Will Turkey and Israel Make Up?

In 2014, an advisor to Erdogan called Turkey’s regional isolation “precious loneliness.” But when faced with a quagmire on its long Syrian border, an increasing ISIS threat, a hostile Russia following the downing of a Russian jet by Turkish war-planes in November, and a burgeoning Kurdish entity on its southern flank, Turks no longer feel confident about their regional solitude. In many ways, both Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan are lone wolves who remain popular domestically but isolated otherwise. In a region in turmoil, a return to a functional relationship is a basic strategic need for both leaders. Erdogan himself publicly admitted as much last week, telling reporters, “Israel is in need of a country like Turkey in the region. We have to admit that we also need Israel” on his way back from Saudi Arabia.