Turkish Paper Suggests Jews Caused Mine Disaster That Killed More Than 100
![](https://images.forwardcdn.com/image/970x/center/images/cropped/wsoma-052114jpg-1423595169.jpg)
Shared Sorrow: Members of the Turkish national soccer team console relatives of the victims of a deadly mine collapse in the town of Soma. Image by getty images
A pro-government Turkish newspaper ran a headline linking Jews to the coal mine disaster in Soma that killed over 100 people.
The headline in Tuesday’s Yeni Akit criticized the owner of the Soma Coal Mine Company for having a Jewish son-in-law. According to the Hurriyet Daily News, some readers protested the inflammatory headline as hate speech.
The Yeni Akit article criticized the mining owner, Alp Gurkan, for “giving his daughter to a Jew” and suggested that this is why foreign media are “attacking Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyim Erdogan” for the disaster, Hurriyet reported.
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
![](https://forward.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Jodi-Headshot.jpg)
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief