The young woman from Turkey who lives in Israel, defends it — and pays a heavy price

Turku Avci arrived in Israel from Turkey to study at the Hebrew University. When the events of October 7 occurred, Turku could not stand by, and the posts she uploaded to social media about her support for Israel changed her life completely. Now she cannot return to Turkey, where there is an arrest warrant against her for "insulting President Erdogan."

We met Turku in Tel Aviv this week. "I think Israel is such a magical country. I don't believe anyone is here by accident," said Turku. "Since I arrived here, so many people have touched my life and changed everything for me. I am so grateful for everything."

After the massacre on October 7, Turku uploaded a video to social media and said: "My country, Turkey, in the name of the Palestinian struggle, Erdogan is granting operational space to a terrorist organization, and this means the end of the secular Turkish Republic. So yes, I still support Israel and will always continue to support it."

She spoke about the complex legal situation she is in: "Right now I cannot return to Turkey because there is an arrest warrant against me for insulting President Erdogan, and also for undermining the sovereignty and unity of Turkey, which I did not do. All I did was criticize the fact that the mayor of Istanbul and all his opposition are now in prison, and I also expressed my support for Israel and said that Erdogan must not call for the destruction of a state."

Even today, Turku receives thousands of threats on social media every day, but the heaviest price was paid by her family in Turkey, who are in real danger following the things she wrote. "My family and I are not really in contact right now because I put them in a very difficult situation," she said. "They have nothing to do with any of this, they have never visited Israel, they have never made any statements. I haven't seen them since October 7, and we are not in contact right now because I am putting them in such great danger. It breaks my heart."

She shared with tears: "I miss my family so much. Now my life has changed completely. I am in love with my country, with my identity, I am so proud to be Turkish, and I didn't deserve any of this. I just said what I thought."

Liat Karskas, from the Mor & Co. firm who represents Turku Avci, explained: "Right now Turku is registered as a refugee and is in the process of being recognized and receiving temporary status in Israel. She does not have an Israeli ID card or a work visa in her passport, and without this she cannot get health insurance or a respectable job to build her life."

To the bureaucratic tangle is now added the deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey, which makes the situation even more difficult. "Making contact right now and conducting diplomacy is harder, and I just hope we can return to diplomatic solutions again," said Turku. "I need legal status and asylum in Israel because I have nowhere else to go. If I leave Israel, I cannot return to Turkey, and I just want to build the life I lost with dignity and with my head held high. I want to work for the residents of Israel and Turkey; I want to finish what I started."

The Population and Immigration Authority stated: "A check shows that this is a person who is in Israel on a visa as an asylum seeker; beyond that, we cannot elaborate."