Despite Raid, Mostly Business as Usual for Israel and Turkey
TEL AVIV — Since the deadly Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla, Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Jerusalem and banned Israeli military planes from the country's airspace, while its prime minister has called the Jewish state "a lying machine." Israel, for its part, has warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey.
But in most other respects, it is still business as usual between the longtime allies.
A military and government delegation from Turkey is in Israel right now, its officers and soldiers rumbling through the sands of the Negev learning how to operate the same pilotless aircraft often used by Israel to hunt Palestinian militants in Gaza. They are there, said an Israeli official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal, because the Israeli instructors who were training them in Turkey were called home after the flotilla raid.
Still, the $190 million deal for the drones has not been canceled. Nor have most of the civilian business dealings, from textiles to irrigation systems, that accounted for almost $3 billion in trade last year, business analysts said. "Everything is according to schedule," the Israeli official said. "There are no changes. It's business as usual."
"There are good business contacts," said Soli Ozel, a professor of international relations at Istanbul Biligi University. "The business community would like to see that continue."
The investment and trade that continue beneath the surface are reminders of the deep and interconnected ties that Turkey and Israel have forged over the years as regional misfits — Israel as the Jewish state and Turkey as a Muslim country that straddles Europe and Asia. When the investments are years in the making, as most of the weapons deals are, and with Turkey relying on Israeli technical support, the ties are not so easily broken.
Hard figures are difficult to come by when it comes to defense contracts, but Lale Sariibrahimoglu, the Turkey correspondent for Jane's Defense Weekly, says that Turkish military sources said that military trade between the countries totaled around $1.8 billion in 2007. Israel, she says, was second only to the United States as a source of military technology for Turkey.
Turkey maintains that full reconciliation with Israel is possible only if Israel apologizes for the raid on the Turkish ship, provides compensation for the wounded and the families of those killed and agrees to an independent international inquiry.
So far, Israel has resisted the idea of an independent investigation, but the Israeli government has tried its best to tone down the crisis and patch up relations. This week, for example, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, a cabinet member who has cultivated close ties with the Turks, to a secret meeting with the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu.
"It is not in the interest of Israel, or even Turkey, that this relationship continue to deteriorate," Mr. Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 1, the state television station, on Friday. "Israel cannot apologize because its soldiers had to defend themselves to avoid being lynched by a crowd." He added, "We regret the loss of life."
Israel has a free trade agreement with Turkey that no one has spoken of rupturing, and shortly before the flotilla raid Turkey helped ensure Israel's inclusion in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
But problems are starting to crop up. Turkish officials are concerned that the Israelis will cancel a $141 million contract to enhance the intelligence gathering abilities of Turkey's warplanes for fear that the new systems might be used against Israel, Ms. Sariibrahimoglu said.
"I am sure we are much more sensitive about sharing sensitive material with them out of fear it will get to the Iranians," said Efraim Inbar, an expert in Turkish-Israeli relations and director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.
Israel's ties with Turkey had begun to fray well before the flotilla raid, starting with the election in 2003 of an Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who began to tilt Turkey toward new relations with two of Israel's most serious foes, Iran and Syria. Relations with Israel took an especially icy turn in early 2008, when Mr. Erdogan lashed out at Israel over its killing of civilians in its offensive on Gaza.
Israel's growing wariness of Turkey goes back several years, as evidenced by its decision not to sell the Turks its Ofek spy satellite, Israeli officials said, again speaking on condition of anonymity. On the civilian side the main fallout from the damaged diplomatic ties is easily visible on Turkey's beaches, once a favorite vacation destination of Israelis who this year canceled en masse.
Menashe Carmon, the chairman of the Israel Turkey Business Council, said that although long-time cooperation between Israeli and Turkish businesses had not stopped, partnerships and investment ventures that were in their initial stages had slowed. "They have decided to wait and see what will happen politically," he said, referring mostly to Israeli companies.
His office in a building overlooking the harbor in Jaffa features the Turkish and Israeli flags — a rare sight in Israel. He says he remains hopeful that better times lie ahead. He is busy at work planning a trip for Turkish businesspeople in Israel.
"The Turkish are regular visitors to Israel. This will be nothing new," he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/world/middleeast/03israel.html?_r=1&ref=world
