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ISRAELIS QUESTION WISDOM OF NO APOLOGY TO TURKEY
Today's Zaman
Sept 5 2011
Turkey
Prominent members of Israeli society, varying from bank governors to
politicians and columnists, have begun to loudly question whether their
government made the right move by not caving into Turkey's demands
for the normalization of bilateral relations with their country.
Israeli media has given place to a considerable number of articles
reviewing the dire consequences of Israel's refusal to offer an apology
and compensation to Turkey since Ankara on Friday ejected the Israeli
ambassador after Israel refused to apologize for a deadly military raid
on a Gaza-bound ship that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American
last year. Israel expressed regret for the loss of lives, but was not
prepared to apologize for upholding its naval blockade on Hamas-ruled
Gaza, which the ship had tried to breach. The dispute has brought
relations between the once-close allies to the verge of collapse,
and injected a new element of instability into an already volatile
region, prompting different voices in Israel to speak against their
government's stubbornness.
Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was one of those voices.
"I'm the last one who would say that the statements made by Turkish
prime ministers and chief representatives over the last two years
and the last few days are music to my ears," Olmert said late on
Sunday while speaking at a regional conference held in Tel Aviv. "But
based on my personal and intimate acquaintance with this leadership,
I would like to say -- it isn't automatically and necessarily an
enemy of Israel.
Over the years we have succeeded in building a relationship with Turkey
that we, across the political map, have defined as relations of the
utmost strategic importance to Israel," Olmert cautioned. "Turkey
is not Israel's enemy and Israel is not Turkey's enemy. Turkey has
previously functioned as a bridge to important and sensitive contacts
of the highest importance to our interests, and it can continue to
be so in the future," he said.
Delivering a speech at the same conference on Monday, Bank of Israel
Governor Stanley Fischer warned that the consequences of not having
trade relations with Turkey would be expensive for Israel.
"[The] Turkish economy is growing at an exceptional rate," Fischer
was quoted as saying by Israeli daily Haaretz. "They have great
entrepreneurs and a European trained labor force. Turkey will be a
big market in the region and a major exporter. The consequences of not
having trading relations with Turkey will be expensive," Fischer said.
Stressing that inter-regional trade in the Middle East region is small
and that it will still remain so even if it opens up, Fischer added:
"Our inter-regional trade does not amount to very much at the moment,
but it would be of benefit if it grew."
The conference at which Olmert's and Fischer's remarks on relations
with Turkey came was hosted by Israel's Vice Prime Minister Silvan
Shalom.
An analysis published on Monday by leading Israeli daily The Jerusalem
Post also focused on what losing Turkey's friendship meant for Israel
as a country surrounded with high security concerns in the volatile
Middle East region.
The article penned by Yaakov Katz and titled "More to lose in crisis
with Turkey than meets the eye," argued that for Israel, "Turkey was
more than just a country with airspace and waters in which to train."
Katz highlighted Turkey's bilateral cooperation with Israel in the
fight against terror, while calling Ankara a "confidant when it came
to sensitive intelligence information regarding attacks against Israel
or terrorist plans throughout the region."
"In short, Israel could be losing not only a diplomatic and military
ally but also a partner in the war on terror. This could mean that
Israel will not have someone to pass on information to in the event
that it knows of plans to perpetrate attacks in Turkey or elsewhere
in the region, and that the Turks might no longer have as strong an
interest in intercepting weapons shipments that may pass through their
country on their way to Iran's various terror proxies," Katz said.
Israeli diplomats officially told to leave Turkey In Ankara, Ella
Alphek, the undersecretary of the Israeli Embassy, was summoned to
the Foreign Ministry on Sunday and officially notified of a set of
sanctions against Israel, including the expulsion of senior-level
diplomats from the Israeli Embassy, Turkish officials said on Monday.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Friday a five-item
sanction package against Israel after it refused to apologize for
the killing of eight Turks and one Turkish-American on an aid ship
that was trying to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza on May 31,
2010. A UN panel set up to investigate the deadly takeover of the Mavi
Marmara found that Israeli soldiers used "excessive and unreasonable"
force against passengers, but contrary to Turkey's argument, the
report defended Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip as legal.
