After Fatih Sultan Mehmed conquered İstanbul in 1453, he initiated construction efforts to restore the city to its former glory and implemented measures to increase its population. To achieve this, he enforced the forced migration of various groups from different regions of the Ottoman Empire to settle in İstanbul. Among those subjected to this forced migration was the Jewish community of İzmir. As a result, the presence of the Jewish community, known to have existed in İzmir since the 2nd century CE, came to an end. After an absence of approximately 100 years, a new Jewish settlement began to form in İzmir in the second half of the 16th century. Jewish migrants from nearby areas, such as Tire and Manisa, initially established this new settlement. Later, in the early 17th century, a significant wave of Jewish migration occurred from Thessaloniki to İzmir. This migration was triggered by the decline and subsequent economic crisis of broadcloth weaving, which had flourished in Thessaloniki during the early 16th century. Still, it had started to deteriorate by the end of the century. The final wave of migration that contributed to the Jewish presence in İzmir consisted of Jews exiled from Portugal, known as Sephardic Jews.
According to Barnai, with the migrations that took place at the beginning of the 17th century, the number of Jewish congregations in İzmir reached six. With the establishment of a communal law, the governing bodies of the İzmir Jewish community were formed. The fact that the migrations came from different geographical regions resulted in the arriving groups acting as separate communities. Consequently, each newly arrived group established its own synagogue and organized itself around it. The area surrounding the street known today as Havra Street in Kemeraltı was the Jewish Quarter, referred to by the Jewish community as “First Juderia”. In this neighborhood, numerous synagogues were built in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries; some were repaired, and others were rebuilt after earthquakes and fires over time. Among these, nine synagogues have survived to the present day. Four of these synagogues are affiliated with the İzmir Jewish Community Foundation and continue to serve as places of worship.
Around Havra Street, within a relatively small area, there are nine synagogues, some standing back to back, forming a rare example worldwide. Shabbetai Tzevi (Sabetay Sevi), an important figure in Jewish history, was born in İzmir, and he studied, worshipped, and developed his ideas in these synagogues. After proclaiming himself as the Messiah, he was exiled from İzmir by the Chief Rabbi of the time. However, he later returned to İzmir and took control of the Portuguese Synagogue, which still stands today, making it the center of his religious movement. These events, which continue to influence Judaism to this day, make Havra Street, formerly known as First Juderia, a historically significant place not only for İzmir and Türkiye but also for Jewish history.
The Jewish community was primarily engaged in trade and played significant roles, particularly in commerce with Westerners, until the late 18th century. However, over time, the Jewish community lost its position in this trade to the Greeks, leading to a considerable decline in their overall prosperity. The growing number of cortejos, some of which have survived today, also confirms this situation.
From the second half of the 19th century onward, the Jewish community began to recover thanks to the France-based Alliance Israélite Universelle’s (Universal Jewish Alliance) efforts and the schools it established. This recovery can be observed through the development of the “Second Juderia,” also known as the New Jewish Quarter, which was established in Karatash. Wealthy Jewish families, who had gained prominence in trade and prospered as a result, left Kemeraltı and relocated to the newly developed Karataş district. As the Jewish population in the area increased, the need for a new place of worship arose, leading to the opening of the Beth Israel Synagogue in 1907, which remains in use today. During that period, the Historic Elevator Tower and Karataş Hospital, built by Nesim Levi (Bayraklı), one of the city’s prominent Jewish merchants, also came into existence and continue to stand today.
İzmir Jewish Heritage http://www.izmirjh.com