Jewish deputies in the Ottoman parliament, (1908-1918)

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine the political stance of Jewish deputies (Emanuel Karasu, Nesim Masliyah, Alber Vitali Feraci and Ezakiel Sason) elected to Ottoman Parliament, Osmanlı Meclis-i Mebusanı, in the Second Constitutional Period, 1908-1918. Both international and Turkish studies related to Jewish deputies are limited to only a few articles. In this thesis, it is intended to examine Jewish deputies as a pillar of the Ottoman-Jewish political elite and to discuss their approaches related to major economic and political issues of the period. For this purpose, parliamentary records and archival documents are examined. It is observed that Jewish deputies put forward original solutions in the early years of constitutional monarchy while, from 1913 they had played a passive role. They all believed in Ottomanism to be more liberal, based on Ottoman citizenship, and welfare. They remained loyal to the Committee of Union and Progress, even in the period the opposition became most powerful, they stood against the sharp criticism of the opposition and explained their loyalty to the Committee of Union and Progress with “having a profession.” The role of other political Jewish actors (the Chief Rabbi Haim Nahum, the members of Meclis-i Cismânî, the representatives of Zionist Hillfsverein schools, Behor Efendi as a member of Meclis-i Âyân) in shaping this political stance and the power balance among them, is the subject of a seperate study. Moreover, it is clear that, in contrary to the limited sources, the role Jewish deputies had played in Ottoman foreign policy deserves more attention. In this thesis, it is intended to shed light on Jewish deputies' political stance between Free-Masonry, nationalism, Zionism, liberalism and war economy dilemma and to lead more comprehensive studies in this area.