Today's Zaman
Sept 5 2011
Turkey
Prominent members of Israeli society, varying from bank governors to
politicians and columnists, have begun to loudly question whether their
government made the right move by not caving into Turkey's demands
for the normalization of bilateral relations with their country.
Israeli media has given place to a considerable number of articles
reviewing the dire consequences of Israel's refusal to offer an apology
and compensation to Turkey since Ankara on Friday ejected the Israeli
ambassador after Israel refused to apologize for a deadly military raid
on a Gaza-bound ship that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American
last year. Israel expressed regret for the loss of lives, but was not
prepared to apologize for upholding its naval blockade on Hamas-ruled
Gaza, which the ship had tried to breach. The dispute has brought
relations between the once-close allies to the verge of collapse,
and injected a new element of instability into an already volatile
region, prompting different voices in Israel to speak against their
government's stubbornness.
Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was one of those voices.
"I'm the last one who would say that the statements made by Turkish
prime ministers and chief representatives over the last two years
and the last few days are music to my ears," Olmert said late on
Sunday while speaking at a regional conference held in Tel Aviv. "But
based on my personal and intimate acquaintance with this leadership,
I would like to say -- it isn't automatically and necessarily an
enemy of Israel.
Over the years we have succeeded in building a relationship with Turkey
that we, across the political map, have defined as relations of the
utmost strategic importance to Israel," Olmert cautioned. "Turkey
is not Israel's enemy and Israel is not Turkey's enemy. Turkey has
previously functioned as a bridge to important and sensitive contacts
of the highest importance to our interests, and it can continue to
be so in the future," he said.
Delivering a speech at the same conference on Monday, Bank of Israel
Governor Stanley Fischer warned that the consequences of not having
trade relations with Turkey would be expensive for Israel.
"[The] Turkish economy is growing at an exceptional rate," Fischer
was quoted as saying by Israeli daily Haaretz. "They have great
entrepreneurs and a European trained labor force. Turkey will be a
big market in the region and a major exporter. The consequences of not
having trading relations with Turkey will be expensive," Fischer said.
Stressing that inter-regional trade in the Middle East region is small
and that it will still remain so even if it opens up, Fischer added:
"Our inter-regional trade does not amount to very much at the moment,
but it would be of benefit if it grew."
The conference at which Olmert's and Fischer's remarks on relations
with Turkey came was hosted by Israel's Vice Prime Minister Silvan
Shalom.
An analysis published on Monday by leading Israeli daily The Jerusalem
Post also focused on what losing Turkey's friendship meant for Israel
as a country surrounded with high security concerns in the volatile
Middle East region.
The article penned by Yaakov Katz and titled "More to lose in crisis
with Turkey than meets the eye," argued that for Israel, "Turkey was
more than just a country with airspace and waters in which to train."
Katz highlighted Turkey's bilateral cooperation with Israel in the
fight against terror, while calling Ankara a "confidant when it came
to sensitive intelligence information regarding attacks against Israel
or terrorist plans throughout the region."
"In short, Israel could be losing not only a diplomatic and military
ally but also a partner in the war on terror. This could mean that
Israel will not have someone to pass on information to in the event
that it knows of plans to perpetrate attacks in Turkey or elsewhere
in the region, and that the Turks might no longer have as strong an
interest in intercepting weapons shipments that may pass through their
country on their way to Iran's various terror proxies," Katz said.
Israeli diplomats officially told to leave Turkey In Ankara, Ella
Alphek, the undersecretary of the Israeli Embassy, was summoned to
the Foreign Ministry on Sunday and officially notified of a set of
sanctions against Israel, including the expulsion of senior-level
diplomats from the Israeli Embassy, Turkish officials said on Monday.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Friday a five-item
sanction package against Israel after it refused to apologize for
the killing of eight Turks and one Turkish-American on an aid ship
that was trying to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza on May 31,
2010. A UN panel set up to investigate the deadly takeover of the Mavi
Marmara found that Israeli soldiers used "excessive and unreasonable"
force against passengers, but contrary to Turkey's argument, the
report defended Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip as legal.