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ISRAEL'S PEOPLE APOLOGIZING
Star
Sept 11 2012
Turkey
by Mensur Akgun
According to a public survey carried out by MITVIM (The Israeli
Institute for Regional Foreign Policy) over 23-26 August, a large
proportion of the Israeli people are advocating making peace with
Turkey and an apology to make this happen.
According to figures obtained from asking 500 people with a 4.5 per
cent margin of error, 79 out of every 100 people who expressed an
idea say Israel should start mending fences with Turkey, while 59 per
cent are claiming that the Israel government is not making sufficient
effort here.
Similarly, 54 per cent of those who expressed an opinion think that
Israel should apologize to Turkey, while 60 per cent believe that
if both countries make up then being on good terms with Turkey will
help Israel when it comes to Iran. Some 53 per cent are ready to go
to Turkey if relations are fixed.
It would appear that events in the Middle East have serious affected
the way the Israeli people regard Turkey. Naturally, the support
for an apology and for the normalization of relations is not without
strings. The people who answered the MITVIM survey mentioned law suits
filed in Turkey, events in Syria and Iran's bid to become nuclear.
However, in order for relations to return to normal there needs to
be a reduction in the number of people harbouring doubts that the
two conditions cited by Turkey will be met. We hope that Israel and
Turkey reach an agreement on an apology and reparations, and that
relations return to normal like they were in the past.
This is because we need Israel at least as much as Israel needs
Turkey. Both countries need to work hard to avoid treading on one
another's toes in Syria, in Iraq and who knows where else. Neither
Turkey nor Israel should be in competition with one another while
the region's balances are being redefined.
Furthermore, when looking at things from Turkey's perspective we
can say that the anti-Israel card in being influential in regional
politics has been played out. At a time when the Muslim Brotherhood
in Egypt have come to power and stepped onto the world's political
stage, solidarity with HAMAS is not going to gain Turkey much more.
Besides, Turkey does not have to change its position on the Palestinian
issue just because it has made peace with Israel. All that has to be
done is to adopt a foreign policy with more nuances and to defend
universal values, to see that Gaza is also under Egyptian blockade
not just Israeli and to warn and criticize Israel when necessary.
But let us not forget that our inventory of problems is becoming more
inflated with every passing day. Turkey had proposed to the world
the principle of zero problems but it needs to really work at it to
reduce those problems to zero. At the same time, it is hard to deal
with the Israel, Iraq, Syria, refugee and PKK problems together.
When we add the Cyprus problem and relations with Armenia, which
stubbornly refuse to normalize, to all this everything merges. Many
countries are establishing relations we do not like at all amid these
problems. They are making politics on this network of relations.
Turkey has to free itself of the problems that are sapping its strength
and causing it to waste its diplomatic energy. The Israeli people's
preferences and their ongoing mediation efforts show that we can
write off at least one of these problems.
All we need to do is to believe we can be free of the problems and
show that that we are doing our best. Regardless, "apologizing'
is not an easy political choice to make. We may have to trust the
people who are making the apology and at least show that some of
their expectations will be met.
Are we going to simply forget the Mavi Marmara, you ask? Of course
not. But neither are we going to forget that relations between two
countries are important and they the transformation in the region's
geopolitics makes normalization necessary.
One more thing we are not going to forget is this: Turkey, or to
be more precise the AKP [Justice and Development Party], enjoyed
good relations with this country until the end of 2008; it hosted
Israel's President Peres in Parliament; it brokered a solution for
the problems between Israel and Syria; it categorically never made
it policy to be hostile to Israel.
[Translated from Turkish]
Star
Sept 11 2012
Turkey
by Mensur Akgun
According to a public survey carried out by MITVIM (The Israeli
Institute for Regional Foreign Policy) over 23-26 August, a large
proportion of the Israeli people are advocating making peace with
Turkey and an apology to make this happen.
According to figures obtained from asking 500 people with a 4.5 per
cent margin of error, 79 out of every 100 people who expressed an
idea say Israel should start mending fences with Turkey, while 59 per
cent are claiming that the Israel government is not making sufficient
effort here.
Similarly, 54 per cent of those who expressed an opinion think that
Israel should apologize to Turkey, while 60 per cent believe that
if both countries make up then being on good terms with Turkey will
help Israel when it comes to Iran. Some 53 per cent are ready to go
to Turkey if relations are fixed.
It would appear that events in the Middle East have serious affected
the way the Israeli people regard Turkey. Naturally, the support
for an apology and for the normalization of relations is not without
strings. The people who answered the MITVIM survey mentioned law suits
filed in Turkey, events in Syria and Iran's bid to become nuclear.
However, in order for relations to return to normal there needs to
be a reduction in the number of people harbouring doubts that the
two conditions cited by Turkey will be met. We hope that Israel and
Turkey reach an agreement on an apology and reparations, and that
relations return to normal like they were in the past.
This is because we need Israel at least as much as Israel needs
Turkey. Both countries need to work hard to avoid treading on one
another's toes in Syria, in Iraq and who knows where else. Neither
Turkey nor Israel should be in competition with one another while
the region's balances are being redefined.
Furthermore, when looking at things from Turkey's perspective we
can say that the anti-Israel card in being influential in regional
politics has been played out. At a time when the Muslim Brotherhood
in Egypt have come to power and stepped onto the world's political
stage, solidarity with HAMAS is not going to gain Turkey much more.
Besides, Turkey does not have to change its position on the Palestinian
issue just because it has made peace with Israel. All that has to be
done is to adopt a foreign policy with more nuances and to defend
universal values, to see that Gaza is also under Egyptian blockade
not just Israeli and to warn and criticize Israel when necessary.
But let us not forget that our inventory of problems is becoming more
inflated with every passing day. Turkey had proposed to the world
the principle of zero problems but it needs to really work at it to
reduce those problems to zero. At the same time, it is hard to deal
with the Israel, Iraq, Syria, refugee and PKK problems together.
When we add the Cyprus problem and relations with Armenia, which
stubbornly refuse to normalize, to all this everything merges. Many
countries are establishing relations we do not like at all amid these
problems. They are making politics on this network of relations.
Turkey has to free itself of the problems that are sapping its strength
and causing it to waste its diplomatic energy. The Israeli people's
preferences and their ongoing mediation efforts show that we can
write off at least one of these problems.
All we need to do is to believe we can be free of the problems and
show that that we are doing our best. Regardless, "apologizing'
is not an easy political choice to make. We may have to trust the
people who are making the apology and at least show that some of
their expectations will be met.
Are we going to simply forget the Mavi Marmara, you ask? Of course
not. But neither are we going to forget that relations between two
countries are important and they the transformation in the region's
geopolitics makes normalization necessary.
One more thing we are not going to forget is this: Turkey, or to
be more precise the AKP [Justice and Development Party], enjoyed
good relations with this country until the end of 2008; it hosted
Israel's President Peres in Parliament; it brokered a solution for
the problems between Israel and Syria; it categorically never made
it policy to be hostile to Israel.
[Translated from Turkish]