Israel-Turkey: Another Visit for the "Strategic" Relationship

Following Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit to Ankara, Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal will today hold official meetings with Turkish officials on the biannual Turkish-Israeli strategic dialogue.

According to Israeli officials, the last meeting was held six months ago. The discussion included regional developments such as those in Iran and Iraq as well as relationss with the European Union.

According to the Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, the scheduled visit of Gal --- who is seen as a representative of the "hawkish" wing of Israeli politics --- is a "positive" sign that West Jerusalem wants to ameliorate relations, even though Israeli officials stated that it was scheduled well before last week's diplomatic crisis between Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and Turkish ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol.

Today on EA (18 January 2010)

Iran: There's a lot going on in and about Iran today - the trials are continuing; the Regime's propaganda machine trundles on too! All the news, including links to our own stories and other news media, can be found on our live weblog.

In the light of the Ashura demonstrators' trial starting this morning, and as they are charged with "Mohareb" (offending God and the prophet), Edward Yeranian assesses how this may hurt the regime.

We’ve got the video of the CNN interview in which Tehran University academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi lays out, in the guise of reporting and analysis, the strategy. (Apologies to those of you in the US whom CNN have blocked from seeing the video; the alternative, as laid out by our readers, is to download the video from CNN’s Amanpour website and play it back using QuickTime.)

Afghanistan: We have an evaluation from Juan Cole on this morning's Taliban bomb attack in Kabul, which reportedly killed five and injured eight people. A video of the Esanech (Press TV) report on the attack can be viewed here.

Haiti: EA's Josh Shahyrar has been producing an almost constant humanitarian liveblog since the Haiti earthquake disaster last Tuesday - read his latest posts (17-18 January) here.

Israel: EA's Ali Yenidunya reports on the "strategic" relationship between Israel and Turkey, following Sunday's 3.5 hour meeting in Ankara between Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. An Israeli official said the meeting was conducted "in a very friendly atmosphere".

Palestine: After Israel's Foreign Minister said on Sunday that it would make no further "gestures" towards the Palestinians, Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas has called on Washington to "Draw Red Lines".

The "Strategic" Israel-Turkey Relationship: Barak's Ankara Visit

On Sunday, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak held a 3 1/2-hour meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, which an Israeli official said was conducted in a very friendly atmosphere. During Barak's meeting with Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, the former again acknowedged reiterated the "mistake" of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's snub of the Turkish ambassador to Israel:

I believe it was a mistake, and the right step was taken according to the norms of diplomacy. It is appropriate that all the ups and downs in our relationship over the years should be solved and put behind us.

A satisfied Gonul highlighted the "strategic" relationship between both countries:

We are living in the same area and although we don’t have a common border with Israel, we have the same interests. As long as we share interests, we will work together. We are strategic allies. We would like to cooperate with Israel in every area.

Barak responded, "We see Turkey as a very important regional player. I have the confidence that we can continue to follow good friendly cooperation despite ups and downs."

So what were the components of this "strategic" relationship? In the press briefing, three main topics were put forth: Iran's nuclear programme, Turkey's role in the currently blocked peace talks between Syria and Israel, and cooperation in the defense sector.

When asked by an Israeli reporter whether Ankara was able to satisfy Tel Aviv's concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme, Gonul said that every country has the right to develop nuclear energy, yet Turkey would not like to see a nuclear-armed Iran. When Barak was reminded about Turkey's mediation offer, he said that there has been an offer so there is no need to bring it forward since there is no detail on the peace talks yet.
Both leaders then talked about the details of the Heron deal, in which Israel will send six jet fighters to Turkey in March and four in June.

The Ayalon Affair: "Israel Needs Morality; Not a Gangster Diplomacy"

UPDATE 1020 GMT: Despite the criticism of his behaviour, Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon is not expressing regrets. To the contrary, he is backing away from his formal apology to Turkey: In an interview with Channel 2, he said:

[Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's] policy is proving to be effective. We will not allow a situation where every country will kick us. If there will be an attack on Israel, we will leave all options open, including the expulsion of ambassadors. We do not want to argue with anyone, but we will not sit idly by.

Ayalon took a specific swipe at Turkey in the guise of "clarifying" the incident with Ankara's ambassador:

The story with the cameras wasn't planned, I didn't think it was being recorded, and if it was --- I didn't think it would be aired with sound. My intention wasn't to humiliate, but to send a visual message. The ambassador didn't feel humiliated either --- only once reporters started calling him. The picture was aimed at the Turks, to send them a message. I think what (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan did to (Israeli President Shimon) Peres in Davos (over the Gaza War) is humiliation, not this.

