Last night, I got an email from Professor Jacobson telling me that he's coming to Israel and asking whether I would like to get together with him (yes, of course I would). Today, I see on his blog that he's coming here to apologize for the United States' behavior to Israel.
I just booked my plane tickets to visit Israel in May.
Maybe I’ll call it an Apology Tour.
I’ll let Israelis know that the current administration, with its
childish chickens**t taunting treatment of Israel, does not represent
the American people, who overwhelmingly support Israel. (Will this violate the Logan Act?)
The funny thing is that when I read the post, I skipped over the line that has the link to the original speech. So I read the speech without knowing that it was actually written by... you'll figure it out. And all I could think about as I was reading the speech was 'wow, this sounds just like Obama except that Obama apologized to enemies and to countries with whom the United States shares nothing in common, while Bill is proposing to apologize to a country that was deservedly called the United States' best friend until Obama took office.'
David Rutz summarizes an article written by Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal summing up the serial apologist's series of capitulations to Iran.
Obama made repeated assertions during a December 2013 forum with Haim Saban about what Iran clearly did not need to have a “peaceful nuclear program.”
“We know they don’t need to have an underground, fortified facility
like Fordo in order to have a peaceful nuclear program,” Obama said.
“They certainly don’t need a heavy-water reactor at Arak in order to
have a peaceful nuclear program. They don’t need some of the advanced
centrifuges that they currently possess in order to have a limited,
peaceful nuclear program.”
Stephens writes:
Hardly more than a year later, on the eve of what might be deal-day, here is where those promises stand:
Fordo: “The United States is considering letting Tehran run
hundreds of centrifuges at a once-secret, fortified underground bunker
in exchange for limits on centrifuge work and research and development
at other sites.”—Associated Press, March 26.
Arak: “Today, the six powers negotiating with
Iran . . . want the reactor at Arak, still under construction,
reconfigured to produce less plutonium, the other bomb fuel.”—The New
York Times, March 7.
Advanced centrifuges: “Iran is building about
3,000 advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuges, the Iranian news media
reported Sunday, a development likely to add to Western concerns about
Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.”—Reuters, March 3.
Obama also spoke about verification at that forum, saying of any
nuclear deal, “We can envision a comprehensive agreement that involves
extraordinary constraints and verification mechanisms and intrusive
inspections.”
But on March 24, the Associated Press reported
“an Iranian official rebuked the chief of the U.N. atomic agency for
demanding snap inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites, saying the request
hindered efforts to reach an agreement with world powers.”
Obama’s promised over and over, even inState of the Union addresses, that his goal was to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Now, even members of his own party acknowledge what they’re negotiating for is to extend Iran’s nuclear break-out time to one year.
“The clock is ticking,” Obama said sternly during his foreign policy
presidential debate with Mitt Romney. “We’re not going to allow Iran to
perpetually engage in negotiations that lead nowhere.”
In addition to being a serial apologist and capitulator, Obama is also a serial liar. If you voted for him, shame on you.
In an announcement to the press: @bogie_yaalon: We're sorry for the death of Abu Ein. We will investigate & continue coordination with PA
— Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) December 10, 2014
You would think that by now, the government of Israel and the IDF would have learned not to take responsibility and apologize every time a 'Palestinian' (seemingly) dies. And as you can see from the tweet above, you'd be wrong. The Minister of Defense is apologizing for the death of 'Palestinian' terrorist Ziad Abu Ein at a demonstration earlier on Wednesday, and promising to investigate Abu Ein's death in the name of continued coordination with the 'Palestinian Authority' - the same coordination that the 'Palestinians' announced that they were cutting earlier today.
In a live report for the UK’s Sky News broadcaster, Middle East
correspondent Tom Rayner reported that Ziad Abu Ein, a convicted
terrorist who was appointed by the PA to organize campaigns against
Jewish settlements in the West Bank, was lying on the ground
“unconscious” after the clash – although separate footage shot by Kremlin broadcaster RT displayed Abu Ein conscious and sitting up after his altercation with the IDF officers.
“When he’s on the floor, an Israeli medic does come up to him, she
tries to clear an area around him, but Palestinians pick him up and take
him straight to a vehicle,” Rayner said, in footage viewed by The Algemeiner.
