YEDIOT AHRONOT: TURKEY-ISRAEL HONEYMOON OVER
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 16:19 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish-Israeli ties in danger unless trust building
measures promptly implemented, Haymi Behar, a columnist and foreign
news editor for Turkish-Jewish weekly Shalom, writes in Yediot Ahronot.
The article reads:
" The Turkish-Israeli honeymoon has ended. From the 90s up until
recent times Israelis flocked to Turkey, while economic and military
ties flourished. Yet today, following Turkey’s harsh criticism of
the Israeli offensive in Gaza, angry Israelis canceled more than 70%
of travel bookings to Turkey. In any case, they wouldn’t feel so
welcomed in many Turkish shops, which displayed signs expressing
anti-Israeli sentiments.
Israel’s Cast Lead operation triggered an unprecedented wave of
widespread criticism across Turkey. Solidarity with the suffering
fellow Muslim in Gaza, combined with difficult images of civilian
casualties led the crowds to the streets in mass protests. Yet
accusations did not stop at "disproportionate use of force" by
Israel. Rather, demonstrations held in almost every city often turned
anti-Semitic in tone, as hordes chanted "Death to Israel, down with
the Zionists."
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan assured Jewish citizens of Turkey that
no one would dare harm them. However, support for Hamas positions
only added to the rhetoric used by protesters, culminating in hate
speech. In recent years, anti-Semitism in Turkey reached unprecedented
levels. The PEW’s polling center recently published shocking results
on the rise of animosity towards Jews in traditionally tolerant
Anatolian culture. According to the research, 76% of Turks hold
negative views about Jews and do not wish to be their neighbors. In
2004, 49% expressed this view.
The ever strengthening Islamic media’s criticism of Israel often turned
to demonizing Jews as a whole, referring to them in one case as "blood
sucking vampires." Pro-government media deemed the Gaza operation
genocide and a crime against humanity. Those same media outlets kept
silent when Sudan’s vice president visited Turkey around the same time.
President Abdullah Gul was quick to denounce the racist jargon against
Jews. Nevertheless, even in Kayseri, the birthplace of the president,
a schoolteacher distributed lokhum (Turkish delight) in the city
center to honor the memory of Adolf Hitler, recounting to bystanders
his dream about the notorious Nazi leader. Disturbingly enough, no
legal action was taken against the schoolteacher, symptomatic of the
inaction by the state against hate speech.
Turkey and Israel, two American allies in the region, enjoyed rapid
rapprochement during the post-Cold War era in the absence of the Soviet
threat. This period ended on September 11, effectively putting the two
countries on different sides of the "clash of civilizations." Today,
as Turkey leans more towards social conservatism and Israel to the
nationalist Right, question marks loom over the future of the special
relations between the countries.
Social conservatism in the Middle East divides civilizations based
on religion. As Bernard Lewis frequently pointed out, the Muslim
perception of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fundamentally
a religious one. Increasingly, Turkish public opinion views the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this light. Animosity against Jews
reached such high levels that in case that a Turkish government
decides one day to cut diplomatic ties with Israel, it will have
wide public backing. Unless trust-building steps are taken promptly,
every new round of fighting between Israelis and Palestinians will
cause Turkish-Israeli relations to further deteriorate.
Genuine effort is necessary to repair the damage done to the
relations. To start with, both countries need to limit harmful public
criticism. Turkey was deeply disappointed by Israeli unwillingness
to implement several economic projects that will contribute to the
livelihood of the Palestinians and enhance the peace process. Israel
needs to engage Turkey more by implementing the Erez Industrial Zone
and "Peace hospital" projects. Both plans, which were jointly agreed
upon, did not materialize largely due to Israel’s foot dragging. If
US President Barack Obama does not want the two countries’ relations
to deteriorate on his watch, he would do well to oversee the
implementation of such projects.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government’s commitment to denouncing
anti-Semitism is encouraging. However, Turkey needs to enforce legal
action against the ever-growing hate speech in local media that
fuels hatred not only against Israel, but also towards Jewish people
in general."