Turkish President Recip Tayip Erdogan
Israel-Turkish relations and their implications
Op-ed: While Turkey and Israel begin to thaw their relations following the Istanbul terror attack, Israel should be wary of getting too close to a dictator such as Erdoğan too quickly, taking into account his anti-Semitism and and oppressive policies.
The murder of the three Israelis by ISIS in Istanbul gave Israelis hope that there would be a thaw in the relations between Turkey and Israel.
In addition, exactly three years have passed since Netanyahu—under pressure by the Obama administration—apologized for the "loss of life" during the takeover of the Marmara flotilla.
"Relations will return to normal, and the embassies will return," Netanyahu promised. Erdoğan said, "Friendship between the two nations is important."
Grueling negotiations then took place to bring the relationship back to its former level, which should lead to an agreement soon. Throughout this period, however, Erdoğan has slandered and attacked Israel and the Jews over and over to further his political career. Anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic incitement have proven to be great methods of recruiting a critical mass of support, even in light of the growing disgust within large segments of Turkish society with Erdoğan's autocratic rule and his Islamist party.
The Turkish attitude towards Israel is very complicated. There's a segment of Turks who view Israel as a successful example of the importation of democracy and westernization into the Middle East. There are also Turks who have an historical aversion to Arabs—stemming from a sense of superiority historically and culturally—which brings them closer to Israel.
Yet, most of the Turkish public is deeply anti-Semitic. This can be seen in the way they believe that Israel wants to take control of Turkey to erase and destroy its Muslim identity.
Israeli President Rivlin and Turkish President Erdogan (Photo: Amil Salman, AP, AFP)
It's impossible to negate the importance of conspiracy theories in Turkish society, particularly the conspiracy regarding the "Dunma"—the descendents of the Sabbateans (followers of the false prophet Sabbatai Tzvi) who converted to Islam—who are allegedly secretly working in the name of "world Jewry" to make Turkey modern, secular, and pro-Israel.
During Erdoğan's first days in office, after he returned from a visit to Israel to remove his party's reputation of being "extremist Islamists," his rivals accused him of having Jewish origins.
Many in the Turkish elite loathe Israel. In fact, this elite was key in protests against the decades-long cooperation between the Israeli government and Turkish military.
Israel is thought of by them as a partner that suppresses human rights, suppresses Muslims, and suppresses other minorities.
Geo-strategic constraints generally don't allow Israel to choose its partners based on moral values. However, does Israel want to have a real reconciliation with Turkey and have good relations with the country while it's still under the control of the "Sultan in Ankara?"
With the current repression of human rights, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and suppression of the Kurdish and Christian minorities under Erdoğan's "dictatorship," Israel can hold off on racing to warm its relationship with Turkey. In fact, reconciliation will only make Israel look worse in the eyes of the Turkish moderates who do wish for better relations with Israel.
In any case, there's no guarantee that if Israel agrees to Erdoğan's demands that he will be any warmer to Israel. In fact, he may even be harsher. If there is a "normalization agreement," it's in Israel's interest to downplay it. Any expression of undue importance will only harm Israel's reputation.
