Turkish deputy PM celebrates Jewish citizens' Passover

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc celebrated Passover ofJewish community in Turkey. Sending a message to Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, head of Turkey's Jewish community, on Wednesday, Arinc said, "it is our basic stance and principle to enable Jewish citizens to perform their beliefs and traditions freely." I celebrate the Passover of Jewish citizens living in our country and all Jews too, said Arinc. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation over 3,300 years ago by God from slavery in ancient Egypt that was ruled by the Pharaohs, and their birth as a nation under the leadership of Moses. It commemorates the story of the Exodus as described in the Hebrew Bible especially in the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. In Israel, Passover is the seven-day holiday of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, with the first and last days observed as legal holidays and as holy days involving abstention from work, special prayer services, and holiday meals; the intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed ("Weekdays of the Festival"). Diaspora Jews observe the festival for eight days.