Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Synagogue in Izmir, Turkey, targeted by firebomb

A man threw a Molotov cocktail onto the sidewalk outside Beth Israel Synagogue; no damage was reported.

Beth Israel Synagogue in Izmir, Turkey. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Beth Israel Synagogue in Izmir, Turkey. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Amid the persecution Jews face in Turkey, a synagogue in the city of Izmir on the Aegean coast was firebombed.

A man threw a Molotov cocktail last week onto the sidewalk outside of Beth Israel Synagogue, which ended up not being damaged.

The incident was first reported on Tuesday by the Turkish-language Salom Jewish news site.

“There is no difference between attacks targeting synagogues, churches and mosques; they all target social peace with their hate,” said Mustafa Yeneroğlu, the Istanbul lawmaker for the ruling Justice and Development Party.

The Turkish-Jewish community, in a statement, lauded the Izmir Security Directorate for responding decisively in apprehending the suspect and denounced “this heinous attack threatening our lives, peace and unity.”

“Vang is currently riding a wave of progressive energy that has been deciding Democratic primaries across the country,” Dan Schnur, a political science lecturer, told JNS.
Preliminary data for 2026 suggests a volume of antisemitism that is second only to 2023, during which the Oct. 7 attacks occurred, B’nai Brith Canada said.
Only 93 members of the Democratic caucus opposed an amendment to end aid Israel in a vote that split the Democratic leadership and further revealed one of the sharpest divides in politics on the American left.
The law negates the binding nature of legal opinions and grants the government the authority to represent its own position in court even if it differs from that of the AG.
Republican lawmakers on the House Committee on Education and Workforce grilled the leaders of three public medical schools over their past diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Despite ongoing security concerns, families across the United States chose to send their children on the four-week educational trip to strengthen their connection to Israel.