Jewish Affairs - South African Jewish Board of Deputies

JEWISH AFFAIRS ROSH HASHANAH 2012Turkey and the State of IsraelAlthough Turkey voted against the 1947 UnitedNations resolution to establish a Jewish state, itbecame, in 1949, the first Muslim state to recogniseIsrael. A new era in Turkish-Israeli relationsbegan after the 1991 Madrid peace conference,which led to the upgrading of the diplomaticrelationship to a full ambassadorial status. The1993 Oslo Declaration of Principles furtherimproved the relationship. It was followed bymilitary and economic agreements between thetwo countries and a significant volume of Israelitourism to Turkey. By the end of the 1990s,Turkish public sympathy towards Israel hadreached its peak. 70 For Israel, the intimacy of itsrelationship with Turkey ranked second only toits relations with America. 71In November 2002 the AKP [Justice andDevelopment Party], an Islamist party under theleadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was electedto office and Kemalist rule came to an end. One ofthe first indications of Turkey’s new foreign policywas its rejection of an American request in 2003to use Turkish territory for opening a northernfront against Iraq. Not long afterwards, Erdoganbegan describing Israeli policy towards thePalestinians as “state terrorism.” 72In September 2007, Israeli aircraft attackedSyria (rumoured to be its nuclear facility) and ontheir return were accused by Turkey of violatingits airspace. Notwithstanding all this, at the timeand continuing into 2008, Turkey was mediatingbetween Israel and Syria and progress in thesenegotiations was taking place.The December 2008 Israeli attack on Gaza -Operation Cast Lead - was criticized by Turkey,bringing about an immediate collapse in theSyrian-Israeli initiative and resulting in a majordeterioration in the Turkish-Israeli friendship. AtDavos in January 2009, Erdogan walked off thestage he was sharing with President Shimon Peres,accusing Israel of committing infanticide in Gaza.This “one-minute incident,” as it is called inTurkey, resulted in a further downward spiral inthe deteriorating relationship.In June 2010 the Mavi Marmara, a Turkishship sailing from a Turkish port, attempted tobreak the Gaza blockade. Israeli soldiers borderedthe ship and in the ensuing clash nine Turkishcitizens were killed. A United Nations report heldthat the Israeli blockade of Gaza was legal in viewof missile attacks launched on Israel from Gazaand the report further held that on boarding theMavi Marmara Israeli troops “faced significant,organised and violent resistance…requiring themto use force for their own protection.” The reportdid, however, urge Israel to express regret andpay compensation calling the manner of theboarding “excessive and unreasonable” and theloss of life, including some people shot at closerange, “unacceptable.” Israel refused to apologisedespite some opinion within Israel being in favourof an apology, most notably Defence MinisterEhud Barak who advocated expressing regret“for problems that occurred during the Marmaraoperation.” 73 Turkey retaliated by expellingIsrael’s ambassador and suspending military ties.Traditionally, Turkey has pursued a low profilein the Middle East but more recently is becominga more influential participant. Soon after Erdogancame to power a marked improvement took placein Turkey’s relations with Syria and Iran (althoughthe Syrian relationship has subsequently implodedwith Turkey calling for Assad’s resignation). InAugust 2008, Iranian President MahmoudAhmadinejad paid a state visit to Turkey andTurkey has refused to participate in sanctionsagainst Iran aimed at preventing it from acquiringnuclear capability. 74 In September 2011, Erdogantoured many of the Arab countries where uprisingshave taken place promoting the Turkishdemocratic model and enhancing his popularity,profile and influence. He has declareddemocratisation a foreign policy objective andstressed the need for Muslim countries “to puttheir houses in order.” 75 It is the first time in thehistory of the Turkish republic that Turkey hasattempted to position itself as a “model” for otherMuslim countries. 76Under Kemalist government relations with itsMuslim neighbours was seen as a burden onTurkey’s quest to part of the West, both politicallyand culturally. Now the AKP views improvingrelations with its Muslim neighbours asimportant. 77 Some commentators believe the AKPleadership harbours a genuine dislike of Israeland Jews. In October 2009 Erdogan, speaking atIstanbul University made some antisemiticremarks. 78Relations between Turkey and Israel havereached an all-time low and most commentatorsare pessimistic about the possibility of a short tomedium term improvement. While some Israelisare unconcerned about the deterioration otherssuch as Alon Liel, a former Israeli ambassador toSouth Africa who previously held a diplomaticpost in Turkey, argues that for Israel to loseTurkey’s friendship could have devastatingregional consequences for Israel and evenAmerica. 79Jews have lived in the area now known asTurkey since antiquity and the common Jewish-Turkish history goes back almost 700 years.Turkey welcomed and gave refuge to SephardiJews who in turn contributed significantly to thecountry. On the whole the Turks have treated theJews sympathetically, especially when comparedto their treatment in Europe and in Arab countries.Hopefully, in time the rift between Turkey andIsrael will be healed and the cordial relations ofprevious years restored.Notes1 Genesis 11: 31-3224