The medic was “not able to deliver any first aid,” Rayner continued,
and Abu Ein was “declared dead when he got to a hospital in Ramallah.”
As The Algemeiner reported today, Rayner had earlier said on Twitter that
“When Abu Ein is unconscious on ground, Israel medic attempts to
assist, asks crowd to make space, Palestinians rush him to a vehicle
instead.” Rayner also reported that Abu Ein repeatedly asked the Israeli officer he clashed with for his name, calling him a “dog.”
As a result of Abu Ein’s death, the PA announced that it was
suspending security cooperation with Israel. PA President Mahmoud Abbas
lauded Abu Ein as a “martyr,” while PA official Hanan Ashrawi accused
Israel of having carried out an “extrajudicial killing.”
We're apologizing for this? Have we learned nothing?
Rabbi Menachem Creditor of Berkeley, California explains why he's done apologizing for Israel to his liberal friends(Hat Tip: Mrs. Carl).
To those who suggest that Prime Minister Netanyahu is over-reacting
to the missiles, I offer this response which I have now shared regularly
at campus and communal conversations:
Israel is treating wounded
Palestinians during this conflict, risking Israeli lives in surgical
strikes to destroy weapons-smuggling tunnels created with building
materials Israel allowed into Gaza for infrastructure projects to
benefit Palestinian society. Just for a moment, consider the deaths that
would result from Israel wishing harm on Palestinian civilians. In just
the last 48 hours, Israel has allowed over 10 tons of goods into Gaza.
During the past weeks, Israel has agreed to two humanitarian
cease-fires. In the first hours of those ceasefires, Hamas rained down
over 70 missiles onto Israel civilians.
I ask: What do Israel's enraged critics truly desire?
How is it possible to hear indignant claims of human rights violations
in the context of Syrians slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands,
state-sanctioned terrorism around the globe, and young immigrants
treated like chattel by the US and other? Israel is doing its best,
sacrificing its own children to preserve the lives of Palestinians.
I
also ask, regarding the world's seemingly acceptance of Hamas' tactics
as the only remaining option left for a desperate leadership:
Were
Hamas to truly lead its people forward to a life of stability and
peace, wouldn't it use building materials for schools instead of
smuggling tunnels? Wouldn't Hamas stop stockpiling weapons in mosques
and transporting them in UN ambulances? Wouldn't Hamas stop firing
missiles from civilian population centers if it valued Palestinian lives
as much as Israel does? If Israel weren't so concerned for Palestinian
lives, wouldn't it respond to Hamas' horrific decisions in kind?
I
ask the enraged critics of Israel's defensive responses to Hamas: Would
you have us not respond to this monstrosity? Do you think it's not
worth losing the PR battle to retain our humanity and save as many lives
as possible? What country would stand by when thousands of terrorist
missiles assault its citizens? I, a Jew, have lost 20 of my sons in the
last three days, because I will not lose my humanity and stage a
careless ground war in Gaza that would cause mass casualties. Though I
fight monsters, I will not become one.
My response has changed
these last few weeks, in which three Jewish teens were murdered by Arab
terrorists and Palestinians celebrated by distributing sweets to
children and an Arab teen was murdered by Jewish terrorists and the
Jewish world condemned the hatred. I am done trying to apologetically
explain Jewish morality. I am done apologizing for my own Jewish
existence.
Some will call this needless hyperbole. But, having
watched in this last week anti-Semitic "die-ins" in Boston, violent
assaults against Jews in Los Angeles and Antwerp, and an almost pogrom
at a synagogue in Paris, I'm done mincing my own words.
We will do what we must to protect our people. We have that right. We are not less deserving of life and quiet than anyone else.
For the second time in recent weeks (the picture is from the first time), Defense Minister Moshe "Boogie" Yaalon has been forced to apologize to the Obama administration.
In a phone conversation with US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on
Wednesday night, Ya'alon said that his comments "were not intended to
express opposition, criticism or offense to the United States,"
adding that maintaining strong ties with the United States is Israel's
utmost priority.
Ya'alon expressed his appreciation for the close relationship Israel
shares with the United States, and emphasized his full commitment to
cooperation between the two nations.
Hagel thanked Ya'alon for his clarification, acknowledging that some of the comments may have been taken out of context.
Meanwhile, we have some more details about what Yaalon said.
Ya’alon was quoted by Haaretz as saying at a Tel Aviv
University event on Monday that America’s aid to Israel needed to be
“seen in proportion,” and that it was not a one-way street.
“It isn’t a favor America is doing, it’s in their interest,” he said. “They get quality intelligence and technology.
We invented [the] Iron Dome [anti-rocket system]. The wings of the F-35
stealth fighter – we invented. We invented the Arrow [anti-ballistic
missile system].”
Ya’alon’s comments and other remarks he made
critical of US foreign policy triggered withering criticism from a
senior US official.
Ya’alon, in his speech at Tel Aviv University, said that in light of
the US’s policies in the Middle East, with China and with Russia, it
has developed an image in the world of “feebleness.”
“The moderate
Sunni camp in the area expected the United States to support it, and
to be firm, like Russia’s support for the Shi’ite axis,” Ya’alon said.
“I heard voices of disappointment in the region. I was in Singapore and
heard disappointment about China getting stronger and the US getting
weaker. Look what’s happening in Ukraine, where the United States is
demonstrating weakness, unfortunately.”
Ya’alon criticized the US for showing weakness globally.
“If you sit and wait at home, the terrorism will come again,” he said. “Even if you hunker down, it will come.
This is a war of civilizations. If your image is feebleness, it doesn’t
pay in the world. Nobody will replace the United States as global
policeman. I hope the United States comes to its senses. If it doesn’t,
it will challenge the world order, and the United States is the one
that will suffer.”
On Iran, Ya’alon said that “comfortable
Westerners prefer to put off confrontation. If possible to next year,
or the next president. But in the end it will blow up.” The US was being
out-negotiated by Iran, and that “on this matter we have to behave as
though we have nobody to look out for us, but ourselves,” he said.
Is Yaalon really saying anything that conservatives in the US have not said? Does anyone doubt what Yaalon really thinks? I didn't think so. Maybe we should put Charles Krauthammer in charge of our hasbara so that we can stop apologizing.
Israel apologized to Turkey on March 22, 2013, but the normalization
process could not be completed because of differences on the amount of
compensation and its legal definition. The two countries’ diplomats met
at least four times last year, and the chances of an agreement appear to
be rising.
“The amount of compensation for those who were
killed and wounded in the Mavi Marmara operation, plus the damages
inflicted on the vessel, will be around a few million dollars,” sources
said, without giving further details.
Earlier press reports suggested the difference between Turkey and Israel
on the amount of money was quite high, but the parties appear to have
sought a way to find a middle point in a bid to make a deal possible.
Another problematic issue with regard to the compensation was its legal definition, as Turkey had insisted that Israel accept liability on the attack and the killing of Turkish citizens. Sources underlined Israel
could accept responsibility, albeit on the condition that it be given a
strong assurance that future criminal cases will not be opened against
the Israeli commanders and soldiers who were involved in the attack.
In
addition, the deal to be reached between the two countries will
automatically abort ongoing criminal cases against Israeli soldiers. The
Israeli side wants the agreement to be signed to end the legal dispute
between the two parties, as well as provide an opportunity for political
reconciliation.
Both countries’ diplomatic sources stressed
that although negotiations with regard to the deal are nearing
completion, they have been looking for the approval of their respective
prime ministers to move forward. In the event that the two countries
sign the deal, they will also have to exchange ambassadors immediately
so the normalization of ties can become more visible.
Diplomatic sources noted that Turkey was on the eve of a very critical election process and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might use the agreement with Israel
as another foreign policy victory, in the way he did last year when
Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu officially apologized to him
following a direct intervention by U.S. President Barack Obama.
I would bet on Sultan Erdogan killing this deal with some last-minute demand, but even if he doesn't, do you trust the Turks not to turn around (or to let their citizens turn around) and go to the International Criminal Court anyway? I don't.
This was kinda sorta predictable. Economics Minister Naftali Bennett has kinda sorta apologized to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
"In recent days there has been a lot of discussion about the idea of
the Palestinian Authority (PA) retaining sovereignty over Jewish
communities in Judea and Samaria, and certain people from the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO) have tried to turn an existential conversation
into personal attacks [on the PM] that were never there," Bennett stated
to the press.
