[One million Turks to Jerusalem]
What should the next step in Turkish-Israeli relations be?
by
MEHMET KALYONCU*

The two neighbors should turn these crises into opportunities in order to strengthen their socio-economic and political relationship in a way that would at the same time help solve other ensuing problems, such as the plight of the Palestinians within Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

The latest crisis in bilateral relations was sparked on Jan. 11 when Israel’s deputy foreign minister summoned the Turkish ambassador to Israel in order to protest against a Turkish TV series (“Valley of the Wolves”), which recently depicted Israeli diplomats involved in a sort of child abduction. During the meeting, Mr. Ayalon, speaking in Hebrew, told reporters they should notice that he did not shake hands with the Turkish ambassador, that he was not smiling, that the Turkish ambassador was seated on a lower sofa and that there was no Turkish flag on the table. Once the humiliating intention became apparent, Ankara sent a diplomatic note to Tel Aviv requiring an explanation and an apology for the unfortunate incident.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan weighed in, demanding immediate action from their Israeli counterparts to prevent any further escalation of the crisis. Mr. Gül stressed that unless Israeli authorities apologized in writing to Ankara by that evening, the Turkish ambassador to Israel would fly back to Ankara to start consultations on a structural Turkish response to Israel’s perceived insult to Turkey. In response, differing reactions came from Tel Aviv. Initially, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Ankara’s demand for an official apology by suggesting that the explanation made by Mr. Ayalon was sufficient. However, Ankara continued to exert pressure on Tel Aviv, demanding a written statement clearly expressing the latter’s apology. Tel Aviv’s official apology letter, sent to Ankara on Jan. 13, prevented any further escalation of the crisis.

From a militarized to a civilized Turkish-Israeli relationship

So, what is happening to the Turkish-Israeli relationship? What do these recent crises mean in the long run? The recent series of crises in Turkish-Israeli relations started in 2006, when a Turkish movie titled “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq” pictured an Israeli surgeon involved in trading the organs of dead Iraqis. Although three years later, in 2009, FBI officials arrested five rabbis who led a network of some 40 people, including politicians, and charged them with involvement in human organ trafficking between Brooklyn, New York, Deal, New Jersey, and Israel, what the Turkish movie showed then was quite a daring allegation about Israeli involvement in the US-led invasion of Iraq. Consequently, Ankara was pressured not only by Israel, but also by Jewish-American lobbies in New York and Washington.

Since then, Turkish-Israeli relations improved to the extent that Turkey mediated indirect peace talks between Syria and Israel, only to be outraged by Israel’s military operation in Gaza in January 2009, which left some 1,400 Palestinians dead and dashed hopes for sustainable peace in the region. The already soured relations between the countries were further challenged during the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) January 2009 summit, when Israeli President Shimon Peres crossed the due boundaries of diplomatic courtesy by trying to brush off Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan following his criticism of Israel over its military operation in Gaza. Prime Minister Erdoğan had some two weeks earlier called Israel’s use of phosphorus and cluster bombs against civilians, mainly women and children, a war crime and a crime against humanity.

Only 10 months later, in October 2009, the not-yet-healed Turkish-Israeli relations were once again strained over another TV film series, “Ayrılık” (The Separation), which allegedly depicted the Israeli military forces’ brutality against the Palestinians during Israel’s invasion of Gaza in January. While Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused the Turkish government of being the force behind the TV series and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoğlu, dismissed the allegation, another crisis between Ankara and Tel Aviv had been looming. It was about Israel not delivering Heron unmanned aircraft that Ankara ordered and paid for in 2001.

After all these, from a conceptual perspective, what is happening in the Turkish-Israeli relationship is that the two countries’ long-militarized state-to-state relationship is becoming civilized. The two countries’ relationship dates back to the early 1950s, when it was first initiated under the auspices of Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as part of the latter’s peripheral alliance strategy. The relationship has deepened over time, albeit under heavy military control and far from civilian scrutiny, eventually turning into a strategic partnership in 1997, again with heavy Turkish General Staff oversight. Since 2002, however, on both sides, civilians including media outlets, civil society organizations and business networks are becoming more aware and vocal about the relations between the two countries. It is certainly so for Turkey, and the proliferation of criticism of Israel in the Turkish media is the most immediate effect of that change.

