Speaking the Truth at a Steep Price: A Turkish Student’s Struggle | Aish

When Turku Avci, a Turkish student at Hebrew University, began sharing her positive experiences in Israel, she became a pariah in her home country. Targeted by radical Islamists, she can no longer return to Turkey or visit her family. Shattering Myths Raised in a secular Muslim family in Marmaris, Turku had never met a Jew or Israeli, yet she grew up hearing that “Jews are the most powerful people, and they control the world.” Israeli society was portrayed as snobbish and exploitative, while Palestinians were idealized as victims of imperialism. Friends warned her against studying in Israel, claiming she’d be isolated. But Turku’s curiosity deepened as she saw the Palestinian cause used by Turkey’s Islamist government for political gain. “They are using the Palestinian cause in a strategic way,” she says. In college in Istanbul, she met pro-Palestinian activists who struck her as overbearing. “They just want to control your life… boycott whatever they say.” The contrast struck her: “They always say that Israel is going to control our country,” but it was the pro-Palestinians, not Israelis, that constantly tried to tell her what to believe. Ironically, Turku’s first interactions with Israelis came in Marmaris, where Israeli tourists often docked
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