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On March 28, 1949, Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to formally recognize the State of Israel.[1][2] Israel has been a major supplier of arms to Turkey. Military, strategic, and diplomatic cooperation between Turkey and Israel is accorded high priority by the governments of both countries, which share concerns with respect to the regional instabilities in the Middle East.[3][4][5]
[edit] History
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[edit] During the Turkic migrations
The history of the Jewish-Turkish relations dates back to the 5th century Khazars who were an ethnic Turkic tribe whose leaders chose to embrace rabbinical Judaism. Their kingdom, Khazaria, became a safe haven for Jews all over the world, especially those who fled persecution by Christians. The Russians clearly tried to overrun this kingdom, and after several attempts, Prince Svyatoslav I of Kiev conquered the Khazar fortress of Sarkel in 965. It is believed that he conquered Itil two years later, after which he campaigned in the Balkans. Despite the loss of their nation, the Khazar people did not disappear. Some of them migrated westward into Hungary, Romania, and Poland, mixing with other Jewish communities.
[edit] During the Ottoman rule
Another aspect of the Judeo-Turkic relations is the historical event of 1491, when more than 200,000 Spanish Jews fled the inquisition, and were only accepted by the Ottoman Empire. At that point in time, Istanbul's population was a mere 70,000 (due to the heavy toll of the crusades on the city), so this historical event was significant with respect to many aspects. These Sephardic Jews settled in Istanbul, but also in Thessaloniki which came to be known as "Mother Of Israel" due to its large Jewish population. Many of these Jews later converted to Islam. Among those who converted involuntarily were the "Donmehs" who secretly continued to practice Judaism while outwardly reflecting they were Muslims.
[edit] Republic of Turkey and the establishment of Israel
Turkey also served as a haven for European Jews refuge fleeing Nazi persecution during the 1930s and 1940s. Major Jewish figures were born in Turkey [6].
[edit] Jews in Turkey
[edit] Turks in Israel
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Main article: Turks in Israel
[edit] Economic relations
The Israeli and Turkish navies have conducted joint exercises. There is a plan to build a massive pipeline from Turkey to supply water, electricity, gas and oil to Israel [7]. In 2000, Israel and Turkey signed a free-trade agreement [8].
[edit] Strategic cooperation
It has been reported that the Israeli Mossad played a major role in the capture of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1996 [9]. Despite the cool relations since the accession of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey [10] the Israeli foreign ministry characterized its relations with Turkey as "perfect" in the beginning of 2006. However, in February 2006, a visit paid by Khaled Meshal, a leader of the newly elected Hamas, changed this status. Israeli diplomats went so far as to compare this visit to a possible official visit of Abdullah Öcalan (the imprisoned PKK leader) to Israel, but Turkish authorities immediately denounced this comparison as "irresponsible and erroneous". After Khaled Meshal paid an official visit to Turkey, Turkish-Israeli relations entered a "cooling down" process. Some have suggested that this was only a public relations stunt to show the Islamic world that Turkey was on their side because Turkey had been silent in major issues important to Arabs and the Islamic community like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Lebanon crisis [11]. Israel has even advocated that Turkey make up a majority of peace keepers in Lebanon because it has said that it does not trust troops from other Islamic countries like Bangladesh and Malaysia [12].
[edit] Israeli-Palestinian conflict
[edit] Diplomatic representation
Israel maintains two diplomatic missions in Turkey: Its embassy is located in the Turkish capital, Ankara, and its Consulate General is located in Turkey's biggest city, Istanbul.[13]
- The Israeli ambassador to Turkey is Pinhas Avivi.
- The Embassy compound is located in Mahatma Gandhi Street, 85 G.O.P, Ankara. Tel: +90-312-4463605, Fax: +90-312-4468071, E-mail: info@ankara.mfa.gov.il. The consular reception hours are from Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm, and it has jurisdiction for Israeli consular affairs for all the Turkish territory.[14]
- The Israeli Consul General to Istanbul is Mordehai Amihai.[15]
- The Consulate compound is located in Yapi Kredi Plaza, C Blok K. 7 Levent, Istanbul. Tel: +90 212 317 65 00, Fax: +90 212 317 65 55. The consular reception hours are from Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm, and it has jurisdiction for Israeli consular affairs for the Marmara, Aegean, Eastern Thrace and western part of the Black Sea regions of Turkey.[16]
[edit] Timeline
- March 28, 1949. Turkey becomes one of the first countries to recognize the state of Israel.[17]
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Diplomatic representation
[edit] Other links
