[After this article was written Turkey suspends all defense ties with Israel but not private trade ties]
Turkey harassed Israeli businessmen in Istanbul in order to gain popularity in the Muslim world generally and Arab world specifically.
Monday morning, Turkey took its anti-Israel campaign to a new level. Beyond downgrading diplomatic relations with Israel; beyond suspending military agreements; beyond threatening naval war; beyond threatening to foment an irredentist insurrection of Israeli Arabs; the Turks decided to terrorize Israeli tourists landing in Istanbul airport.
Forty Israeli passengers, mainly businessmen who had landed in Istanbul on a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv, were separated from the rest of the flight passengers. Their passports were confiscated.
They were placed in interrogation rooms and stripped down to their underwear. Their carry-on bags were checked. And then they were lined up against a wall, forbidden to sit down or use the washroom.
Passengers who contacted the Foreign Ministry said they felt frightened and intimidated.
The ordeal went on for 90 minutes, until Turkish authorities returned their Israeli passports and permitted them to pick up their suitcases and exit the airport.
What were the Turks trying to accomplish by terrifying the Israeli tourists? They didn’t need to threaten trade ties. Their Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu already took care of that over the weekend.
The victimized Israelis said the Turkish airport authorities wouldn’t even answer their questions.
Any time we asked them a question, the tourists said, the Turks ignored us.
It was as if they weren’t even there.
And that’s the thing of it. The Turks didn’t harass the Israeli tourists in order to send a message to Israel. They have nothing more to say to us. We are non-entities to them. We’re only good for attacking.
No, Israel wasn’t the target audience the Turks were playing to on Monday. Their target audience was the Islamic world generally and the Arab world specifically. Turkey’s influence in these arenas skyrocketed in January 2009 after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused President Shimon Peres and Israel of mass murder as the leaders shared a stage at the Davos Conference.
Similarly Erdogan’s domestic and pan-Islamic support levels increased steeply in the aftermath of the Turkish-supported pro-Hamas flotilla to Gaza in 2010. After nine Turkish government-supported IHH terrorists were killed aboard the Mavi Marmara when they tried to murder IDF naval commandos who had lawfully boarded the ship, the Arabs hailed Erdogan as a hero for bravely attacking Israel.
Given how well scapegoating Israel has served him, Erdogan clearly believes it is a no-risk strategy for raising his star from Cairo to Algiers.
Leftist Israeli commentators refuse to accept what is happening. Writing in Haaretz on Sunday, Shlomo Avineri recommended that Israel compensate the nine IHH members whom IDF commandos killed in self-defense on the Mavi Marmara. Avineri argued that by refusing to do so, Israel was playing into the hands of hardliners. True, “it won’t be easy, but we need to grit our teeth and do the right thing,” he wrote.
Others have argued that Israel may be able to rebuild its strategic relations with Turkey by selling Ankara more drones with which to kill Iraqi and Turkish Kurds. The Turkish military claimed it killed 100 Kurdish fighters in its attacks last month in Iraq and along the Turkish-Iraqi border. Israeli UAVs reportedly played a key role in the bombing. But Turkey needs more. If we sell them more, the argument goes, maybe they will see how useful we are and stop attacking us.
Aside from being morally reprehensible, these arguments fail to recognize the basic reality that Turkey has no interest whatsoever in rebuilding its ties with Israel. The once-important strategic alliance is over and gone, and Israel cannot do anything about it. All Turkey sees us as today is a scapegoat.
It has been argued by commentators on the Right that Turkey’s abandonment of Israel is part and parcel of its abandonment of the US. But this is a mischaracterization of Turkey’s policy toward the US.
Since 2003, Turkey has undertaken a series of actions that have harmed US strategic interests. The first, of course, was Erdogan’s decision on the eve of the Iraq War to deny the US military the right to invade northern Iraq from Turkey.
The latest action was arguably Turkey’s joint air exercises with the Chinese Air Force last September.
