Citizenship Preferences of Ottoman Jews in the Transition from the Millet System to Citizenship in the Ottoman Empire (1869–1914)

The “Millet System” constituted the basis of the Ottoman societal structure. The “Millet System” allowed different communities, including Ottoman Jews, to exercise their beliefs and cultures however they wanted and without exposure to any oppression. However, the economic and social problems experienced in the 19th century required the establishment of a new social administration system. For this reason, in 1869, the “Citizenship Law” was enacted, and the subjects of the Ottoman State were given the right to modern citizenship. This law, which had a secular nature, gave rise to the concept of “citizenship”, where all subjects were included under the rule of the Ottoman authority without regard to their religion or sect. In this study, the status of Ottoman Jews following the enaction of the Citizenship Law is investigated based on the specific case of those changing their citizenship. The factors that affected the appeal of Jews to relinquish their Ottoman citizenship are examined based on their preferences of countries for citizenship and their short biographies found in relevant documents. This study revealed that the number of Jews who renounced Ottoman citizenship were limited. The archive records used on the subject mostly belong to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hariciye Nezareti). From time to time, the issue was referred to the Council of State (Şura-yı Devlet), and concerns about the compliance of citizenship related actions with the legislation were resolved.