Armenians and Jews in Occupied Istanbul

In our study, the organization and activities of the Armenian and Jewish communities, centered on religious institutions, during the official and actual occupation processes of Istanbul will be examined. By revealing the activities of the two societies that are in opposition to each other, the causes and results of these activities will be dealt comparatively. Right after the Armistice of Mudros, the Armenian Patriarchate cooperated with the Rum/Orthodox Patriarchate and took a stand against the Ottoman State openly. This church-centered attitude caused the majority of the Armenian community to support the Patriarchate's activities. The Armenian Patriarchate, which prepared a joint memorandum with the Rum/Orthodox Patriarchate and forwarded it to the Paris Peace Conference, openly stated that they wanted to "get rid of the Turkish yoke". In this context, close relations have been established between the occupation forces and the Armenians, and the occupation forces' personnel needs of police, translator, guide, etc. Met by the Armenians along with the Rums. The Patriarch of the period, Zaven Efendi, was the main figure carrying out these activities. After the success of the National Struggle, Zaven Efendi had to leave Istanbul before the Turkish troops came to Istanbul, and then he resigned from the Patriarchate. The Patriarchate also saw Zaven as responsible for what happened during the occupation, and the clergy who were known to be close to him were not given any duties after he left Türkiye. In response to the attitude of the Armenian Patriarchate that supported the Istanbul government and the occupation together with the Rums, the Jewish Chief Rabbinate initially followed a pro-Ottoman policy, and after a while, he was in favor of the Kuvâ-yı Milliye and the Ankara Government. The main figure, who was also influential in this policy of the Chief Rabbinate, was the Chief Rabbi of the time, Haim Nahum Efendi. Haim Nahum, who took office in 1909 and was known for his closeness to the Unionists, was also opposed to Zionist policies. Within the Chief Rabbinate, he had struggled with the Zionists, who advocated acting together with the Armenians and Rums. Despite being forced to resign under the pressure of the British in 1920, Haim Nahum succeeded in getting a clergyman with similar views to be elected instead, and he went to Ankara and continued to defend the National Struggle. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the attitudes of non-Muslim institutions based in Istanbul against the occupations within the framework of the policies and activities of these two opposing clergy.

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