Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday extended his condolences on the passing of Trkiye's chief rabbi, Ishak Haleva. Erdogan expressed his sorrow and conveyed his condolences to Erol Kohen and Ishak Ibrahimzadeh, co-chairs of the Turkish Jewish community, over the phone.

According to Anadolu Agency, Haleva was born in Istanbul in 1940 and had been serving as the country's chief rabbi since 2002. He passed away at the age of 85 on Tuesday.