Israel Matzav

This will do wonders for Turkish tourism: Israeli businesspeople detained in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport

40 Israelis arriving on a Turkish Air flight from Tel Aviv were held in an isolated area of Istanbul's Kemal Ataturk Airport for an hour and a half where they were questioned extensively before being released.

The Israelis had their passports taken away and were forced to go into a darkened room and subjected to extensive searches. Israel Radio reports that Israelis arriving on Turkish Air in Tel Aviv reported similar treatment on their outbound flight. The Israelis had their passports confiscated after landing on a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv on Monday morning. They were questioned for more than an hour and subsequently released.

The Foreign Ministry was investigating the incident and has been in contact with Turkey to find out if it came about as the result of a new directive or if it was a local initiative by airport authorities, a spokesman stated.

The spokesman added that an incident of this nature has never previously been known to occur to Israeli travelers in Turkey.

The Foreign Ministry was also in contact with the Israelis who were detained, in attempts to find out exactly what they were asked by Turkish authorities at the airport.

Israel planned to keep a close eye on additional flights from Israel to Turkey throughout the day to determine if anything out of the ordinary occurs.

YNet adds:

Flight 793 departed from Ben Gurion International Airport as planned at 5 a.m. and landed two hours later in Istanbul.

"They asked us why we came here, opened our bags, checked how much money we have and what we have on our laptops," one of the passengers told Ynet.

"I think that the police officers didn't even know what they were looking for," he added. "They apparently got an order to detain us, one by one. Everyone was in shock; we didn't know what they were going to do to us. Obviously this was done intentionally, in order to create an unpleasant feeling."

Authorities in Jerusalem estimate that the detention of the Israeli passengers came in response to a recent incident during which Turkish citizens were detained for questioning by border police at Ben Gurion Airport.

Foreign Ministry officials said that no directive was issued regarding a change in the policy that concerns the reception of Israelis, and that there was no intention to single out Israelis that arrive in Turkey. "It was a mid-rank initiative that apparently came in response to the incident at Ben Gurion Airport," they said.

R' and D', businessmen who were on the flight said the attitude of the police officers at the airport was estranged. "We have been doing business in Turkey for 13 years. They held all Israelis. Whoever doesn’t have to work here shouldn’t come. They spoke rudely and acted improperly. People missed their connections but they didn’t care," he said.

According to the two, "As soon as they saw an Israeli, they told him to move on to questioning. All the Israelis were together and they accumulated the passports in one pile. I have never seen such a thing. I have also never seen them behaving in such disrespect. I don't know what will be the atmosphere on the street. I don't know what to expect. The papers from yesterday are filled with incitement.

"They asked us how long we are planning to stay, gesturing with their hands to stay put. No explanations were given. They gave back our passports after almost two hours," the two added.

The passengers on board described a sense of anxiety and a desire to return home. "This feels like the point of no return. Whatever we have felt until now, it will not be the same anymore."

Hayuta Leibovitz, another passenger on the flight, said, "I really want to go home but I am already here and I have to work. I will return to Israel on Thursday and then I will think about what's next. Will it be the last time that we come here? If that's the situation, we will go to places where we are wanted. Even if my income is generated here and all my production is done in Istanbul, if they don't me here, I'll leave."

And that alleged incident in Tel Aviv? No one is even saying when it happened (and I have to wonder if it happened), but it has suddenly come to light.

Meanwhile, the Turkish news agency "Anatolya" reported that Turkish tourists had encountered similar treatment at Ben-Gurion Airport. One of them said, "When we reached the airport in Tel Aviv on our way back to Turkey, security personnel took me and my friends aside and we waited there for a long time.

"They asked about our personal information, including email addresses, phone numbers, our family status and even the number of children we had. They checked our luggage multiple times after which they conducted a physical search," he added.

According to the passenger, "They asked us to remove all clothing. They checked a Turkish woman in one of the rooms. They only examined Turkish passengers and the search was very hostile. When we reached Antalya, the plane was forced to perform an emergency landing after one of the passengers felt ill following the way we had been treated in Israel."

The group's tour guide Ansar Ogur added, "The treatment for Turks was different. They went through our luggage many times. Because of their search of the cargo, our flight was delayed. Some of the Turkish passengers boarded at the last minute."

Israel Radio interviewed arriving passengers in Tel Aviv who reported similar treatment (it was one of them who made reference to the darkened room and the extensive searches that I noted above).

If you don't have to go to Turkey, don't go there. I won't fly through there on my way to the US or anyplace else (and have not in several years).

Just for the heck of it, I went to the airport website. The afternoon Turkish Air flight from Turkey is listed as 45 minutes late, but is listed as final, which means it did take off. We may have more stories in a couple of hours.

Labels: Ataturk Airport, Turkish Airways, Turkish obsession with Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:59 PM