Israel-Palestine: US Envoy Mitchell Coming with “No Guarantees”?

Haaretz's Zvi Bar'el questioned today Israel's humiliation Turkey's ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, which he called "gangster diplomacy', and wrote the prescription for a moral Israel to demand morality from others:

Now we have also shown the Turks who we are, because when it comes to the Jewish, Zionist honor of a nation that endured the Holocaust and the Goldstone report, no one will make a movie about us - certainly not the Turks - portraying us as war criminals. If Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks he can reprimand us without a reaction, we'll show him and all the other countries of the world.


There's no choice because they only understand force. Britain wants to boycott Israeli goods? We'll summon the British ambassador and have him sit on a bed of nails. The United States handles the settlements unfairly? We'll point an unloaded gun at the American ambassador's head and pull the trigger, just to scare him. We're not murderers. We're just trying to frighten, which, as is well known, creates respect. Just ask the Godfather.

But if we're going to put on a performance like this, it's important to do it in style because it gets ridiculous when directors sit on high, uncomfortable chairs with their feet barely touching the ground just to achieve a superior level. Instead of arranging a professional humiliation room and ordering a low chair facing a real master with elevator shoes or barstools, and maintaining a supply of ripped national flags for each country (because who knows if tomorrow we'll have to humiliate the Swedish or Irish ambassador?), they threw everything together at the last minute last week. Proper lighting is an essential element of gangster diplomacy and not a job for amateurs. Our deputy foreign minister merely gave us second-rate humiliation.

The other aspect of the affair is a matter of honor and morals. The polished statement from the Foreign Ministry spokesman said that "the statement by Prime Minister Erdogan comes in addition to the anti-Turkish television program .... The State of Israel reserves its full right to defend its citizens from missile and terrorist attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah, and Turkey is the last one that can preach morals to the State of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces." This indictment featured three accusations: that Erdogan is cooperating with Turkish television, that he is undermining Israel's security, and especially that he is jumping to the head of the line in preaching morals instead of taking his place behind Europe and the United States.

No one bothered to say that the Turkish television series, in which actually the United States was attacked in the first episode, was produced back in 2003 and made into a film in 2006. They only decided to produce further episodes because of the project's huge commercial success. This time there was a mix of Mafia, Mossad, kidnapping of children and Turkish heroism. The series was distributed by Star TV, which is owned by Erdogan's bitter rival, Aydin Dogan. So Erdogan is innocent of the first accusation against him.

The two other accusations are much more serious. Turkey actually supports Israel's security. It buys unmanned aircraft from Israel to fight terrorism perpetrated by the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, both in Turkey and Iraq. By using Israeli technology, Turkey knows where to direct its bombing against the PKK, in which civilians are also killed. Turkey is doing in Iraq what Israel does in Gaza. The major question is who is more moral? The seller of the weapon who knows whom it will be used against or the one who uses it?

If Israel had wanted to behave morally, it would have demanded, as the United States has, that its technology not be used in a war against civilians. Maybe it would have lost a $200 million deal, but it would have won the right to say that Turkey is the last country that has the right to accuse others. Does anyone really think Defense Minister Ehud Barak will make a similar demand on the use of Israeli technology during his visit to Turkey today?

If Israel had wanted to behave morally, it would have recognized the Armenian genocide despite Turkish opposition, but it is afraid that taking a moral stance on that issue would cost it dearly. If Israel had wanted to behave morally, it would have lifted the siege on 1.5 million civilians in Gaza long ago - not for Erdogan, but for Israel itself.

So morals are not the issue, but rather Turkey's place in line among those preaching morals. But because this is a case of two friendly countries, and neither is so righteous, why should Turkey be the one to be pushed to the end of the line in the contest over self-righteousness?

Israel: Another Attempt at an Arrest Warrant for Barak

Following the issuance of an arrest warrant by a British court against Israel's former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Istanbul-based Mazlum-Der, an Islamic human rights group, petitioned a prosecutor on Friday to start legal proceedings against Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The warrant is sought for alleged crimes committed against Palestinians during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.

So far, Turkey's Justice Ministry has rejected similar moves. Barak is expected to arrive Ankara on Sunday.

Israel: Foreign Ministry Divided after Ayalon’s Apology