Erdogan greets Jewish community on Rosh Hashanah

By Omer Olcay

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday extended his warm wishes to the Jewish community celebrating Rosh Hashanah festival in Turkey and around the world.

Rosh Hashanah marks the Jewish new year; the celebration begins on Sept. 9.

In a message released on the website of the presidency, the president said: "We are members of a deep civilization, who give great importance to freedom of religion and belief, and consider social, cultural, religious and human diversity as wealth."

He added that Turkey protects the rights of its citizens to live their culture, religion and traditions freely without facing any discrimination.

"I wish all Jewish people, especially our citizens a happy Rosh Hashanah festival, which is one of the important religious festivals of Judaism," he said.