The History Of How Turkey Handled Relations With Israel

Ephraim Elrom was the Israeli consul general in Istanbul. He was an important figure in Israel that worked for years at different posts of the Police department. He was one of Adolf Eichmann’s investigators that prepared the file for the Nazi criminal. 

Elrom had been kidnapped by one of these leftist groups in May 1971 in exchange to its members that were under arrest. Israel was considered as the extension of American imperialism in the Middle East. The radical narrative was, that Israel kicked out the Palestinian Arabs from their land and obliged them to live in refugee camps. Thus, it needed to be fought, and Elrom was a perfect match for an attempt that would bring worldwide attention to the groups’ cause. That had been the case. 

But there were also domestic factors at play, with the country having just undergone another military coup. The National Security Council, which met on April 26, 1971, declared martial law in 11 provinces. Terrorists evaluated kidnapping one of the consuls of 3 countries – the US, Iran, and Israel. The US was not an easy target and the popular opinion of taking an Iranian hostage was uncertain.

What was certain, was the political capital of capturing an Israeli was worth the risk. It was called the “May 1st Operation”, although it was postponed from that original date.  The kidnapping and killing of Elrom was at the hands of the Turkish People’s Liberation Army (THKC). They demanded as ransom, the release of all imprisoned revolutionaries. Two were on trial and evidence was at hand that there were direct connections to the PFLP.

The hardline government of Turkey responded, by rounding up hundreds of leftists and almost 50 prominent figures. Deputy Premier Sadi Kocas proclaimed the government had “no intention of bargaining with a handful of adventurers.” Along with arrests and house to house searches ramping up, a curfew was declared and posters of militants being sought were hung all over the walls of Istanbul and printed in the press every day. Some sources state that the Israeli government was convinced the curfew panicked the kidnappers and hastened Elrom’s murder. Efraim Elrom was shot three times and killed in an apartment near the embassy, around 18:00 on May 22nd, 1971. The place where Elrom was shot was in Nishantashi, a well frequented place (where too many Jewish families were / are leaving). That’s why it had been a big shock to hear that he was killed in a quarter with high Jewish presence – and in the middle of the city 500 yards from the Consulate.

The four murderers were caught in pairs, two at a safe house about a week after and the final two were raided by police after kidnapping the 14 year old daughter of an army Major. They had demanded passports and safe passage. Instead, one was eliminated and the other seriously wounded.