Israel: A Government Divided over Turkey and "The Ayalon Crisis"?

The Israeli Government is still in some confusion after Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's full apology over his "undiplomatic" attitude towards Turkey's ambassador Ahmet Oguz Celikkol. Israel's President Shimon Peres said that Ayalon's treatment reflected the "mistake of one man, not of the state":

It was not diplomatic... and it's good that he apologized. This should not be connected to the whole state or to all diplomats. We must learn not to do this again.

However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry slammed a group of 17 members of Parliament who sent a letter of apology to Turkey over Ayalon's treatment of the ambassador. A member of Ayalon's staff told Israel Radio:

Israel and Turkey: “Ayalon Has Nothing to Apologize For"
Israel & Turkey: A Reset in Relations?

Ayalon respects the MKs who apologized, but where were they over the past two years of anti-Semitic broadcasts in the Turkish media and unbridled criticism of Israel from Ankara? After two years in which Turkey has failed to get the diplomatic message, we had to start making a noise one official told Israel.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel does not want a confrontation with Turkey but will not tolerate anti-Semitic remarks and incitement against Jews.

In contrast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his satisfaction with Ayalon's apology. So, could the ambassador crisis, possibly planned by Lieberman and played out by Ayalon, bring an advantage to the Prime Minister?

Netanyahu could use the incident to diminish, if not neutralise, the influence of Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu party. He couldameliorate Israel's image in the eyes of  the international community, bringing credibility in the approaching round of peace talks. And, in case of another crisis with Ankara, he could walk the line that apologies will be offered if any mistake is made but Turkey's continuous criticisms is an unwarranted expression of anti-Semitism.

In the short term, the Israeli Prime Minister has kept talks with Ankara on track. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared, "Israel must put itself in order and it must be more just and more on the side of peace in the region," but given Ayalon's apology, Erdogan was ready for discussions.

That process is well under way. Before Defense Minister Ehud Barak's visit to Ankara on Sunday, Ministry official Udi Shani returned from an official visit in which the March delivery of 10 Heron drone aircraft to Turkey was confirmed.

UPDATED Israel & Turkey: A Reset in Relations?

UPDATE 14 January: On Wednesday evening, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon sent a letter of apology to the Turkish Ambassador to Israel, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol.



Ayalon wrote: "The disputes between Israel and Turkey will be solved in a respectful and mutual manner between the two governments. There was no intention to humiliate the ambassador personally. I apologize for the way Israel's protest was presented."

UPDATE 1655 GMT: Another twist in the tale, according to Haaretz:

The Turkish media reported Wednesday that Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday after Jerusalem said it would not issue a second, formal apology for Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon's treatment of the Turkish envoy.

"This is the final decision on the matter," said a senior Foreign Ministry official earlier Wednesday. The decision was made during consultations between the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office, officials said.

Turkish ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol will depart at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday. It is unclear when, or if, he will return.

On Tuesday, Ankara called in the Israeli Ambassador to Turkey, Gabby Levy, to clarify the statement of Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's, "The Turks are the last ones who can preach morality to Israel." The message was clear: Turkey wanted a public apology from Ayalon.

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Relations had been inflamed when Turkey's Ambassador, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, had been received in Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, with the press taking pictures of him sitting "lower" than Ayalon. Indeed, those pictures were taken as Celikkol waited outside the meeting room. Ayalon then said: "I won't apologize. It's the Turks who should --- for what [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan said and for the television series [allegedly slandering Israeli officials and denigrating the Israeli flag]....We are merely setting boundaries."


However, the tension seems to be ebbing. Until late Tuesday, Ankara was sending messages to West Jerusalem that measures would could be taken if Ayalon did not offer an apology, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood behind his Deputy Foreign Minister.

Then Celikkol was recalled to Ankara. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that it was not possible to continue dialogue with Israel. The Jerusalem Post alleged that Celikikol might not return.

Why the shift? Criticisms over Ayalon's "undiplomatic manner" were increasing, as even many officials in Ayalon's party, Israel Beiteinu, said the incident would greatly harm his chances of succeeding party head Avigdor Lieberman as Foreign Minister."He is finished politically," an Israel Beiteinu official said. "This ruins his reputation as a diplomat. It is a stain that cannot be erased. He damaged Lieberman and first and foremost himself."