Critics of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government inside and outside Turkey apparently blame Prime Minister Erdoğan and his party for the increased Turkish criticism of Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. However, it is not the AK Party but the growing Turkish civil society that brought the AK Party into office and that is responsible for Turkey’s increasingly critical attitude toward Israel, and this is a sort of democratic change in Turkey that Israel has to live with from now on.

Eliminate visa requirements between Turkey and Israel

Nevertheless, repercussions for Israel from this change can be minimized with a series of reforms. These reforms should aim to deepen the civilian dimension of the Turkish-Israeli relationship by creating conditions that would boost the exchanges between the two countries. In line with Ankara’s emphasis on lifting visa requirements between Turkey and as many countries as possible, it would be an important step in the right direction to eliminate the visa requirement between Turkey and Israel. Accordingly, Ankara should encourage more and more Turks to visit Israel for touristic, business, humanitarian and educational purposes. Turkish businesses should develop long-term economic relations with their Israeli counterparts, and mainly with Arab Israelis. Similarly, Turkish media and civil society organizations should increase their presence, especially in Jerusalem, in order to ensure the continued stream of objective and accurate news to the Turkish audience.

The present visa policy between Turkey and Israel restricts only the Turks’ travel to Israel, but not the Israelis’ travel to Turkey. Practically speaking, almost no Israeli visitor is denied entry into Turkey. Both the ease of getting a Turkish visa and its proximity to Israel make Turkey a preferred destination for many Israelis. According to a Jerusalem Post report, Turkey was the second most popular tourism destination for Israelis after the United States, and every year about 300,000 Israelis came to visit Turkey. They visit not only major cities and touristic spots such as İstanbul, İzmir, Antalya and Cappadocia, but also the most unusual ones such as Hopa, Artvin, Rize and Trabzon. Part of the reason for Turkey’s high popularity among Israelis should be the hospitality and welcoming environment they find throughout Turkey. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s recent dismissal of allegations that anti-Semitism was on the rise in Turkey speaks to that fact.

However, the mutual visa policy of the two countries is not at all as favorable to Turks as it is to the Israelis. While any Israeli can easily obtain a Turkish visa in Israel, or in 10 minutes at the İstanbul Atatürk Airport, Turks intending to travel to Israel have to wait for days, if not weeks, for an Israeli visa before enduring hours of random questioning while entering and exiting Tel Aviv’s David Ben Gurion Airport.

Should Israel be convinced to reciprocate Turkey’s goodwill on visa policy, better yet, to mutually lift the visa requirement, Turks could and should make Israel, especially Jerusalem, one of their most preferred destinations for business, education and touristic activities. Doing so would enable Turks to better understand contemporary Israel and its aspirations in the region. It would also enable Turks to contribute to strengthening the Palestinians’ socio-economic conditions, thereby creating better prospects for a sustainable two-state solution. For a start, Ankara may aim to raise the number of Turks visiting Israel and the West Bank to 1 million per year. Given that Jerusalem is the third holiest city for Muslims after Mecca and Medina, and a former Ottoman territory, it would not be difficult to increase that number thereafter.

In the final analysis, the recent series of crises in the Turkish-Israeli relationship is not a sign of deterioration. On the contrary, they symbolize normalization and a change in the over-militarized nature of that relationship into a civilized one. Both Ankara and Tel Aviv should take advantage of these crises and turn them into opportunities to foster multiple channels of communication between the Turkish and Israeli societies. Following such a course would not only pave the way for Israel to normalize its relationship with its neighbors in the region, but also enable Turkey to better contribute to the resolution of the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

*Mehmet Kalyoncu is an international relations analyst and the author of the book “A Civilian Response to Ethno-Religious Conflict: The Gülen Movement in Southeast Turkey.”