Turkish Student Who Defended Israel Now Fears Returning Home

Turku Avci came to Israel from Turkey to study at the Hebrew University, but the events of October 7 completely changed the course of her life. After the massacre, she decided to publicly express her support for Israel and sharply criticize Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Following posts she published on social media, she can no longer return to her homeland, where an arrest warrant has been issued against her.

In an interview with Channel 12 News aired last night (Sunday), Avci described the connection she has formed with Israel since arriving: "I think Israel is such a magical country. I don't believe anyone is here by chance. Since I arrived, so many people have touched my life and changed everything for me. I am so grateful for everything."

The turning point came after the October 7 attack. Avci posted a video on social media criticizing the Turkish government's policies and declaring her support for Israel: "My country, Turkey, in the name of the Palestinian struggle, Erdogan gives room to a terrorist organization, and that means the end of the secular Turkish republic. So yes, I still support Israel, and I always will."

She said she cannot return to Turkey because there is an arrest warrant against her for insulting President Erdogan and for undermining Turkey's sovereignty and unity. She added: "All I did was criticize the fact that the mayor of Istanbul, his entire opposition, is now in prison. I also expressed my support for Israel and said Erdogan must not call for the destruction of a country."

Since then, she has also faced thousands of threats every day on social media. But the most painful price, she says, is being cut off from her family, who remain in Turkey: "My family and I are not really in touch right now because I put them in a very difficult situation."

She added: "Because 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 touch right now because I am putting them in such great danger. And it breaks my heart. They were everything to me."

Through tears, she spoke about life far from her family and homeland: "I miss my family so much. Now my life has completely changed. Without family, not in my native language. I am in love with my country, with my identity. I am so proud to be Turkish, and I did not deserve any of this. I don't think I deserved it. I only said what I thought."

Attorney Liat Karsaks of the Mor & Co. law firm, who represents Avci, explained that she is in the process of seeking recognition and temporary status in Israel: "At the moment, Turku is registered as an asylum seeker 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 that she cannot get health insurance, respectable work, or build her life as she should and could build it."

Avci is now asking to regularize her status in Israel: "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 rebuild the life I lost, and build it with dignity and my head held high. I simply want to work for the people of Israel, for the people of Turkey. I want to finish what I started."

The Population and Immigration Authority said: "A review shows that she is in Israel on an asylum-seeker visa. Beyond that, we cannot elaborate."