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PUBLICITY, MEMORY AND POLITICS: THE QUINCENTENNIAL FOUNDATION MUSEUM OF TURKISH JEWS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY OSMAN CİHAN SERT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OCTOBER2018 i ii Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr.TülinGençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Prof.Dr. Ayşe AyataHead of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. Assoc. Prof.Dr. E. Attila Aytekin Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Necmi Erdoğan (METU, ADM) Assoc. Prof. Dr. E. Attila Aytekin (METU, ADM) Assist. Prof. Dr. M. UğurÇınar (BilkentUni., POLS) iii iv I here by declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Signature : iii ABSTRACT PUBLICITY, MEMORY AND POLITICS: THE QUINCENTENNIAL FOUNDATION MUSEUM OF TURKISH JEWS Sert, Osman Cihan M.S.,Department of PoliticalScienceandPublic Administration Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. E. Attila Aytekin October 2018, 200pages This study analyzes the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews, which is the first and single minority museum in the Turkish public domain. The principal aim of this analysis to shed light on the museum as an instutional indicator of the boundaries to take a place in the public sphere by the Turkish Jews and locating the museum between three main pillars of the Jewish- Holocaust memory politics’. The Quincentennial commemorations of the 1492 expulsion to the Europe and the Ottoman Empire narrated the Sepharad exile as another humanitarian tragedy within the relation of the Holocaust memory. The Turkish State and the Quincentennial Foundation played prime roles in this memory production. To this aim, the museum is analyzed in relation of the narration of the admission of the Sepharad refugees in 1492 and legitimation of Jewish presence in the thepublic sphere. This study will seek to answer of these questions; how the Jewish presence in Turkey is reflected over the memory of realms, how this presence is legitimized and how the Turkish State recognized iv and supported the quincentennial commemorations despite its traditional memory politics to the minorities. At the end, it will be concluded how the museum provides advantages to both sides and some dilemmas to the Jewish community. Keywords: Quincentennial, Sepharad, Foundation, Jewish, Museum v ÖZ KAMUSALLIK, HAFIZA VE SİYASET: BEŞYÜZÜNCÜ YIL VAKFI TÜRK MUSEVİLERİ MÜZESİ Sert, Osman Cihan Yüksek Lisans, Siyaset Bilimi ve Kamu Yönetimi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. E. Attila Aytekin Ekim 2018, 200 sayfa Bu çalışma Türk kamusal alanının ilk ve tek azınlık müzesi olan Beşyüzüncü Yıl Vakfı Türk Musevileri Müzesi’ni analizetmektedir. Analizin temel amacı Yahudi cemaatinin 1990lardan bu yana ‘varoluş siyaseti’ne geçişiyle birlikte müzeyi kamusal alanda yer edinebilmenin sınırlarını gösteren bir kurum olarak ele alarak müzeye bu yönüyle ışık tutmak ve müzeyi dünyaYahudi-Holokost bellek politikalarının üç temel ayağı bağlamında konumlandırmaktır. İspanya tarafından 1492’te Osmanlıİmparatorluğu başta olmak üzere Avrupa’ya Sefarad Yahudilerinin sürgün edilişinin 1992 yılındaki 500. yılı anma etkinlikleri, sürgünü Holokost eksininde bir diğer insanlık trajedisi olarak yeniden üretmiş veTürk devleti ile Beş Yüzüncü Yıl Vakfı bu bellek üretiminde başat rol oynamışlardır. Buradan hareketle; müze, Türk Devleti açısından 1492’te Sefarad Yahudi mültecilerinin Kabul edilişinin hikayelendirilmesi ve müzenin Türk Yahudi toplumu açısından kamusal alanda var oluşlarını meşrulaştırma ilişkileri noktasında ele alınacaktır. Bu çalışma genel olarak şu temel sorulara vi cevap arayışı içindedir: Türkiye’deki Yahudi toplumunun varlığı hafıza mekanlarına nasıl yansıtılarak meşrulaştırılmıştır, Türk Devletinin geleneksel bellek politikasına rağmen devlet beşyüzüncü yıl etkinliklerini nasıl tanımış ve desteklemiştir? Çalışmanın sonunda müzenin devlet ve Yahudi toplumu açısından sağladığı avantajlar ve bazı ikilemlere değinilecektir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Beş Yüzüncü Yıl, Vakıf, Sefarad, Yahudi, Müze vii To My Family viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Theauthorwishestoexpress his deepestgratitudeto his supervisorAssoc. Prof. Dr. Erden Attila Aytekin for his friendly support, guidance, advice, criticism, insight and patience throughout the research. The author owes thanks the examining committee members Prof. Dr. Necmi Erdoğan for his constructive critiques and suggestions and Assist. Prof. Dr. Meral Uğur Çınar for her invaluable comments and critiques. The author would like to thank to the museum staff for their all the support and cooperation. The author owes thanks to his dear friends for their all the inspirations and ideas in the coffee talks. And lastly, the author has the deepest gratitude and love to his mother, father and all the sisters for their continuous support and patience. Withouttheirdevotionandsupport, hecould not finish this thesis. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ............................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. iv ÖZ ................................................................................................................. vi DEDICATION ............................................................................................. viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................x LIST OF ABBREVATIONS ......................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1.INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 1.1 Introductory Framework .........................................................................1 1.2 From Memory Studies to the Holocaust Memory ....................................9 2.HOLOCAUST AND POLITICS OF MEMORY ......................................... 17 2.1 Israeli Memory Politics of Holocaust .................................................... 18 2.2 American Memory Politics of Holocaust .............................................. 22 2.3 The West German Memory Politics of Holocaust ................................. 27 2.4 Post-Communist European Memory Politics of Holocaust .................... 32 3.QUINCENTENARY ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1492 EXPULSION AND THE SEPHARDIC MEMORY BOOM .......................................................... 39 3.1 Israel .................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Spain .................................................................................................... 47 3.3 The United States of America ............................................................... 51 x 3.4 Turkey .................................................................................................. 57 4. THE MUSEUM ......................................................................................... 86 4.1 General Information ............................................................................. 86 4.2 Spatial Politics of the Museum Building:Neve Shalom Synagogue ....... 87 4.3 Narrating Judeo-Turkish Relations ....................................................... 92 4.4 Gallery of Judaica ............................................................................... 128 4.5 Framing Genders in the Jewish Community ........................................ 129 4.6 Situating the Jewish Life .................................................................... 133 4.7 Exhibiting Spatial Memory of the Turkish Jews.................................. 142 4.8 Concluding Remarks .......................................................................... 156 5. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................... 159 REFERENCES ............................................................................................ 165 APPENDICIES A. TURKISH SUMMARY/ TÜRKÇE ÖZET .............................................. 184 B. THESIS PERMISSION FORM/ TEZ FOTOKOPİSİ İZİN FORMU ....... 200 xi LIST OF ABBREVATIONS JMB : The Jewish Museum Berlin EU : The European Union MOT : The Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles UN : The United Nations USA : The United States of America USHMM : The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ‘Mozotros no moskarışeyamos en los meseles del hukumet’ (We do not get involved in matters of government) 1.1 Introductory Framework The square of the late Ottoman Mosque OrtaköyCamii, designed by an Armenian architect and globally recognized symbolic monument of cosmopolitan Istanbul, witnessed on 14 December 2015 the first open celebration of the Jewish religious festivalHannukah with participation of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian clergies, local, national governmental and other international representatives over

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