Seven terrorists who maintained ties with al Qaeda received
life sentences for taking part in the attacks of November
2003 against Jewish and British targets in Istanbul. Twenty-
six of the defendants who appeared before the court were
acquitted and 29 were given prison sentences of varying
length.
On 20 Cheshvan 5764 (November 15, 2003) truck bombs exploded
outside two botei knesses during tefillas Shacharis
on Shabbos morning. The first explosion took place at
Beit Knesset Neve Shalom, the largest synagogue in all of
Turkey, during a bar mitzvah celebration. None of the
congregants were injured, but 11 Muslim passersby were
killed.
The second attack took place about five kilometers (three
miles) away at Beit Knesset Beit Yisrael. Nine congregants
Hy'd were killed, along with a Muslim policeman
standing near the doorway. Among the wounded were the rov of
Turkey's 25,000 Jews, Rabbi Yitzchak Halevy, and his son
Yosef. Five days later an explosion rocked the British
Consulate and the offices of a British bank. Fifty-eight
people were killed in the twin attacks, including Consul-
General Roger Short, and hundreds were injured.
Osama Bin Laden himself selected the targets after other
proposed sites proved too heavily guarded. He also provided
the Turkish terrorists $150,000 to fund the attacks.
The leading defendant, Mohammed Saka, is a Syrian al-Qaida
activist who headed the terror ring and planned the attacks.
He currently faces additional charges, including planning an
attack against Israeli tourists on a cruise ship in Anatolia.
During the summary hearing Saka denounced Western values and
Turkish secularism, saying he and his cohorts do not regret
carrying out the attacks as part of what he called "worldwide
Islamic Jihad," whose goal is to strike at as many Western
and Jewish targets as possible.
A melee broke out in the courtroom as the sentences were read
and some of the defendants cried out slurs against the
"infidels." The victims' relatives were also incensed and
some received the court's decision with mixed feelings. "I'm
not satisfied with the ruling," said Gabi Arkan Talu, whose
eight-year-old daughter Anat was killed in one of the
botei knesses. "I expected heavier sentences."
