Mendy Chitrik

The writer serves as the Ashkenazi rabbi of Turkiye and chair of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States. Follow him on Twitter @mchitrik.

Rare medieval Sefardi Torah scroll from the late 13th or early 14th century on display at ANU, Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.

The guard outside the synagogue - opinion

 SHEIKH MOHAMMED Sharif Odeh and Rabbi David Metzger appear on a billboard near Haifa with a message that reads: 'Though we are different, all religions advance coexistence.'

Why compassion between Jews and Muslims must outlast war - opinion

PALESTINIAN MUSLIMS are seen praying at the Temple Mount during the holy month Ramadan, in Jerusalem, on February 17, 2026.

As Ramadan meets Purim, Jews and Muslims must choose shared humanity over fear - opinion


No fear, more effort to build after the Djerba attack - opinion

Yes, Jewish life has its difficult, even tragic moments – but it is in the response to those tragedies that I can see how Jewish communities have thrived.

 THE GHRIBA synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, where this month’s attack took place: There was a sense of loss, but also an undercurrent of grim determination that this community would carry on, says the writer.

Passover: Celebrating Jewish-Muslim friendship - opinion

It’s indicative of a more recent trend of hostility being replaced by hospitality, of individuals who once struggled to see eye to eye becoming friends.

 THEN-PRIME Minister Naftali Bennett meets with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in Sharm e-Sheikh, in 2021. Unlike the Egyptians of old, today’s leaders welcome those who look and act differently, says the writer.

Freedom of religion defeating tyranny - Hanukkah and the World Cup

Jewish visitors received a warm welcome in Qatar - we should be thankful for the beautiful display of freedom of religion during the World Cup.

 ABBI ELI CHITRIK watches a World Cup match, wearing a traditional Orthodox Jewish hat, even as a Muslim wearing a keffiyeh is among the other fans sitting nearby.

The Jewish past and future in the Middle East

Passover this year will be celebrated in Jewish communities in Turkey, Egypt and Iran, and in many more countries throughout the Middle East.

 THE WRITER and his children, equipped with matzah for Passover, stand in front of a 2000-year-old synagogue in Sardis, Turkey.

Turkey-Israel peace and normalization is not just for governments - opinion

Synagogues and mosques, imams and rabbis, Jews and Muslims should work together, coordinating joint projects to preserve the heritage we both hold dear, and bringing aid to those in need.

 TURKISH FLAGS are seen on the facade of the restored Great Synagogue before a reopening ceremony in Edirne, western Turkey, in 2015.

Hanukkah marks expansion of religious freedom across Muslim world - opinion

While we still have a way to go combating antisemitism, Jewish life is able to flourish in countries across the Islamic world.

Jews and Muslims pose in front of a menorah at the Israeli pavilion for Expo 2020 in Dubai, last Sunday on the first night of Hanukkah.

For Jews in the Muslim world, an increasingly bright future awaits

Our communities are not just tolerated, but are very much part of – and supported – in the countries we call home.

THE AUTHOR speaks during a symbolic wedding ceremony during the European Days of Jewish Culture, at Neve Shalom Synagogue in Istanbul, in 2017.