Yitzchak Eliyashiv, a 45-year-old Jewish New Yorker, was murdered in the Gundogmus district of Antalya province of Turkey earlier this week, according to Turkish and Jewish media reports.
Eliyashiv, a photographer and former gabbai at Manhattan’s Heichal Moshe Synagogue, was reportedly visiting the country to take pictures of Turkey’s wildlife.
The Jewish American had reportedly been staying at the home of a local man, named by Turkish media as Ismail Kara, when the men began quarrelling about alcohol. Kara was said to have drunk alcoholic beverages before the argument, Ynet reported.
The confrontation between the two men reportedly escalated to violence, and Eliyashiv was stabbed and had to be rushed to hospital, where he later succumbed to his wounds. Kara was also wounded during the fight, according to Haber Aktüel.
Police investigations continue into Jewish American murdered in Turkey
Police have reportedly arrested Kara, who has not yet been found guilty of the murder and remains a suspect. Kara was reportedly intoxicated at the time of the arrest, Ynet reported.
Police do not believe that Eliyashiv’s death was in any way connected to antisemitism.
Kara now reportedly faces charges of intentional homicide.
The organization Misaskim is working to see Eliyashiv’s body returned to America.