Bennett formally apologized to the Prime Minister, stating, "if the
Prime Minister was hurt [by my remarks] - that was never my intention."
The Minister stressed that he respects Netanyahu's leadership under "not-so-simple conditions."
"I see the Prime Minister and his Cabinet and in the government and I
acknowledge that he is under immense pressure," Bennett stated.
However, Bennett also stated that while he is apologizing for his
remarks, he maintains the right to criticize, saying: "I support the
Prime Minister like I have to and I criticize him like I have to. It is
my obligation."
The apology-of-sorts resembled a similar one issued by Defense
Minister Moshe Ya'alon, after coming under fire for branding US
Secretary of State John Kerry "obsessive and messianic" in his pursuit of a political deal between Israel and the PA. After immense pressure, Ya'alon apologized for any personal offense to Kerry over his comments, but notably did not retract his views.
But the Jewish Home head noted that his criticism had succeeded in
"shooting down" the idea of abandoning Jewish communities in Judea and
Samaria.
The report goes on to say that tensions between Netanyahu and Bennett were stoked by a 'senior aide' to Netanyahu who had it in for Bennett. I didn't know that Sara Netanyahu was billing herself a 'senior aide.' Maybe she's learning from Mooch who went along on one of President Obama's Africa trips by calling herself and her daughters senior aides.
During the night, Defense Minister Moshe "Boogie" Yaalon apologized to US Secretary of State John FN Kerry for calling him an obsessive messianic. This is from the first link.
Let's put this way: Minister Yaalon had no
intention to offend Mr. Kerry by saying that he is out of touch with reality
and that he hopes Mr. Kerry gets a Nobel Peace Prize ASAP in the hopes that
this will cool him down - and if this offends Mr. Kerry Yaalon apologizes.
The open
mike I-wish-I-hadn't-said-that moment when French President Nicolas
Sarkozy called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "liar" and
Barack Obama didn't disagree is a tale as old as the hills for American
presidents and secretaries of state.
For decades, American presidents
and diplomats have been locked in uneasy relationships with Israeli
prime ministers from the Likud Party. One example: "Who's the f----
superpower here," a frustrated Bill Clinton exploded to his aides after
his first meeting with Netanyahu in 1996.
It's a good thing for Obama that the open mike caught Sarkozy with the ad hominem attack on Netanyahu rather than the president.
"I
can't stand him. He's a liar," Sarkozy said. Obama was heard to say,
"You're tired of him -- what about me? I have to deal with him every
day," according to a French website.
You don't really think sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander in relations with the United States, do you?
The White House is denying a report that President Obama and Mooch will visit Iran in 2014.
The White House denied the claims late Monday. "There is no truth to
this report," said Caitlin Hayden, spokesperson for the National
Security Council.
Jimmy Carter was the last U.S. president to visit Iran, before the
Islamic revolution in 1979 and the subsequent hostage crisis.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has told Yedioth Aharonoth that Israel's apology for fighting off the Mavi Marmara terrorists came 'too late.'
Gül, responding to a question by the
Yedioth Ahronoth daily after a meeting of the İstanbul Forum last week,
said: “In order to end this conflict and the difference of opinion
between us, we had certain expectations of Israel. Israel responded to
part of our expectations when it apologized. But this step was taken at a
late stage; Israel apologized too late. Some of our expectations have
not yet been met,” the daily reported Gül as saying.
Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Israel and expelled the Israeli
ambassador in Ankara after the Mavi Marmara raid, demanding a formal
apology, compensation for families of the victims and the lifting of the
Israeli blockade of Gaza to restore ties.
The Israeli daily also reported a Turkish diplomatic advisor as
saying that a breakthrough in the normalization process was not to be
expected in the near future. “As long as Erdoğan is the prime minister
of Turkey, there will not be a change for the positive in relations with
Israel. Erdoğan has lots of complaints against you [Israel] already
from the period of [Ehud] Olmert. When will a reversal in relations
come? Maybe only after the presidential elections in 2014 and the
elections for parliament in 2015, which will decide who will serve as
the next prime minister of Turkey,” the Turkish diplomatic advisor was
reported as saying.
If Erdogan doesn't declare himself 'President for life' by then....
Yet another Obama epic failure at Israel's expense. When will Spinless Binyamin learn?
