Ask Haviv Anything - Episode 41: The Rise and Fall of Ottoman Jewry

Host: Haviv Rettig Gur
Guest: Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak (Tel Aviv University)
Date: September 7, 2025

Episode Overview

This deep-dive episode explores the history and trajectory of Ottoman Jewry, from the late medieval period through the fall of the Ottoman Empire and into the early years of modern Turkey. Venturing far beyond the familiar terrain of Ashkenazi history, Haviv and Dr. Cohen Yanarocak examine the distinctive experiences, identities, and destinies of the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews—particularly those who flourished and later struggled under Ottoman rule. The discussion highlights key moments of protection and prosperity, the challenges of modernity, the impact of nationalism, and the ways in which the Ottoman experience parallels and diverges from that of European Jewry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction & Framing (00:05–12:35)

• Haviv addresses the dominance of Ashkenazi narratives in Jewish history and signals a pivot to serious engagement with Sephardi and Mizrahi experiences.
• Contextualizes why Sephardi/Mizrahi history is underrepresented: linguistic demographics and the primary role of Ashkenazim in Zionist migration waves.

Quote:
"There are many different histories, many different experiences within the narrow confines of a not-large Jewish community, you'll find radically different narratives, radically different experiences, none of them mistaken… many, many different sides are correct." — Haviv (00:23)

• Emphasizes the complexity and diversity of Jewish identities: "An Iraqi Jew and a Yemeni Jew come from radically different cultures. Never mind a Turkish Jew, an Iranian Jew, a Moroccan Jew, so..." (01:40)
• Sets up the parallel between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi/Sephardi modernization—the crisis of hierarchy, identity, and belonging encountered by minorities within rising nationalistic empires.

Who Were the Ottomans? Origins & Structure (13:23–21:30)

• Dr. Cohen Yanarocak provides a concise origin story: Turkish-speaking successors to the Seljuk Empire, migrants from Central Asia, founders of a powerful Islamic state in Anatolia.
• First major Jewish-Ottoman encounter: Conquest of Bursa (1324), where Jews of the Byzantine (Romaniot) tradition lived.

Quote:
"These Jews were tagged as Romaniot Jews…not Ashkenazi, not Sephardic, not Mizrachi, but the Jews of the Byzantine Empire." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (14:53)

• After the capture of Constantinople (1453), Mehmed II establishes the millet system. Religions (Muslim, Jewish, Christian) became administrative communities, each with autonomy under their own leaders.
• Jews, declared dhimmi (protected but subordinate) per Islamic law, paid the jizya tax alongside Christians.

Quote:
"The Ottomans have...put religion at the very center of the Ottoman society. And by providing religious freedoms to their subjects, they made sure that they have efficiency in governance." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (16:36)

The Sephardi Influx & Cultural Transformations (21:30–32:30)

• The pivotal moment: 1492 Spanish Expulsion of the Jews. Sultan Bayezid II dispatches Ottoman ships to rescue and resettle Spanish (Sephardi) Jews across the empire.
• Impact: Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) becomes the main Jewish language; Romaniot culture assimilated into Sephardi majority.

Quote:
"Sultan Bayazid II sent his galleys to Spain and he rescued Jews from, you know, annihilation... And when the Sephardic Jews reached these lands, the Romaniot Jews … were merged with the dominant Sephardic community." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (24:25)

• The distinction between Sephardi (Jews of Iberian descent) and Mizrahi (Jews from Arabic lands) clarified, as well as their differing customs and languages.

What Motivated Ottoman Protection of Jews? (32:30–36:12)

• The Ottomans saw Jews as skilled, economically beneficial, with valuable networks and innovations (e.g., printing press, intelligence).

Quote:
"Obviously the Jews were talented peoples…they had a huge network in Europe. And I think that was the most important issue." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (32:55)

• Famous Sultan’s line:
  "You call Ferdinand a wise king, but he has impoverished his country and enriched mine." — Haviv recounts (35:25)

• Muslims and Jews as “natural collaborators” in the former Muslim Spain—reconquista expelled both groups, fostering Ottoman solidarity with Jewish exiles (36:12–37:03).

The Experience of Ottoman Jews—Protection & Limits (38:09–47:06)

• Under the millet system, Jews enjoyed religious freedom and autonomy, though always as second-class citizens.
• Integration into the economic and professional life. Instability arose during hard times: religious leaders blamed failures on lax enforcement of dhimmi hierarchy, leading to periodic crackdowns.

Quote:
"It was really fundamental and important…to the Ottoman political order and to the Ottoman religious order that Jews were at the bottom and the Muslims were at the top." — Haviv (46:04)

Tanzimat Reforms, Emancipation, and Modernities Collide (38:09–55:53)

• 19th-century Westernization: Tanzimat (1839) and later reforms abolished the jizya, promised equality, introduced mass schooling, and opened government to minorities—at least in theory.

Quote:
"Thanks to the penetration of Westernization and the ideas of equality, this Jizya tax was abolished in 1856. And also the humiliation of the Jews and the Christians because of their religion was also outlawed." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (42:40)

• Ottomanism, Islamism, and Turkish nationalism develop in response to rapid geopolitical decline.
• Constitutional monarchy and parliament (1876): Jews and Christians receive representation but the experiment collapses with war and loss.

