their places of operation. I think we need to give them credit.”

Regarding the fate of Jewish kehillos in Turkey, she said: “By and large, the entire region of eastern Turkey is an area where the Jewish presence goes back thousands of years. There is a very ancient Jewish mesorah but the Jewish presence there is now very sparse – very small communities, isolated – just a few Jews. The main Turkish Jewish community in Istanbul managed to evacuate the majority of the Jews from the isolated areas.”

“Unfortunately, the president of the kehilla in Antakya and his wife, Saul and Fortuna Cenudioglu, are missing – we’re very afraid for their lives. Their house was destroyed. The brother is there, their daughter is on her way from Israel. We are hoping for good news but unfortunately, the situation seems bleak.”

Referring to the thousands of fatalities as a result of the quake, she said. “It’s unimaginable, the region is inhabited by almost 13 million people. Cities were leveled, entire neighborhoods were left with nothing. Unfortunately, the numbers only keep rising. We can only hope and wish that more people can be saved but you have to remember that even those who rescued themselves, who lost their homes, are now exposed to the freezing cold. The cold itself can lead to deaths. Sewage systems, gas – they no longer exist in these cities. There is no fuel, no food.”