Israel's President Isaac Herzog on Thursday met with members and representatives of the Jewish community in Istanbul.
He visited the Neve Shalom Synagogue in Beyoğlu with his wife Michal Herzog and attended a ceremony there.
Herzog, who entered the synagogue at around 11:30 a.m., stayed inside for about an hour and a half. Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Ahmet Misbah Demircan accompanied Herzog during his visit.
Herzog entered the Neve Shalom Synagogue and Culture Center Synagogue amid traditional Jewish musical horn shofars and the song Shalom Aleichem (Peace be with you), a staple song for the eve of the Sabbath.
Opening his speech with a prayer for Ukrainian refugees, Herzog said: "On this special occasion, I want to pray with you for our brothers and sisters in the Ukrainian Jewish community."
He also lit candles in memory of Jews killed in the synagogue in terror attacks in 1986 and 2003.
He also expressed his happiness to meet members of the Turkish Jewish Community.
He went on to say that his late father, Israel's sixth President Chaim Herzog, and his mother Aura Herzog had visited Neve Shalom in 1992 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Jews' expulsion from Spain and taking refuge in the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey, a largely Muslim but multi-faith country, has had Jewish communities since ancient times, and many expelled Spanish, and Portuguese Jews were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Istanbul, in particular, still retains a Jewish community. Turkey is also known for taking in rescued Jews during World War II.
Herzog also added that his grandfather and former Israeli Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog had come to Turkey to try to save European Jews from the hands of Nazis.
Following the prayer on Twitter, the Israeli president said that he was "moved to recite over the Torah at Istanbul's Neve Shalom Synagogue and to meet the Turkish Jewish community."
Having completed his visit to Istanbul, the president of Israel then departed for the airport to go to Antalya.
Herzog arrived in Turkey Wednesday to meet his counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the first visit by an Israeli head of state since 2007, as the countries seek to mend fractured ties.