Labor MK Daniel Ben-Simon called upon Netanyahu to summon Ayalon to his office and put him on a low chair "so he will see how low Israeli diplomacy has stooped." The Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said, "We have enough problems with the Muslim world without picking a fight with a country that has 72 million Muslims."

And Ayalon's behaviour elevated the possibility that Lieberman was trying to torpedo Defense Minister Ehud Barak's scheduled meeting to Turkey next week, in particular preventing Ankara from mediating Israel's peace talks with Syria. "We get the sense that Lieberman wants to heat things up before Barak's visit," a senior Foreign Ministry source said. "All of the recent activities were part of Lieberman's political agenda."

With the moves of the last 24 hours, Netanyahu has checked Lieberman's and attempted to give a "positive" image to the world while maintaining concerns over Turkey's regional manoeuvres. Netanyahu said: "Turkey is consistently gravitating eastward to Syria and Iran rather than westward [over the last two years]. This is a trend that certainly has to worry Israel."

UPDATED Israel: Loyalty, Lives, and the Arab Population

UPDATE 7 January: The bill proposing that the state enforce equal allocation of land to Jews and Arabs was not only rejected by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation but also by the Knesset on Wednesday.

Therefore, the Reception Committees of Israeli Communities can decide who will reside in their towns and can prevent Israeli Arabs from living in the same town.

*** ***

On Sunday, the Ministerial Legislation Committee of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, discussed a bill for legislators to swear a "loyalty oath" to the Jewish character of Israel. At the end, the bill was passed to the coalition leaders due to the fear that the Labor Party would veto it.

The bill, proposed by Israel Beiteinu MK David Rotem, would change the oath from "I pledge loyalty to the State of Israel," to "I pledge loyalty to the State of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist, democratic state, and to its symbols and values". Rotem explained the aim of the proposal: "It is to make sure MKs are loyal to Israel as a Jewish state. Anyone who doesn't want to be faithful should not be an MK."

The bill emerged after MK Taleb a-Sanaa (United Arab List-Ta'al) allowed, via his cellphone, Gaza leader Ismail Haniya to address the protesters at the Erez crossing of Israel. Rotem added:

Anyone who saw and heard recently remarks made be MKs [Taleb] A-Sana and [Jamal] Zehalka who vilified the defense minister and allowed the biggest enemy of the State of Israel to speak to the public via a mobile phone owned by the Knesset and the state, understands intuitively that there is a need to bring MKs to be loyal to the state.

More importantly, another bill proposing that the state enforce equal allocation of land to Jews and Arabs was rejected. The measure was intended to counter a bill, passed two weeks ago, which states that reception committees of Israeli communities can decide who will reside in their towns. The author of the bill, MK Ahmed Tibi, said:

Yet again, the Israeli government has proven that it is avoiding the principle of civil equality.... [The Government] ignores Arabs' rights, and hasn't approved the building of a new Arab village since 1948. The government failed at the challenge I placed before it, and that saddens me.

Since the foundation of the state, the Israel Lands Administration is solely used as Jewish land administration. The director of the Israel Lands Administration has used all the tactics, with the help of the Jewish Agency, to allocate state land only to Jews. Despite the bitter attempt over the decades, not even one Arab town has been established since the state's foundation. Therefore a bill must be passed which stipulates that the Israel Lands Administration will serve all the state's citizens without discrimination on religion or nationality, and will promise an equal allocation of land to better the Arab population of Israel.

Video: Israel's Tension Within --- The Gaza Argument on Channel 1

Last Thursday, Jamal Zahalka, a member of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) was removed from a Channel 1 studio after a heated argument with host Dan Margalit over Israel's military operations and economic blockade of Gaza.



Two days after the programme, Zahalka accused the Israeli media of surrendering to the state and of running an "incitement campaign" against him. He said his party would continue to work to reveal "the war crimes of Israel, whose hands are dipped in children's blood."

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Approximately 1000 Israeli Arabs, including members of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, gathered Thursday on the Israeli side of the Gaza border to protest Israel's continuing blockade of the area. They were "met" by about 500 people, including 100 international activists, on the Gaza side.

The rhetoric was far from muted. Israeli Arab MK Jamal Zahalka said that Defense Minister Ehud Barak enjoys "classical music and killing children in Gaza" Following his criticism, Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh declared that Gazans were "much stronger" a year after Israeli's invasion in Operation Cast Lead. He added, "We have overcome the occupation, and will meet at the Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem, which will remain Arab and Muslim."