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is whining again that Israel has not done enough to deserve to have full diplomatic relations with his country restored (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly's 68th meeting in New York, where he travelled with President
Abdullah Gül and a high-level delegation, Davutoğlu noted that out of
the three important conditions Turkey set, only one of them has been met
by Israel.
...
In order to end a major crisis in ties
between the two former allies, as part of a US-brokered rapprochement,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March offered an apology to
Turkey for the [Mavi Marmara] incident.
An apology was one of three demands Ankara made of Tel Aviv. The
other two were compensation for the families of the passengers killed on
the ship and the lifting of the blockade on Gaza.
Davutoğlu said Turkey's demand for an Israeli apology had been
fulfilled, that there had been progress on the second condition of
compensation and that the negotiations were still going on over the
issue.
"We hope this will be concluded," said Davutoğlu.
Referring to the third condition of the ending of the Israeli
blockade of Gaza, Davutoğlu said that Turkey is very concerned about the
humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories, especially in
Gaza, following recent developments in Egypt.
As I have reported before, what is holding up the compensation issue is a Turkish insistence on an Israeli admission of guilt, which was not part of the deal brokered by President Obama when he was here last March. There is no way Israel would agree to admit guilt for the Mavi Marmara incident.
As to the third condition, it too was not part of the deal brokered by President Obama between Israel and Turkey, and frankly, it's none of Turkey's business.
Israel should stop prostrating itself in front of Turkey. Enough is enough.
Turkey rejecting Israeli compensation as a matter of principle
You probably understood all along that Turkey's rejection of Israeli compensation offers for the Mavi Marmara incident had nothing to do with money. I did too. It's not that they want us to pay ten times as much as we're willing to pay in compensation. It's that they want us to grovel. For now, at least, I don't believe that will happen.
The reason for the deadlock in compensation talks between Turkey and Israel
is the latter’s insistency in redressing the damages of the Mavi
Marmara victims as an ex gratia payment and not as a result of its
wrongful act, a senior Turkish government official has said.
“In
our first meeting [the Israelis] showed no opposition to this. But in
the second meeting, they intended to give an ex gratia payment as a form
of reparation because they fear compensation [as a result of their
wrongful act] will set an example for other cases, which is not a
concern to us,” Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told Ankara
bureau chiefs late on July 23. Arınç is leading a Turkish team composed
of diplomats and legal experts negotiating the compensation issue with
the Israeli government.
...
“The amount of money is not the problem,” Arınç said. “There are two problematic areas. The first one is that Israel
should accept that it’s paying this money as a result of its wrongful
act. Nothing less than this will be accepted. And second, we are waiting
for them to realize our third condition of cooperating with Turkey in
making life conditions easier for Palestinians. We are not talking about
the amount of money as our first two conditions have not been met,” he
added.
“We are not going to rush for the money. Israel
has to accept its wrongful act. Otherwise we will not say ‘yes’ to
them,” he said, adding that the amount of money to be given to the
families of the victims will be automatically calculated in accordance
with criteria.
So much for another great Obama diplomatic breakthrough.
Despite a reshuffling of ambassadors, Turkey still has not posted an ambassador to Israel - and that's just the start of the problems (Hat Tip: Joshua I). Turkey has done none of what it promised President Obama it would do back in March, and it continues to raise obstacles to reconciliation with Israel, leading one Israeli official to conclude that it's time for Turkey to pay a price.
A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office at the time said the
countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations, including an
exchange of ambassadors. Erdogan, according to the statement, said
Turkey would terminate all legal proceedings launched against IDF
soldiers who were involved in the raid and would prevent similar legal
action in the future.
However, following Netanyahu's apology, the Turks appeared to be in no
hurry to fulfill their end of the deal. Israel agreed to pay $5 million
in restitution, while Ankara demanded $40 million. During talks held
over the past few days the Turks have expressed their agreement to
receive $24 million from Israel, while the Israeli side raised its offer
to $14 million - a regular Turkish bazaar.
And if this wasn't enough, the Turks announced they could not guarantee
that IDF soldiers and officers who were involved in the raid, including
former IDF Chief Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, would not be
prosecuted, claiming that in Turkey the "executive branch cannot
influence the judicial branch."
