SUPPORT FOR TURKEY DIPS AFTER DAVOS BLOWUP
By Nathan Guttman
Forward
5104/
Feb 5 2009
NY
Washington — The American Jewish community is starting to question its
long-standing support of Turkish interests in Washington, following
Turkey’s public denunciation of Israel’s recent military actions
in Gaza.
The two countries have been trading barbs ever since Israel launched
its operation against Hamas in Gaza, in a move to stop Hamas’s rocket
attacks. The Turkish prime minister accused Israel of committing
atrocities, and anti-Israel demonstrations erupted throughout Turkey,
where public expressions of antisemitic rhetoric have startled the
country’s small Jewish community.
The deteriorating relations reached a public climax in January at
the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. As Israeli President
Shimon Peres sat by his side, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan angrily accused the Jewish state of committing war crimes.
With a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in place, Erdogan urged
Israel and the international community to negotiate with Hamas,
the group that governs Gaza but is deemed a terrorist organization
by Israel, the United States and Western Europe for targeting
civilians. Peres responded with what was for him an almost
unprecedented display of anger.
His hands visibly shaking, Peres read from the Hamas charter, with
its declaration that "the Day of Judgment will not come about until
Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and
trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is
a Jew behind me, come and kill him." Angered, Erdogan stormed off
the stage after the moderator cut off his attempt at rebuttal.
The fallout between Israel and Turkey has stirred a growing sense of
discomfort within the American-Jewish community, which has long been
an advocate for Turkish interests in Washington. "The outburst of
animosity for Israel and the anxiety awakened in the Turkish-Jewish
community make me wonder what’s going on and what the future holds,"
wrote David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee
in an open letter to Erdogan, which Harris posted on his blog.
Harris later told the Forward he is waiting to see if the outbreak of
Turkish anti-Israel sentiments is a temporary reaction to the situation
in Gaza or a deeper shift. "If this does signal a structural shift in
Turkish foreign policy, then we have good reasons to be concerned,"
he said.
Jewish organizations have been playing an active role in promoting
several issues of interest to Turkey, including the country’s quest
last year to become a member of the United Nations Security Council;
its drive to join the European Union, and its attempts to strengthen
economic and military ties with the United States.
But most contentious was Turkey’s attempt to recruit Jewish support
for blocking congressional legislation recognizing the World War I
Armenian genocide conducted by the Ottoman Empire, which preceded the
modern state of Turkey. Citing Turkey’s relationship with Israel and
concerns for the well-being of the Turkish Jewish community, several
large Jewish organizations used their clout on Capitol Hill to argue
against the resolution.
The strong Jewish opposition to Congressional recognition of the
Armenian genocide has been waning, but some Jewish groups, led by
the Anti-Defamation League, are actively opposing any move in Congress.
"Right now we have no intention of changing our position from last
year," said Jess Hordes, who heads the ADL’s Washington office. He
explained the group sees the acts carried out against the Armenian
people as genocide, but does not believe there is room for legislation
on the issue.
The memorial day for the Armenian genocide, April 24, is traditionally
when resolutions on the issue are brought to Congress, and this is
expected to be a test of the state of relations between Turkey and the
American Jewish community. So far, no legislation has been introduced,
but Armenian activists say it is to be expected, and believe this year,
with a new administration and Congress, the legislation has a better
chance of passing.
Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee
of America said the recent spat between Israel and Turkey could serve
as an "educating process" for members of the Jewish community who
are on the opposite side of the debate. "It is sad that our friends
in the Jewish community are seeing now a side of Turkey that we have
been aware of for a long time," he added.
Turkish diplomats in Washington have ratcheted up their outreach
efforts to the Jewish community in recent weeks, fearing that the
fallout between Israeli and Turkish leaders could cost them the
support of Jewish Americans. Turkey’s ambassador to the United States
met with Jewish leaders shortly after the conflict in Gaza broke out
and, according to a participant in the meeting, conveyed the message
"that they understand the concerns of the community and are interested
in keeping open lines of communication."
The outreach efforts, described by one Jewish communal official as
"extensive," are being brokered by two advisers to the Turkish embassy:
Noam Neusner, who formerly served as President George W. Bush’s liaison
to the Jewish community, and Jay Footlik who held the same position
in the Clinton administration. (Neusner has written opinion columns
for the Forward.)
Repercussions of the harsh Turkish criticism over Israel’s attack
in Gaza are being felt strongly in Israel, which has grown to trust
Turkey as a valuable strategic partner in the region, a unique
diplomatic broker for talks with Syria, and a major destination for
Israeli tourism and trade. The moderate Islamic government led by
Erdogan maintained a friendly approach toward Israel and was seen as
a possible bridge between Israel and its neighboring Arab countries.
But Turkey’s denunciations following the Israeli decision to launch
a military operation in Gaza on December 27 put this partnership at
risk. In the hour-long panel discussion at Davos, Erdogan complained he
was not given enough time to respond to Peres’s reply to his earlier
charges. Erdogan said to Peres: "You know very well how to kill. I
know very well how you killed and murdered children on the beaches
[of Gaza]."
When journalist David Ignatius, who moderated the discussion, asked
Erdogan to cut his remarks short, the Turkish prime minister left
the stage fuming, saying he would never return. "For me, Davos is
finished," he said.
An official with the World Economic Forum who has been following
the Davos meetings for several years said the Peres-Erdogan incident
quickly became the talk of the conference and that it was "very not
Davos" in style. "This forum," the official added, "was always a
ground for Israeli-Arab dialogue and now it feels like a big setback."
The most immediate and significant impact of the dispute seems to be on
the future of Turkish-brokered talks between Israel and Syria. After
initially threatening to no longer provide mediation services,
Erdogan reversed himself and said his country would be willing to
resume the role if both sides are interested. It may already be too
late for that, said Alon Liel, former director general of the Israeli
foreign ministry and an expert on Turkey.
"As far as the Israeli public opinion is concerned, Turkey is
finished. It will be very difficult for any government in Israel to
sell Turkey as an honest broker," said Liel, who played a key role
in establishing a secret back channel for talks between Israel and
Syria in 2006.
He added that the Turks "did a good job" in brokering the talks, but
stressed that Erdogan’s recent attacks had doomed this approach. "They
made a big mistake," he said, "and it’s a pity. They really wanted it."