Jewish and Israeli history in Turkish history textbooks, 1946-2016

This article examines the treatment of Jewish and Israeli history in post-World War II Turkish textbooks. Jewish and Israeli history remains largely relegated to the margins in the books. The Jews of Arabia are shown in an antagonistic role during the advent of Islam, while the Jews of the Ottoman Empire are generally subsumed under the category of non-Muslims. The Ottoman reception of the Spanish (Sephardi) Jews is used to exemplify Turkish tolerance. The subject of the Jewish Holocaust is usually avoided. The older textbooks strike a more balanced approach towards Israel than the recent ones.