Chinese jets en route to Turkey refueled in Iran. The exercise was a clear signal that NATO member Turkey intends to exploit its alliance with the US to build ties with the US’s chief geostrategic competitor.
Yet at the same time that Turkey has harmed the US, it has also taken steps to assist it. Most recently, last week, Erdogan belatedly agreed to station the high-powered US X-Band radar on its territory as part of a missile defense system to protect NATO allies against the threat of Iranian long-range missiles.
Turkey’s mixed policies toward the US reveal that unlike its position on Israel, Turkey believes that it has an interest in maintaining its alliance with the US. Its hostile behavior is more a function of perceived US weakness than anything else. That is, Turkey is willing to risk angering the US by undercutting it because it does not fear US retribution.
Turkey’s aggressive behavior might end if the US made Turkey pay a price for it.
To its credit, the Netanyahu government has not accepted the advice of the Left and has refused to apologize to Turkey or pay compensation to the families of those killed aboard the Marmara. Moreover, the government has wisely used Turkey’s behavior as a means of building strong bilateral ties with other victims of Turkish aggression. Over the past two years, Israel has strongly upgraded is strategic ties with Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania. Israel should add to these accomplishments by strengthening its ties to Armenia and to the Kurds of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
With newspapers running groundless stories about prospects for reconstituting relations with Turkey, we need to recognize that what we are experiencing now is the beginning, not the end, of Turkey’s slide into the enemy camp. Erdogan is openly taking steps to transform Turkey into an Islamic state along the lines of Iran. And the further he goes down his chosen path, the more harshly and aggressively he will lash out at Israel.
Given that scapegoating Israel is not a momentary lapse of reason on Turkey’s part but a central aspect of a long-term regional strategy, it is clear that Israel needs to meet Turkish aggression with more than momentary courage in the face of intimidation and threats. Israel needs to build on its already successful policy of forming a ring of alliances around Turkey and develop a long-term military and diplomatic strategy for containing and weakening it.
Maybe if Erdogan would accept the Palmer report – Israels right to defend itself on the high seas– a letter of regret may help, [ this as such was sent to Egypt!] We have already offered financial compensation
BUT Erdogan was and still is a Hamas supporter- a dangerous individual with an ego
Today I have to ask whether he accepts Israels right to exist!
My first comment to Katz is in moderation.
@ Ed Katz:
Replacing Turkey with Greece? No country in Europe is more antisemitic and anti Israel than Greece. In Israel we say: Zou treifa ve zou nevella!
Why don’t you encourage America to exchange Greece for Turkey, and while you’re at it try to get them to take their X-Band radar out of my back yard as well.
Israeli Officials: X-Band Radar May Expose Israeli Secrets to US
The newly deployed anti-missile radar system exposes Israeli secrets to the U.S., senior Israeli officials worry.
Stupid Jews!!!!!
@ Stanley J. revich:
Stanley J. revich Said:
So where’s the money? I hate promises of payment and then don’t, I really hate welchers or is it “Welches” (grape juice sometimes used in place of wine for the kiddies)
@ Jerry:
Read my comment I quoted Yossi Alper a leftist intellectual and security expert for context. He advocated essentially that it might have been better to be smart and not just right. I disagree but I don’t credit BB with the negative vote on apologizing to Turkey as a myriad of media reports had him all but agreeing and showing a willingness to do so. I gave you what in my opinion was his primary reason for not apologizing. Avigdor Lieberman nixing it!!!! Glick credits BB and in that I disagree with her. She was and apparently still is a BB groupie. She worked for him in 1996-8. She will critique anything and everyone except BB. Last year she came damn close but still couldn’t pull the trigger. It’s her main blind spot and it detracts from her generally insightful analysis.
