Israeli Turkmen

Israeli Turkmen
İsrail Türkmenleri
Flag of Israeli Turkmen, also used to represent ethnic Turks in the Levant as a whole
Total population
  • Turkish minority: unknown
  • Turkish citizens only: 22,000 (2007)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Turkish
Religion
Majority Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Syrian Turkmen, Lebanese Turkmen, Turkish Jews in Israel

The Israeli Turkmen,[2] neutrally referred to as the Turks in Israel are the descendants of ethnic Turkish and other Oghuz Turkic peoples who have had a long-established presence in the region.

Migration of Turkish settlers to the Levant began in the 12th century, and continued throughout the Mamluk and Ottoman rule.[2]

In the early 2000s, Turkish workers from the Republic of Turkey settled in Israel, working predominantly on construction projects.[3]

Diaspora

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During and after the 1947–1949 Palestine war, some Turkmen fled the region and settled in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.[4]

During the British mandate of Palestine, the Turk tribes like Bani-Saidan and Bani Alaqama lived mostly in the Jezreel Valley region; and, up until the Israeli conquest in 1967, Turkmen tribes lived in the Golan Heights.[2]

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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  • Council of Europe (2007), Parliamentary Assembly: Working Papers 2007 Ordinary Session 22–26 January 2007, Council of Europe, ISBN 978-92-871-6191-8.
  • Drori, Israel (2009), Foreign Workers in Israel: Global Perspectives, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0-7914-7689-5.
  • Suwaed, Muhammad (2015), "Turkmen, Israeli", Historical Dictionary of the Bedouins, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 978-1442254510.