Israel is considering closing its consulate in Istanbul against the backdrop of the deepening diplomatic crisis with Turkey, leaving only the Israeli Embassy in Ankara as its official mission in the country.
Both Israeli missions in Turkey, the embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul, have been unmanned since the October 7 Hamas massacre. Israeli diplomats assigned to Turkey are currently stationed in Bulgaria, while locally employed staff are working from home.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(Photo: Turkish Presidency Press Office/ AFP)
There is no consensus among professional officials at the Foreign Ministry over whether to close the Istanbul consulate. Some officials believe such a move would be a mistake and warn that reopening the mission later could be extremely difficult. Others argue that maintaining an empty diplomatic mission, while local staff work remotely, is a waste of public funds.
Another factor under consideration is Istanbul’s Jewish community. According to estimates, about 15,000 Jews live in Turkey’s main port city, and closing the consulate could be seen as a blow to the community.
‘A very serious mistake’
Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an Israeli expert on Turkey, warned against the move.
“It would be a very serious mistake,” he said. “In Erdogan’s Turkey, if and when we lose this representation, it will be very difficult afterward to turn the wheel back and inaugurate it again. I think we must focus more on the diplomatic significance than on the financial costs. It will cause us damage.”
He said Israel could also use its diplomatic presence in Turkey as leverage.
“If, tomorrow or the day after, we want to take a diplomatic step toward Turkey, this could play as a tool we can use, and we could also take a similar parallel step by lowering their diplomatic level in Israel,” he said.
Yanarocak added that a unilateral Israeli move would likely not prompt a parallel Turkish step.
“Once you take a unilateral position, it does not seem to me that the Turks will make a parallel move,” he said. “From their point of view, the counterpart of their embassy in Tel Aviv is the embassy in Ankara, and the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem is not parallel to the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. In their eyes, it is as if it is the Turkish embassy in Palestine. So they will not take any step, and we will lose an important diplomatic station in Istanbul. It is an own goal. Beyond that, the Jewish community will feel abandoned.”
About a week and a half ago, security forces in Istanbul arrested a man who opened fire at a building near the Israeli consulate in the city. There were no injuries in the incident, and no damage was caused to the consulate building.
In April, terrorists opened fire near the consulate building. One terrorist was killed in the exchange of fire and two police officers were wounded.
The Foreign Ministry said no decision has been made on the matter.