The downfall of Turkish–Israeli relations: a cold peace between former strategic allies

ABSTRACT

The entire edifice of the strategic Turkish-Israeli alliance of the 1990s collapsed during the last ten years, with relations between the former partners characterised by antagonism and total lack of trust that make a genuine reconciliation rather inconceivable despite the existence of weighty common military and economic interests. This article examines the origins of the bilateral relations, the main causes of its decline, and the prospects for a future thaw.

KEYWORDS:

• Israeli-Turkish Relations
• Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
• Islamism
• Jerusalem
• Israel
• Turkey

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Uzer, “Turkish-Israeli Relations,” 97.

2. Liel, Turkey in the Middle East, 202.

3. Almog and Sever, “Hide and Seek?” 610.

4. Alpher, Periphery. The term ‘periphery doctrine’ was reportedly coined by Mossad’s first director Reuven Shiloah.

5. Almog and Sever, “Hide and Seek?” 619; and Nachmani, Turkey, 201.

6. Kanat, “Turkish-Israeli Relations during the Cold War,” 134.

7. Ibid., 136, 140; Alpher, Periphery, 14.

8. “Filistin’i Tanıyan Ülkeler.”

9. Kanat, “Turkish-Israeli Relations,” 141–3.

10. Güvendiren, Hayat Yollarında, 181–2.

11. Liel, Turkey in the Middle East, 211.

12. Murinson, Turkey’s Entente, 45–6.

13. Özel and Nasi, “How the Syrian Civil War Shifted the Balance of Power,” 147.

14. Murinson, Turkey’s Entente, 54.

15. Alpher, Periphery, 11; and Lindenstrauss, “Old and New Dynamics.”

16. http://arsiv.ntv.com.tr/news/265660.asp; and Cagaptay, “Hamas visits Ankara,” 1.

17. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/lo-tir-tsach-14938583; Efron, The Future, 8; and http://arsiv.ntv.com.tr/news/265660.asp.

18. “Erdogan’s Davos Outburst Is Nothing New,” Forbes, 30 January 2009.

19. http://ctrs.khas.edu.tr/post/27/turk-dis-politikasi-kamuoyu-algilari-arastirmasi-2018.

20. Mitvim Institute, “The 2018 Foreign Policy Index,” 3, 12.

21. “With Obama as Broker, Israelis and Turkey End Dispute.”

22. http://www.cnnturk.com/haber/turkiye/erdogan-israilin-sistematik-soykirim-girisimine-sahit-oluyoruz.

23. “Bunu duyunca şoke oldum,” http://www.milliyet.com.tr/-hitler-in-yaptiklarini-da/siyaset/detay/1917295/default.http/.

24. http://arsiv.ntvmsnbc.com/news/309060.asp, 11 February 2005. http://www.dunyabulteni.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=250324, March 6, 2013. See also the website of the Turkish consulate in Jerusalem http://kudus.bk.mfa.gov.tr/Mission.aspx.

25. http://jcpa.org/article/erdogans-turkey-intensifies-involvement-in-gaza-and-jerusalem/.

26. İpek, “Ideas and Change.”

27. For a full list of constructions and renovations in the Palestinian territories and Israel see https://www.tika.gov.tr/upload/2017/YAYINLAR/Filistin/Filistin_Kitapc%CC%A7%C4%B1k_WEB.pdf.

28. https://www.yee.org.tr/tr/kurumsal/yunus-emre-enstitusu https://twitter.com/kudustkm?lang=en.

29. “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’dan Kudüs resti: Silemeyeceksiniz.”

30. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/planet/22711388.asp, 1 March 2013.

31. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/24554442.asp, 25 August 2013.

32. Uzer, “Turkish-Israeli,” 107; http://www.haberler.com/erdogan-antisemitizm-insanlik-sucudur-haberi/.

33. http://www.salom.com.tr/newsdetails.asp?id=86648#.UioeYiPfppM, 17 April 2013.

34. Huber and Tocci, Behind the Scenes, 6, 11–3.

35. Efron, The Future, 12–4.

36. Rivlin “Economic Relations,” 179. Also see “Türkiye-İsrail arasındaki ticaret hacmi bu yıl da yükselişte.”

37. Hürriyet, 7 September 2013.

38. “Turkey expels Israeli ambassador amid international outrage over Gaza killings,” Washington Post, 15 May 2018.

39. http://www.salom.com.tr/haber-108222-Israilli_sanatcilar_tlv_buradasin___you_are_here_sergisi_ile_Istanbulda_.html.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Umut Uzer

Umut Uzer is an Associate Professor at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Istanbul Technical University.