What exactly makes Jerusalem such a special place of importance for Mulims , Christians , and Jews alike ?
Among these new Ashkenazi immigrants was Rabbi Yitzhak Sarfati , a German - born Jew of French descent ( Hebrew : צרפתי – " Sarfati " , meaning : " French " ) , who became the Chief Rabbi of Edirne and wrote a letter inviting the European Jewry to settle in the Ottoman Empire , in which he stated that : "" Turkey is a land wherein nothing is lacking "" and asking : "" Is it not better for you to live under Muslims than under Christians ?