According to the Turks, Erdogan cannot act to stop the legal proceedings
while anti-government protests are taking place because he does not
want his constituents to view him as being pro-Israeli.
In light of Turkey's conduct, Israel is considering the possibility of
exacting a diplomatic price from Ankara with the help of a pro-Israeli
Congressman. "After they fed us smelly fish and ran us out of town, it's time that the Turks pay a price for their nasty behavior," a senior official said.
Israel seeking use of Turkish airbase to train for Iran?
An Israeli delegation will travel to Ankara on Monday to try to set Israel's relations with Turkey on a positive path. The Sunday Times of London reports that one of the items on Israel's agenda is to propose trading advanced defense systems - including Arrow anti-ballistic missiles - for access to Turkey's Akinci air base for use in training for an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Yaakov Amidror, the head of the National Security Council, was due in
Ankara on Monday to discuss the full restoration of diplomatic ties with
Turkey, following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's apology to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.
...
Additionally, Amidror has been assigned to try to resuscitate the
1996 agreement between Jerusalem and Ankara which allowed the IAF to
train in Turkish airspace and use the Akinci airbase. In return, Israel
will offer to sell Turkey advanced missile and surveillance technology,
the Times reported.
According to the Times,
among the advanced systems Amidror will offer the Turks are the Arrow
anti-ballistic missiles defense system, a visual intelligence system
developed by Israeli defense company Elop that can create a precise
image at a range of 60 miles during day or night and under any weather
condition, and an advanced electronic warfare system made by Elta.
Turkey
and Israel share concern over Iran's nuclear program, that Tehran
claims is being developed solely for peaceful purposes. The two
countries are also interested in military cooperation over the concern
of spill-over from the Syrian civil war, the Times quotes an Israeli defense source as saying.
Well, maybe. But Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu says there's nothing to discuss with Israel (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoğlu has said Turkey categorically denies discussing the future of
Syria with Israel, dismissing suggestions that the recent Israeli
apology was linked to developments in war-torn Syria.
“This will be Turkey's stance
both today and tomorrow. Turkey will never discuss Syria's future with
Israel,” said Davutoğlu during a televised interview on Thursday, adding
that this was the case for all of Turkey's neighbors.
It's now been three weeks since Prime Minister Netanyahu was suckered into apologizing to Turkey's Islamist dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by President Hussein Obama. So far, all indications are that Netanyahu was suckered.
Diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey have not been restored, and are unlikely to be restored for the foreseeable future. That's because Erdogan is insisting that Israel fully lift its blockade of Gaza before Turkey restores its ambassador to Israel, and Israel cannot do so without endangering its security (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday that Turkey will not send an envoy
to Israel -- as part of a recent move for normalization of ties between
countries after an Israeli apology for a deadly naval raid -- before
the blockade on the Gaza Strip is lifted.
Erdoğan reiterated Turkey's
stance on the issue and said Israel must lift the blockade before a full
restoration of diplomatic ties can take place, including the return of a
Turkish envoy to the Israeli capital.
Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt rejected plans to hold a meeting of NATO’s
Mediterranean Dialogue group, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reported on Saturday.
Israel is one of the Dialogue group’s seven member-nations.
The
Mediterranean Dialogue group for Foreign Ministers – which also includes
Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania and Morocco – has not met since 2008, according to
Hurriyet.
A Turkish official told Hurriyet that the meetings had not been
held because of political problems between Israel and Arab
member-nations.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office had no
comment.
That apology sure accomplished a lot, didn't it? Bibi, we've been had.
Turks wounded in Mavi Marmara to continue lawsuits
Despite Prime Minister Netanyahu's apology for operational errors on the Mavi Marmara, Turks who were wounded in the incident are going to continue to press their lawsuits against Israel in Turkish courts.
"We will continue
with the criminal lawsuits we have opened against the Israeli soldiers
and commanders, and we won't accept dropping this suit if compensation
is paid," said Musa Cogas, who was wounded by Israeli gunfire on board
the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara, part of the Gaza-bound flotilla.
An Istanbul court is hearing charges that have been filed
against four of Israel's most senior retired commanders, including the
ex-army chief, in absentia and could carry life sentences. Israel has
called this a politically motivated "show trial".
