Istanbul
exchange. Vakit wrote that the question emerged of whether the Dönme
of Salonika should be sent to Turkey or not as part of the population ex-
change, which was based only on the principle of religion.^18 The writer
argued that even if a group such as the Dönme “were called by a Muslim
name, in truth, if part of the population is not included in one of the exist-
ing, accepted branches of Islam, it is the right and duty of the government
to ascertain who they are, and keep them from being transferred.” Vakit
published a report that like Rüştü, a parliamentarian in Athens named
Mustafa Efendi had asked Greece to limit the exchange to Greeks [Or-
thodox Christians] and Turks [Muslims] alone, arguing that Dönme were
Muslim in name but Jews in spirit, but that Greek authorities considered
Dönme to be a thousand times more harmful to Greekness than Turks.^19
In a front-page article in İleri (Forward), Subhi Nuri wrote that “race is
one thing, nationality another. In fact, they are not of our race.”^20 He ar-
gued that those who were Turkified and had genuinely begun to be Turks
could remain, but “otherwise, they have no right to live here.” In any case,
the Dönme wanted to remain in Greece, as they had openly stated, since
their wealth was there. If they didn’t want the Turks, he said, then the
Turks didn’t want them. In Tanin, the issue was taken up more politically
as part of nationalist immigrant politics. Writers asserted that if the true
Dönme aim was to flee Salonika, they must Turkify.^21
Because people were declaring the Dönme to be Jews in race and reli-
gion, it was logical that daily newspapers next sought information from
Jews. Akşam decided to interview the last Ottoman and first Turkish chief
rabbi, Haim Becerano, former chief rabbi of Edirne, a close friend of
Atatürk’s.^22 The rabbi was asked whether there was a difference between
Jewish and Dönme beliefs. “They followed a Sufi order whose beliefs are
partly contrary to ours,” he replied. When asked if they still observed dis-
tinct customs and prayers, he claimed that he did not know. As to whether
they intermarried with Turks, he said “as far as I know, you [Turks] do not
give your daughters in marriage to them.” Finally, when asked whether
“they can again become Jews,” he responded: “If they want, they can...
No... No... But I am not interested.” A Vakit reporter then interviewed
“a Jewish citizen” who, unsurprisingly, considering the nearly three centu-
ries of separation dividing the two groups, was adamantly opposed to the
Dönme, asserting that they were neither Jews, nor Muslims:
The Dönme are not Jews. Judaism cannot accept them. Imagine, however, for
the sake of argument, that we accepted their Judaism. Yet who can ensure that