@ Ed Katz:
Who are the REAL bad guys. Those that are trying to kill me or those who allow them and aid them in their attempts to kill me. Who could wipe them out in a week if he gave the operational order? Who calls them his partner? Who is willing to make territorial compromises? Who signed off on Wye agreements? He gave our second most Holy site (HEBRON) TO Arafat? Who allowed the Palis to arm themselves, train them and gave them guns 3 times? Who agreed to and allowed Dayton to train a palis Army? Who pays them each month hundreds of millions of dollars? Who attacks patriotic Jews and not Arabs? Who bulldozes Jewish homes but not Arabs including the homes of Jewish war heroes? Who created our housing bubble? Who profits from it? Who was the first Israeli PM to agree to a PA State? Who has de facto given away E Jerusalem to the Arabs? Who Kisses Obamas ass daily? Who is the epitome of crony capitalism in Israel? Who allows Terror? Who apologized to Egypt and not Turkey? Who has not reduced our worlds highest tax burden? Who Has the largest and most expensive Government in our history? Who governs with an anti Jewish policy in a Jewish state? Whose domestic and foreign policy is essentially the same as Kadima and Labor? BB! I could go on and list much more.
Who is our real enemy? The Arabs we have been fighting for over a hundred years and will continue for another 500 years. They all believe we stole their land and whether it’s true or not they believe it. We didn’t elect the Arabs but we did BB and the Likud and they are answerable to us not you. You don’t have a vote or a say in our business except as an interested by stander, I, my kids and grand-kids have a stake in what and how our leaders perform, you and yours don’t so take your comment and shove it where the sun don’t shine. (YAMIT)
@ yamit82:
Yamit,I don’t think you read Caroline Glick’s article.As usual she is right on the money. Trying to pacify Turkey with an apology or reparations will get Israel no wheres. Turkey has jumped in with the Islamists.Smell the coffee.
Now Yamit, I know where you really are coming from. Who is paying you to comment on this website? Livni?
Yamit, you are constantly hammering Netanyahu with your contempteous hatred that you overlook who the real bad guys are. Turn your hatred toward the Islamists. Encourage Israel to take a more agressive side with Greece (who are not that good either but better than Turkey). Encourage the US to place their radar system in Greece as I believe that it would serve just as well. Greece could certainly use the money.
Yossi Alpher- September 6, 2011
“Meir Javedanfar, one of Israel’s best experts on Iran, argues that the way Israel handled the entire flotilla affair is a clear example of the Netanyahu government’s skewed priorities. These are tuned toward the defense of the current settlement policy and maintaining the current coalition government. Because of Turkey’s strategic location bordering Iran (and Iraq and Syria) and its close relations with Tehran, states Javedanfar, had Iran been the priority as Netanyahu frequently claims, apologizing early and properly to Turkey would have been worth the effort.
Another example is the near-instant Israeli readiness to express regrets to Egypt and accept an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Hamas after the August 18 terrorist incident near Eilat in which Egyptian soldiers were apparently killed by Israeli fire in problematic circumstances. Of course Egypt is more important than Turkey. But why make the distinction and give up on Turkey so easily, especially as we witness the beginnings of what may be a Turkish-Egyptian rapprochement.
Many in the Israeli security community and even the left wing of Netanyahu’s coalition agree. But Netanyahu listened instead to ultra-nationalists Avigdor Lieberman and Moshe Yaalon and gave priority to Israel’s “national pride”. Soon, by default, Israel national pride may become an even more valuable commodity as we lose additional and more important strategic assets.”
All News reports for well over a month said BB was willing to apologize to Turkey, then:
Lieberman deplores Netanyahu for leaning toward apology to Turkey
FM responds to reports that PM got legal advice that apologizing would forestall Turkish efforts to prosecute IDF soldiers, says Israel is showing weakness and inability to withstand pressure.
To give BB credit for personal or national pride is to ignore and overlook the truth. His position of PM is above any other consideration and Lieberman could bring him down, and take credit for being more nationalistic than BB. BB is a classic paranoiac.