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“There were moments when I felt people must be paying others to threaten me,” Avci said. “I couldn’t understand how someone could spend all day and all night doing that.”
By Shula Rosen
A Turkish student studying in Jerusalem says she hopes to build her future in Israel despite receiving regular threats and losing relationships in Turkey because of her public support for the Jewish state.
Tuğçe Avcı, a political science student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, recently began seeking political asylum and is awaiting the next stage of the process. She said she hopes eventually to work as a journalist or researcher.
In an interview with Ynet, Avcı described Israel as a place where she found a sense of belonging after experiencing growing hostility from some people in her home country.
She said fellow students welcomed her and provided support that became particularly important following the war.
Asked what she values most about life in Israel, Avcı pointed to the people.
“The people,” she said. “When I feel sad or depressed, I go to the beach in Tel Aviv and see the joy, the energy and the life around me. It brings me back to life.”
Avcı said her outspoken support for Israel has carried personal consequences.
According to her account, some friends distanced themselves, while others stopped communicating altogether. She also said she is subjected to frequent online harassment because of her social media activity.
“There were moments when I felt people must be paying others to threaten me,” she said. “I couldn’t understand how someone could spend all day and all night doing that.”
The student said her interest in Israel began before she enrolled at the university.
After meeting Israeli tourists, she became interested in examining the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from additional perspectives and eventually chose to pursue her studies in Jerusalem.
“I wanted to understand what was happening between Israelis and Palestinians from the Israeli side as well,” Avcı said. “Studying there felt like an opportunity to learn firsthand.”
Avcı also addressed relations between Turkey and Israel, which have deteriorated in recent years. She argued that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has increasingly incorporated the Palestinian issue into domestic politics.
“Palestine is a very useful tool for him,” she said.
Despite current tensions, Avcı expressed optimism about the future relationship between the two countries.
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t be friends again,” she said.
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