ISKENDERUN

ISKENDERUN (formerly Alexandretta), harbor town on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey on the gulf of the same name; population (2004), 173,900. The town (along with its district), first attached to Syria under the French mandate, was annexed to Turkey in 1939. Jews settled in Iskenderun in the Middle Ages. They were expelled by the Crusaders in 1098, but returned during the 16th century. During the 17th century the Jews of Iskenderun were among the supporters of Shabbetai Ẓevi\>\> . The community was small and numbered some tens of families. After World War I about 20 families remained in Iskenderun. Most of the Jews emigrated from Iskenderun to Israel with the establishment of the State. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Galanté, Histoire des Juifs d' Istanbul (1941). ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: EIS2, 4 (1960), 138. (David Kushner (2nd ed.)