Turkish Jews deny reports that synagogue was vandalized

Click here for more on HamasClick here for more on GazaThe Jewish community in Turkey is denying a report that a synagogue in the northwestern part of the country was set ablaze by vandals.

"The reports published in foreign media organs saying that a synagogue in the northwestern part of Turkey was set ablaze are not correct," the Turkish Jewish community said in a written statement delivered to the Turkish Hurriyet Web site on Monday.

Earlier Monday, sources within the Turkish Jewish community said vandals set a synagogue in northwest Turkey ablaze on Sunday.

No one was apparently wounded in the attack, which took place in the city of Bursa. The extent of property damage has yet to be fully assessed.

The incident came amid a rift between Israel and Turkey that was sparked by fierce Turkish censure of Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

The synagogue is not currently in use for daily prayer, since it was shut after the city's Jewish community shrank over the past few decades.

Sunday's attack was the first such incident to take place in Turkey following Israel's campaign in Gaza, which ended about two weeks ago.

The operation triggered a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the world, most recently the vandalizing of a synagogue in Venezuela's capital late on Friday night.

Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, on Sunday warned the cabinet against deepening the schism with Turkey, a key ally of Israel.

"[I'm] very concerned by the behavior in public on the subject of Turkey," Olmert said. "Our relations with Turkey are important, and I recommend that we don't intensify our statements on the subject."

But Olmert added, despite his warning, that Turkey was "not exempt from domestic considerations... being a Muslim state on the eve of elections."