Israeli-Turkish relations
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Turkey-Israel relations date to March 28, 1949, when Turkey became the first country with a Muslim majority to formally recognize the State of Israel. [1][2] Since then, 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]
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[edit] History
[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. 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.
[edit] During the Ottoman rule
A key moment in Judeo-Turkic relations occurred in 1492, when more than 150,000 Spanish Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition, many to the Ottoman Empire. At that point in time, Constantinople's population was a mere 70,000 due to the various sieges of the city during the Crusades and the so-called Black Death of the 14th century, so this historical event was also significant for its repopulation of the city. These Sephardic Jews settled in Constantinople as well as Thessaloniki, which came to be known as "Mother Of Israel" due to its overwhelming Jewish majority.
[edit] Republic of Turkey and the establishment of Israel
Turkey also served as a transit for European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during the 1930s and 1940s, although it was implicated in the Struma disaster.[6] [7]
[edit] Current relations
[edit] Strategic cooperation
Despite the cool relations since the accession of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey,[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
Turkey deploys the Israeli-improved Sabra main-battle tank.
Talks regarding the sale of Israeli Ofeq satellites and Arrow missile air-defence systems to Turkey have taken place, pending United States approval. The systems would be a generational leap for the Turkish military and intelligence capabilities, which are concerned with Iran's nuclear program.[11]
[edit] Diplomatic relations
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.[12]
- 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.[13]
- The Israeli Consul General to Istanbul is Mordehai Amihai.[14]
- 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.[15]
On a three-day visit to Ankara in November 2007, Israeli President Shimon Peres met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül, and addressed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the first time an Israeli President has addressed a Muslim country's parliament. Peres and Gul differed on what action was to be taken regarding Iran's nuclear program, Peres publicly saying that he didn't believe energy-rich Iran was interested in nuclear power. Gul said that he would work to free the abducted Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev.[11][16]
[edit] Arab-Israeli conflict
A joint Israeli-Palestinian industrial park is being developed under the Turkish aegis. Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey a day apart to discuss resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and greater Arab-Israeli conflict weeks before the 2007 Mideast peace conference at Annapolis, Maryland. Peres said that "Turkey is an important player in the Middle East in relation to the United States,Syria and the Palestinians, as well as us."[11] According to the Jerusalem Post, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Foreign Ministry indicated to a Kuwaiti newspaper that "Turkey is used as a channel of communication" between Syria and Israel.[17]
[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.[18] In 2000, Israel and Turkey signed a free-trade agreement.[19]
[edit] See also
- Foreign relations of Turkey
- Foreign relations of Israel
- History of the Jews in Turkey
- List of Turkish diplomats
- Ambassadors of Israel
- Jewish Museum of Turkey
- List of synagogues in Turkey
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/documents/44edf1a5d337f.pdf
- ^ Turkey and Israel
- ^ BBC News | Middle East | Analysis: Middle East's 'phantom alliance'
- ^ http://ankara.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?subjectid=18367&missionid=65&languageid=0&statusi
- ^ http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/New_World_Order/PowerBloc_TurkeyIsrael
- ^ David Ben-Gurion
- ^ Mallet, Laurent-Olivier: La Turquie, les Turcs et les Juifs - Histoire, Représentations, Discours et Stratégies. Istanbul, Editions ISIS, 2008, 614p.[1]
- ^ Radikal-çevrimiçi / Yorum / Ortadoğu'da denge arayışı
- ^ Turkey, Israel and the US
- ^ Turkish Weekly Comment - The New UN Force in Lebanon: Should Turkey Participate?
- ^ a b c Yaakov Katz. "Israel may sell Arrow and Ofek to Turkey", The Jerusalem Post, November 12, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- ^ Web Sites of Israeli Missions Abroad
- ^ The Israeli Government's Official Website, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ^ http://istanbul.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?SubjectID=15851&MissionID=66&LanguageID=0&StatusID=0&DocumentID=-1
- ^ The Israeli Government's Official Website, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- ^ Yaakov Katz. "Peres, Gul at odds over Iran nuke threat", The Jerusalem Post, November 13, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
- ^ "Damascus confirms channel with Israel", The Jerusalem Post, March 30, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
- ^ http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961328841&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull.
- ^ http://www.dtm.gov.tr/ab/ingilizce/sta/israil/israel.htm
[edit] External links
- Embassy of Israel in Ankara, Turkey
- Consulate General of Israel in Istanbul, Turkey
- A timeline of Turkey-Israel relations by the Washington Institute of Near East Studies
- [2]
- [3]
- "Will Turkey be complicit in another war against another neighbour?", CASMII, February 24, 2008.
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