The other day, he started yelling something (he speaks in yell) about how Israel had bullied Turkey. At first, the way he presented it was so convoluted that I had no idea what he was talking about, or when it had happened. But then I eventually realized he was talking about a very recent event, and I actually found it quite disturbing.
To make a long story short, Israel had been offended when a popular Turkish t.v. show Valley of the Wolves (also made into a film) depicted Israeli soldiers kidnapping Turkish babies. In another Turkish t.v. show last October, Israelis were shown killing Palestinians. In one particularly offensive scene, an Israeli soldier kills a young, smiling Palestinian girl at close range.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Ambassador Oguz Celikkol to a discusion, hoping that the Turkish ambassador would apologize over the series. The big hullaballoo that ensued resulted from the Ayalon's decision about how to treat the ambassador when he arrived.
Imagine this--it's a "diplomatic" meeting, and the table only had the Israeli flag...and the ambassador had to sit in a chair far below the Deputy Foreign Minister. You can see the picture above, the writing titles the picture as "The height of humiliation". Footage of the Israeli officials sitting high above the ambassador circulated around Israel, as well as Ayalon stating in Hebrew "there is only one flag" and "we are not smiling".
To really understand why this is a big deal, you have to know a bit more about Turkish-Israeli relations. Turkey has had an increasingly complex relationship with Isreal, as Turkey has begun to lean more heavily towards its Islamic roots and away from the west. Israel has become increasingy alarmed by Turkey's strengthening ties with Russia, Iran, and other Islamic countries, as has the U.S.
At the same time, Turkey's current Prime Minister, Recip Erdoğan, has raised an increasingly loud protesting voice against Israel's actions in the Gaza region, condemning the violence and "gangster" type policies Israel has been using to promote its agenda. While many praise Erdoğan for his protests, others claim that he doesn't have much room to condemn, given the oft-condemned violence against minority groups in Turkey.
I understand both points of view. On the one hand, it's hard to stomach Erdoğan's critique of Israel's "gangster" policies, while he is strengthening ties with Israel and Russia, two countries notorious for their less than inspiring diplomacy and democratic policies within their own nations. And at the same time, Israel's choice to belittle Turkey in such a way does nothing to strengthen the weakening ties they worry about, and only serves to further polarize the two regions. Turks already have views on Israelis and Jews that are very generalized, prejudiced, and dangerous. And it's ironic that they will bash Israelis for being nationalistic and prideful, when Turks and even Turkish immigrants constantly praise Turkey as the most glorious nation in the world with the best food, the best people, the richest history, etc.
At the same time, I worry about how the West approaches Turkey. Israel did apologize later, and then expressed its concern over Turkey's current political priorities. But the West has a delicate tight-rope to walk when it comes to Turkey, and when it comes to incorporating Islamic nations in general. On the one hand, we have to maintain our integrity about what we will and will not tolerate in human rights and foreign policiy, but at the same time, we have to realize that the more we push away, humiliate, and exlude Turkey, the more we polarize the nation and risk Turkey as an ally.
Obama was wise to come to Turkey first after he was elected president, and I'm curious to see what his continued policies will be. We should not underestimate how valuable it is to have Turkey strongly on our side. I am really beginning to understand how this Islamic nation with one foot in the West and one foot in the East truly might truly be the fulcrum that our Islamic diplomacy balances on.
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