These days there are intense talks between Israel and Turkey in an effort to improve the poor relations that have developed between the two countries over the past two years, especially since the flotilla affair in May 2010. However, there is a disagreement between those who want to meet Turkish demands for an Israeli apology and compensation to the families of the casualties, and those who are willing to only "express sorrow" and maybe offer indirect compensation.
In the assessment of those who believe that the demands should be met, Jerusalem needs Ankara more than Ankara needs Jerusalem and therefore every effort should be made in order not to upset the Turkish government, especially the man at its head, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In their view, Israel should walk lightly and if need be, crawl and kowtow. Only thus, they would argue in private, will we be able to restore the "strategic alliance" which was a major part of Israel's regional policy.
Then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in 2008. There are better ways to repair our relationship than by crawling back to them with apologies.
That is why senior Israeli statesmen almost never respond to the attacks of Erdogan and stay away from debates in the Turkish media, even though they could influence the open political dialogue with the main elite groups there.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman may express vigorous opinions on the matter, but his position is viewed in Turkey as prejudiced and not representative.
The logic of this stance is problematic for a number of reasons. First, it should it should be understood that damage to Israel's "strategic alliance" with Turkey is irreversible. In the foreseeable future we will not be able to resume defense, military or intelligence cooperation, mostly because the other side is not interested in bringing it back.
Those who would want these kinds of cooperations, and in the past even carried it on without the knowledge or the agreement of Ankara, have lost their ability to act. The independence and political position of the Turkish army has been eroded and Erdogan controls the Turkish intelligence service, MIT.
The stability brought to political life in Turkey by the ruling party in recent years enabled the government to remove the army from the political scene, to which it had been called a number of times in the past to intervene in order "to save the nation" from the chaos created by the politicians of the old elites.
Removing the military from politics also stemmed from pressures from the European Union to adopt democratic reform, which may ease Turkey's accession process to the EU.
Normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey will not mean the resumption of any alliance, but at most a change in rhetoric. Trade relations have not suffered, except in defense, and this is a trend that will unlikely change for the worse.
Therefore the main question is why should Israel get down on its hands and knees and apologize? What is the return that it may receive in return for the humiliation in its political standing in the eyes of the Turkish elites, which will not consider this a gesture, but a withdrawal and a clear sign of weakness?
On the other hand, improving the atmosphere between the countries could be achieved in a different way. Israel has strategic assets that are very important for Turkey, which aspires to wield influence and have a role in the various Middle Eastern arenas.
Ankara too understands, especially after it was burned by the boiling "Arab Spring," that without working relations with Israel and a rebuilding of basic Israeli trust, its government will not be able to take part in future regional processes. The minute that this is made unequivocally clear, even the appeasers will be surprised to witness the speed with which the style of Erdogan and his aides will change vis-a-vis Israel and its government.
The writer is professor of Ottoman and Middle Eastern history at Tel Aviv University.
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The inability on the part of the Turkish government (and much of its media, and seemingly the majority of its citizens) to self-criticize, and to accept that at least parts of Israel's viewpoint in the matter are justified, is a sign of a primitive mindset. Turkey could continue to claim that Israel was unjustified in imposing an embargo and in boarding the boat, but at least to admit that the violence on the Mavi Marmara was initiated by the Turks there, and deliberately premeditatedly so; this would smooth the way to Israel making appropriate comments and gestures. However their total rejection of the facts and their insistence on the primitive 'apology' issue, indicates that no future alliance with Turkey under the present government will be able to withstand any of the inevitable pressures. It may well be to Israel's advantage to wait it out, since Turkey, if continuing on its present path, will inevitably alienate others as well. Just as China's muscle-flexing and xenophobia and elitism alienated Vietnam and the rest of SE Asia, and ironically brought that region closer to the US, so too Greece Bulgaria Romania and soon others in Turkey's neighborhood will join with Israel to contain the newly primitive-minded Turkey. Hopefully eventually this will enable the sane moderate and open-minded minority in Turkey to lead Turkey in a more productive direction.
Let the trade continue. Military cooperation will never be in good faith from them so drop it immediately. The politics with this Islamist government, with its ottoman tendencies, will never be good. Israel must work on building its friendship with the Greeks, Bulgarians, Armenians, Russians and Kurds and let Turkey embrace Hamas, the arab world in general, the persians, and whoever else that they want to...
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