There are approximately 14,000 to 16,000 Jews living in Turkey, primarily in Istanbul, with smaller communities in Izmir and elsewhere, forming one of the largest Jewish diaspora communities in the Muslim world, though the population has been declining due to emigration. Figures vary slightly by source, with some estimates placing it around 14,200 (2023) or 14,500 (2022).
Although Jews form a very small portion of the Turkish population today, antisemitic sentiment is widespread among modern-day Turks. Public criticism of Israel in Turkey frequently turns into expressions of general antisemitic sentiment. Since 2009, the Jewish population has declined.
Israel has the largest Jewish population, with over 7 million people, followed by the United States, which has the second-largest community, with approximately 6 million Jews, making these the two countries where the vast majority of the world's Jewish population lives. France and Canada also have significant Jewish populations, with tens of thousands or more, but Israel and the U.S. are the clear leaders.
The vast majority of the Jewish community in Turkey (currently estimated at around 26.000 people) lives in Istanbul. This is only a fraction of the 500.000 Jews that once lived in Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire — a time when Jews and Christians made up 40% of Istanbul's population.
Sephardi Jews make up approximately 96% of Turkey's Jewish population, while the rest are primarily Ashkenazi Jews and Jews from Italian extraction. There is also a small community of Romaniote Jews and the community of the Constantinopolitan Karaites who are related to each other.
Judaism is experiencing a complex demographic shift: the global Jewish population is slowly growing (reaching around 15.7 million recently) but remains smaller than pre-Holocaust numbers, with growth primarily driven by high birth rates in Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities in Israel and the U.S.. While Israel's Jewish population is expanding rapidly, many secular and non-Orthodox Jews in the diaspora are seeing declines, leading to significant internal cultural and political changes, with Israel projected to become the world's largest Jewish center.
Do Muslims in Israel have the same rights as Jews?
Today, Arab citizens of Israel—distinct from Arabs living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip—remain the country's largest minority group. They have the same legal rights as Jewish citizens, but many continue to face discrimination and socioeconomic disadvantages.
During the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, Turkey accused Israel for the violence. The Turkish president called Israel a terror state and said that Turkey took initiatives to make international institutions to take action.
Judaism came first, with its origins tracing back to Abraham (c. 2nd millennium BCE) and Moses (c. 1200 BCE), establishing the first monotheistic faith, while Islam emerged much later, in the 7th century CE, with the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia, building on the same Abrahamic tradition but as a distinct religion. Muslims view Adam as the first Muslim, but historically, Judaism was practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia for centuries before Islam's founding.
The growing number of Israelis leaving the country for extended periods is also compounded by a shrinking number of Israelis living abroad returning to Israel. From January 2022 to August 2024, roughly 125,000 more people left the country than arrived, according to the survey.
According to a 2020 study by the Pew Research Center, 19% of those who say they were raised Jewish in the United States, consider themselves Christian.
According to an October 2025 Knesset report, Israeli emigration surged in 2023, with 82,800 people leaving the country for extended stays — a 44 percent increase compared to the previous year. October 2023 saw a particularly sharp spike following the outbreak of the war.
Jews lived in at least forty-three Jewish communities in Palestine: twelve towns on the coast, in the Negev, and east of the Jordan, and thirty-one villages in Galilee and in the Jordan valley. The persecuted Jews of Palestine revolted twice against their Christian rulers.
There are three main Jewish communities in India, each of a different origin and with different cultural characteristics and traditions: the Cochinis, the Bene Israel and the Baghdadis. None has faced direct persecution, but they are all declining in numbers due to emigration to Israel and other countries.
According to the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish community in Ukraine is Europe's fourth largest and the world's 11th largest. 2021 est. 43,000 core – 140,000 enlarged 45,000 by 2023 est. The presence of Jews in Ukrainian territory is first mentioned in the 10th century.
Community in Iraq - World Jewish Congress. In 2021, an article published in the Times of Israel stated that there were just four Jews left in Iraq. One of the oldest Jewish communities still in existence is found in Iraq, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.
“It's all recognized religious minorities.” Iranian Jews are allowed to travel abroad, though technically not to Israel — Iranian passports bear the message that “the holder of this passport is not entitled to travel to occupied Palestine.” Many visit Israel anyway via third countries such as Turkey.
Demographics. According to the 2016 Irish census, Ireland had 2,557 Jews by religion in 2016, of whom 1,439 (56%) lived in its capital, Dublin. This number declined to 2,193 at the time of the 2022 Irish Census. Pop.
In 1517, the Turks conquered the country and ruled it until the end of the First World War. Throughout this period, the Wailing Wall continued to be a place of devotion for the Jews. In late 1917, British forces occupied Palestine.