Ahmet Varol, a journalist who was on the Mavi Marmara, said one
"formula for a resolution" would be for Israel to provide a timetable
for ending the blockade of Gaza, ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement,
and make Turkey a monitor of that process.
"Our efforts are for the full lifting of the blockade. Nobody
wants compensation, and while an apology may have diplomatic meaning, it
means nothing to the victims," he said.
The apology nonetheless showed Israel had accepted its wrongdoing in the incident, Varol added.
...
"It's not possible to
heal my wounds with just an apology," said Cogas, who was shot in the
shoulder by Israeli marines. His friend of 30 years, Cengiz Songur, was
killed in the raid. "Unless these soldiers are punished and the blockade
is lifted..., we won't accept compensation."
I didn't expect our relations with Turkey to go back to what they once were, but now I would not expect them to be restored at all any time soon. Another Obama failure.
After the apology: Turkey insults Netanyahu and Israel
(Hat Tip: Joshua I). You will recall that Turkey considered it an insult when then-Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon published a picture of the Turkish Ambassador to Israel with his head lower than Ayalon's.
Billboards placed on Ankara streets displayed a
small and sad-looking photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu alongside a larger, smiling photo of his Turkish counterpart,
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The billboards, addressing Erdoğan, read: “Israel
apologized to Turkey. Dear prime minister, we are grateful that you let
our country experience this pride.”
Indeed, the Turkish gloating has been so
conspicuous and extended that it may have prompted to a healthy sense of
reality. So long as the Mavi Marmara incident hung over their
relations with Ankara, Israelis and others could believe that an apology
for the incident would magically undo the past decade. The illusion
could persist that the Turks, however unreasonably, just needed to put
this Mavi Marmara unpleasantness aside and things would revert to the good old days.
Now that Israelis humiliated themselves and
Erdogan is rampaging on, some are awakening to the fact that this
apology only made matters worse.
...
Boaz Bismuth of Israel Hayom colorfully
notes that Israelis “didn’t expect to feel that only several days after
Israel’s apology, Erdoğan would already be making us feel that we had
eaten a frog along with our matzah this year.”
Perhaps, after all, the apology was a good thing. For a
relatively inexpensive price — some words — Israelis and others have
gained a better insight into the Turkish leadership’s mentality. They
don’t suffer from mere injured pride; they are Islamist ideologues with
an ambitious agenda. If the misguided apology makes this evident to more
observers, the results possibly could make this into a net plus.
Activist Mehmet Tunç said he would donate the compensation to Hamas and
Islamic Jihad in Palestine himself, adding that he would not touch even
“one Turkish Lira” of it at a press conference today.
Tunç had
been a volunteer on the Mavi Marmara ship traveling to deliver
humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. He told reporters that nine of his
friends had been martyred by the Israeli forces in a raid he called
“against international law.”
Abdullah Demirel, Tunç’s lawyer,
said the Israeli government had apologized for the first time in its
history and that it was a “huge development.” Demirel also said they had
been informed by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on the compensation
issue.
Maybe I missed something, but I thought that 'compensation' was only being paid to the families of those terrorists who died.
Israel has said all along it was willing to pay compensation to the families of the nine terrorists who died aboard the Mavi Marmara. Israel is offering $100,000 per family, which is a generous offer given the circumstances under which they died.
The Turkish government wants Israel to pay $1 million per family, and I have the feeling that if Israel offered to pay $1 million per family, the Turks would want $10 million per family.
It seems to me that if Israel and Turkey are ever to have civil relations, Mr. Hussein Obama is going to have to have a heart-to-heart talk with his Best Friend Forever, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, rather than continuing to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
And there's more....
Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni is mediating the compensation talks
between Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Israel. She has
spoken to Davutoglu over the past few days and the two countries have
agreed to set up a joint committee to discuss the amount of compensation
to be paid.
Technical teams that will discuss this issue – the
Israeli team led by Joseph Ciechanover and the Turkish one by Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu, a former ambassador to
Israel – are expected to begin meetings this week. In past negotiations
between the two countries over the compensation issue, the idea was for
Israel to pay directly into a Turkish fund set up for the families, and
not to the families individually.
On Tuesday, Erdogan told the
Turkish parliament that now that relations with Israel were on the mend,
Ankara is going to become more involved in "solving the Palestinian
question and thus bringing about a new equation."
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
