Los Angeles Times
Feb 15 2009
Chill settles into Turkey-Israel relations
By Laura King
February 15, 2009
Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey — When Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan had a very public set-to with Israeli President Shimon
Peres last month in the normally genteel setting of the World Economic
Forum in Davos, he earned himself a tumultuous welcome back home.
Thousands of cheering supporters turned out to greet him at the
airport upon his return from Switzerland. Adoring crowds mobbed his
public appearances the following day. Newspaper editorials across the
Muslim world hailed him as a hero for taking Israel to task for its
offensive in the Gaza Strip. "Turkey is proud of you!" one headline
exulted.
In the wake of Israel’s 22-day military operation, which left hundreds
of Palestinian civilians dead, a distinct chill has settled into its
long-cordial relations with Turkey, by far the Jewish state’s closest
ally in the Muslim world.
In the latest sign of continuing tensions, Turkey on Saturday summoned
Israel’s envoy for a dressing-down at the Foreign Ministry over
remarks made by a senior Israeli commander about Turkish policies
toward its Kurdish and Armenian ethnic minorities — both hot-button
topics here.
Turkey’s powerful military weighed in as well, saying that published
remarks by Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi suggesting that repressive Turkish
policies left its government in no position to criticize the Gaza
offensive could even call the two countries’ military relationship
into question.
"The comments have been assessed to be at the extent that the national
interests between the two countries could be damaged," the army’s
general staff said in a statement carried by the state-run Anatolia
news agency.
Turkey’s unusually close military alliance with Israel, including
regular joint training exercises and rare privileges such as the use
of Turkish airspace for training exercises, has yielded solid
strategic gains for the government in Ankara, helping cement its
status as a trusted NATO ally and a moderate Muslim state with
aspirations to join the European Union.
Commercial ties, too, are robust; trade between the two countries
amounts to nearly $3.5 billion a year. But the close inter-government
links sometimes seem to run counter to popular sentiment, particularly
in recent weeks.
A Turkish soccer star won rousing cheers when he planted the
Palestinian flag on the pitch during a match. An Israeli basketball
team in the country for a friendly match was heckled by a
shoe-throwing crowd, prompting the game’s cancellation. An anti-Israel
rally last month in Istanbul drew 200,000 people, and some
participants burned Israeli and U.S. flags.
Turkey is the most popular foreign destination for Israeli tourists,
who flock to its Mediterranean coast for inexpensive package
holidays. But in the immediate aftermath of the Gaza confrontation,
reservations plunged by half, according to year-on-year figures.
An Israeli couple who visited Istanbul’s historic main synagogue on a
recent rainy Jewish Sabbath said they had sensed a chilly reserve
rather than the usual warm welcome they customarily receive from
Turks.
"Around people we don’t know, we are definitely trying to avoid
mentioning our nationality," said the husband, a doctor who has
traveled to Turkey many times for medical conferences and didn’t want
his name used.
Turkish authorities have acknowledged that the country’s Jewish
community, badly shaken after two synagogues were among a string of
Istanbul targets bombed by Al Qaeda militants in 2003, could face new
dangers. Police this month detained some suspected Al Qaeda members
who they said were planning to try to assassinate a Jewish religious
leader.
In the wake of the Davos dust-up, Erdogan, who has carefully
cultivated a Western-friendly image, has sought in interviews and
speeches to make a distinction between criticism of Israeli policy and
the whipping up of anti-Jewish sentiment.
"I did not target in any way the Israeli people or the Jewish
people. . . . We are against anti-Semitism," he said. But he added:
"Criticism against Israel is not an anti-Semitic act. People living in
the Middle East are tired of war, tension, bloodshed and tears."
Many commentators believe domestic politics are playing a role in the
government’s current hard line toward Israel. Erdogan’s Justice and
Development Party is facing bellwether local elections next month,
which coincide with rising discontent over economic hardship. At local
campaign events, criticism of Israel is a proven crowd-pleaser.
Commentators including Mehmet Kamis, a columnist for the nationally
circulated Zaman daily, have argued that even if some of the harsh
language about Israel is a matter of political expediency, Turkey may
have far less to lose from a diplomatic rupture than Israel.
He and others have pointed out that Turkey is one of the very few
states in a position to mediate between Israel and harder-line Muslim
countries in a variety of regional disputes.
"Israel," he said, "should think twice before offending Turkey."
orld/world/la-fg-turkey-israel15-2009feb15,0,24736 6.story
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
