Israel Matzav

Time to stop trading with Turkey

At what point will our survival and our morality take precedence over making money? When Jews outside of Israel see Israel being threatened those kinds of questions aren't impacting them directly and therefore they don't always have clear answers. But here in Israel, where we're directly impacted, one would think that the answers to those kinds of questions would be completely clear. Take Turkey for instance.

Turkey has acted like an enemy to us quite openly for more than two years. It is facilitating Iran's trade with the West and with other World markets (Hat Tip: Joshua I). And yet, Israel continues to trade with Turkey as if we were still living five years ago when Turkey was an ally.

Just as diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey appear to have hit rock bottom, bilateral trade between Israel and Turkey have reached an all-time high, indicating that commercial interests can trump political differences.

Turkey pulled out its ambassador from Israel almost a year ago and when Israel’s current envoy to Ankara leaves this summer there is no plan to fill his slot. That is in order to “spare us the embarrassment of having the Turks reject him,” in the words of one Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

...

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Israeli officials told The Media Line that the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has toned down its anti-Israel rhetoric lately, a move they see linked to the upcoming national elections June 12. Ergodan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is going after moderate votes, they said.

“Our understanding is that they are turning toward the center which it turns out didn’t like all this Israel bashing. It only made the AKP look like extremists,” said one official.

Israel has also been cautiously buoyed by the Turkish authorities’ decision in late March to intercept an Iranian cargo jet bound for Syria and force it to land at a Turkish air base. The Turks discovered weapons on board that were suspected to bound for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite terrorist group and Israeli foe. Turkey filed a complaint with the United Nations.

Even as diplomatic ties chilled during 2010, bilateral trade reached $3.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion just a decade ago. The uptrend has continued into this year. Israel imported some $354 million of Turkish goods in January-February, up from $282 million one year earlier. Meanwhile, Israeli exports to Turkey reached $302 million in the first two months of the year, up from $170 million during the same time in 2010.

Turkey’s main exports to Israel are land vehicles, construction materials, electronic devices, textiles and accessories. Israel exports to Turkey plastics, chemicals and agriculture products.

Ordinary Israelis, however, remain skittish about Turkey. Once a prime destination for Israelis holiday makers, travel to Turkey has plummeted. This year's Passover holiday season has seen travel there drop by nearly 90% from last year, when more than 15,000 Israelis visited Turkish resorts.

With the entire region in the midst of revolutionary upheaval, the democracies of Turkey and Israel have been coveted islands of calm. Washington has not hidden its displeasure with the failure of Ankara and Jerusalem, two of their key allies, to reconcile their differences.

Read the whole thing.

The way I see this, there's currently a lull in the diplomatic war between Israel and Turkey, and after the Turkish elections, when the AKP need not worry about appearing 'extreme,' things will go back to where they were last June.

What could go wrong?

Labels: Mavi Marmara, Turkey, Turkish obsession with Israel, Turkish-Israeli relations

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:36 PM