Quote:
"The Ottoman intellectuals began to think in a way that they had to answer the question—how can we save our empire?...' — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (48:15)

• The “three pillars” of modern Turkey: Turkification, Islamization, and modernization (53:48). Jews after the Republic (1923) were “equal on paper,” but real equality was lacking.

The Zionist Encounter & Imperial Collapse (55:53–77:40)

• As the Ottoman Empire collapses, Jews are not targeted in the way Armenians or Greeks are—their aspirations (Zionism) are not seen as threats to Turkey’s core territory.

Quote:
"State of Israel was formed after the British mandate...Zionism was not designed against Turkishness, against the Turkish nationalism." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (59:24)

• Jews rarely tagged as disloyal, many fought for the Ottomans/Turks in WWI and the War of Independence, but remained outsiders—never reaching key positions.

• Pogroms and discriminatory taxation (1942) in modern Turkey contributed to Jewish emigration to Israel. Today, Turkish Jews number just 13–14,000 and remain wary of their place.

• Ottomans viewed nationalism (and by extension Zionism) as existential threats; they opposed Jewish nationalism but accepted individual Jewish migration, except to Palestine.

Quote:
"Jews may enter the Ottoman Empire as subjects...anywhere they want in the empire, except Palestine. What Jews cannot be is a nationalism. And nationalism is the great enemy." — Haviv (69:31)

• Corruption and weakness of Ottoman governance allowed Zionist activity (buying land, settling in Ottoman Palestine) to continue, despite official attempts to restrict it.

Quote:
"The great enemy of the empire was seen as nationalism itself…" — Haviv (69:31)

• Modern Turkish/Turkic rhetoric remains ambivalent, distinguishing between “good Jews” (subordinate citizens) and “bad Jews” (Zionists or sovereign Jews in Israel).

Quote:
"There are two kinds of Jews, you know, a dominated, subordinate Jew who is a citizen and, you know, he knows his limits, so that's a good Jew. But if a Jew is a Zionist Jew and he wants to be a sovereign…that Jew is not considered a good Jew." — Dr. Cohen Yanarocak (72:51)

Parallels & Lessons: Repeating Structures (75:11–77:40)

• Haviv draws a compelling parallel: The collapse of traditional hierarchies, whether in Europe or the Ottoman world, led to destabilization, danger, and the imperative for Jewish national self-determination.

Quote:
"It's the same story as Ashkenazi Jews. It didn't reach a Holocaust…there's so many differences, but the fundamental mechanic...the Jews not fitting in unless they're willing to be something very, very small." — Haviv (75:11)

• Dr. Cohen Yanarocak agrees the thesis holds: Zionism, in both Europe and the Ottoman Middle East, was a rational, even necessary, response to exclusion and precariousness.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the emergence of the Ottoman Empire & early Jewish encounters:
  "When the Ottoman army marched into the city [of Bursa] and basically conquered the city and they found there the local Jews of Byzantine Empire. These Jews were tagged as Romaniot Jews." (14:53, Dr. Cohen Yanarocak)

• On protection vs. subordination:
  "It was really fundamental...to the Ottoman political order and to the Ottoman religious order that Jews were at the bottom and the Muslims were at the top..." (46:04, Haviv)

• On the lasting impact of Ottoman policies:
  "We cannot speak about a fight between the Jews and the Turks ... The Jews are different in that regard." (61:40–62:25, Dr. Cohen Yanarocak)

• The Ottoman view of Jews and Zionism today:
  "There are two kinds of Jews ... a subordinate Jew who is a citizen ... but if a Jew is a Zionist Jew ... that Jew is not considered a good Jew." (72:50–74:07, Dr. Cohen Yanarocak)

• The thesis of parallelism with European Jewry:
  "The fundamental mechanic ... the Jews not fitting into it unless they're willing to be something very, very small. The Zionist said the Jews have to leave Europe or there will be a catastrophe ... at the end of the day, it's the same structure in the Ottoman Empire." (75:11, Haviv)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:05–12:35: Introduction, reorienting Jewish history, context for exploring Ottoman Jewry
• 13:23–21:30: Ottoman origins, first contacts with Jews, millet system
• 21:30–32:30: Spanish exile, Sultan’s rescue, Sephardi ascendancy
• 38:09–47:06: Legal and social place of Jews, cracks in the system
• 48:15–55:53: Tanzimat reforms, constitutionalism, nationalism
• 55:53–66:41: End of empire, Zionism, fate of Jews in modern Turkey
• 69:31–74:07: Nationalism as enemy, Zionism’s success through Ottoman weakness
• 75:11–77:40: Parallels between Ottoman/European Jewry, concluding analysis

Tone and Language

The episode is scholarly yet accessible, blending rigorous historical analysis with personal anecdotes, humorous asides, and the warm, conversational back-and-forth typical of Israeli discourse. Dr. Cohen Yanarocak brings deep expertise and personal resonance, embodying the legacy discussed. Haviv guides the discussion with intellectual curiosity and a talent for synthesizing complex narratives into broader lessons about identity, modernity, and Jewish destiny.

Takeaway:
The history of Ottoman Jewry is not merely a story of tolerance or oppression—it's a nuanced, continuously shifting experience shaped by imperial priorities, internal diversity, and the relentless pressure of modernization. By understanding this arc, we gain vital insight into the structure of the modern Jewish world, the formation of Israeli identity, and the enduring patterns of minority existence in the face of collapsing empires and rising nation-states.