[Originally published in Hurriyet Daily News]
Dear friends,
I hope all is well in the Holy Land. Things are not too bad here in Turkey. Yet one thing that certainly does not look great is relations between our countries, which hit an ugly low this week.
In fact, since the beginning of your government’s “Operation Cast Lead” in Gaza, which happened a year ago, a continual war of words has been going on between your leaders and ours.
But no war of words has ever helped anybody. So, as a humble commentator on Turkish affairs who would be happy to see better Israeli-Turkish relations, let me offer a few honest thoughts.
The New Turkish Republic
First, we all should see something: The Turkish Republic of today is more democratic and more Muslim-minded than it ever used to be. And these two things are not contradictory at all. In the last decade, the power of the democratically elected government has steadily increased vis-à-vis the secularist bureaucratic elite that had dominated the country since the late ’20s. As a result, the cultural sensibilities of the majority of Turkish society, in which Muslimhood plays a great role, have become more influential in policymaking.
The practical result of this is that Turkey is ruled by people such as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has a greater emotional connection with the Muslim Palestinians, and not by the ultra-secular generals who look at the Islamic world with distaste. (I know that some of you think Turkey was doing much better under those generals, but I strongly suggest consulting with our liberals or Kurds, who tasted torture in military prisons or who saw their friends assassinated by the gendarme.)
This is not to say that everything that comes out of this more democratic Turkey is sensible – no, not at all. Some of the harsh rhetoric against Israel that we see in our media is indeed fueled by anti-Semitism, which exists within various political camps. The recent TV series that depicted the Israeli military as a bunch of sadists were indeed childish and silly. Turks are a highly emotional people and their anger against the carnage in Gaza, which I share, can easily lead to the vilification of Israel, which I criticize.
However, what I or you would prefer to see does not matter much here. What matters is that this New Turkish Republic, as political analyst Graham Fuller wisely calls it, is here to stay.
But is this bad news for Israel?
Well, it depends. If you are willing to achieve a fair two-state solution, which will bring security to you and a viable homeland to the Palestinians, the rising popularity of Turkey on the “Arab street” might actually be an asset. People say that Erdoğan is the new hero of the Middle East, and please note that he has achieved this by calling for not a “world without Zionism,” but a Gaza with happy children. If you really want peace, a just peace, this New Turkish Republic can help you by reaching out to some of your toughest enemies, such as Hamas.
But if you are willing instead to keep and even expand your illegitimate settlements in “the territories,” and continue to rely on an Iron Wall to defend yourself from an angry nation to whom you have done wrong, then, sorry. The New Turkish Republic will not be of any help. Because, believe me, it will never, ever forsake the Palestinian people.
The lesson we learned
When we Turks raise the issue of the plight of the Palestinians, though, you Israelis often remind us of our own sins, such as the plight of the Kurds. You have a point. But I have a point too. So please listen.
Yes, we Turks have been oppressive to our Kurdish citizens since the ’20s, banning even their very right to speak their own language. Yet we are not occupiers in southeastern Turkey, and the place that we really occupied, northern Cyprus, is at least safe and sound.
But I want to tell you something else that the saner among us have understood over our decades-long “war against terrorism” directed at the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Our powerful generals repeatedly told us that this was a military problem and they would “solve” it swiftly by “killing all terrorists, one by one.” Some also believed that “the Kurds only understand brute force,” and showed a great deal of it by burning thousands of villages.
Only now are we realizing that the PKK stemmed not only from its fanatical ideology, but also from the original sins of our state and its arrogant suppression of the Kurds. One thing I really like about the New Turkish Republic is that it gets this fundamental truth, and embraces a much less militarist and much more reconciliatory paradigm.
I think you should take the hint. You should see that there is no military solution to terrorism rooted in an angry people. The real solution is to admit the wrongs you have done to those people, give them back what they deserve, and, by doing all this, empower the moderates on their side.
If you keep on rejecting this and relying on militarism, then, my friends, the future does not look bright for you. The end of this road is to become something like the apartheid regime in South Africa. Look, even now your soldiers cannot enter the U.K. — the U.K., for God’s sake! — fearing that they might be arrested for their assault on Gaza, which a U.N. report said included war crimes.
I really don’t want you to go down that way; hence my prayers go to the peaceniks on your side. And, unlike some others here, I am not hopeless. For I know that the Jewish people, with all their admirable history, faith and culture, have the potential to be a light unto nations, rather than bring death unto the children of Palestine.
I agree with much of what you say, and applaud Turkey’s new strategy for resolving its historic conflicts through politics. But your memory of the recent history of Gaza is not so good. Do you not remember that the reason Gaza is no longer occupied by Israel is because a past government tried to do the right thing, withdraw from the region, and forcibly extract Israeli settlements there?
That government did so at great political cost to itself, as many Israelis did not like to see scenes of fellow Israelis being forcibly removed from homes in Gaza. But that government did it anyway, and handed Gaza over to the Palestinians, hoping for peace. It never came.
Right away Hamas used the absence of Israeli forces to begin a steady campaign of rocket attacks on Israel. They never let up. The goal of Hamas was to provoke an Israeli reaction, and they eventually did. Those in Israel who were advocating peace and reconciliation were discredited by the fact that handing Gaza over to the Palestinians did not buy them even one day of peace. The sad reality is that the Palestinian leadership in Gaza has no desire for peace, as they benefit greatly from the conflict. And tragically, the authentic efforts of Israel to move toward a negotiated settlement failed, and the advocates of negotiation in Israel are now weak. Israelis voted in a hawkish government because events in Gaza appeared to prove that the hawks were right–there are no rewards for a conciliatory Israel.
Thank you Mustafa! My prayers are with Turkiye!
The difference btw Kurds in Turkiye and Arabs under israeli occupation:
What would the international community say if Kurds living in Istanbul were citizens of Turkiye, while Kurds living in the South-East Turkiye would have NO citizenship at all, No rights at all; Turks in the South-East would be living in settlements connected with highways and such a network of settlements and roads would cover about 50% of the South-East; Kurds of the South-East would not be allowed to use the Turks-only-highways and the Kurdish cars would have plates of different colors?
Well, the international community would call Turkiye a racist apartheid regime. israel has been doing exactly the same for the last 60 years…
Bill,
Firstly, prior to the assault on Gaza there was an almost 2-year period of temporary peace when Hamas almost completely stopped the rocket fire onto Israel, despite the blockade. Hamas was even fighting with other Gaza militants who were violating the temporary peace.
You perfectly know this. Moreover, while Hamas was adhering to the peace, israel continued extra-judiciary assassinations of Hamas members, including elected MPs.
Secondly, you lie when you claim that israel left Gaza. israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip from land, air and sea. When food & medicine cannot reach children of Gaza even via sea and Gaza fishermen are not allowed to sail 5 miles away from Gaza shores, would any sane person continue to say that israel left Gaza?
You stated that : the place that we really occupied, northern Cyprus, is at least safe and sound.
Yet you neglected to point out that this was accomplished by completely removing the entire Greek population from northern Cyprus. If the Israeli had likewise deported all Palestinian from Gaza and the West bank, I’m pretty sure these area would now by “safe and sound” (for the Israeli). My point is not to defend Israel’s behavior but to point out how much worst Turkey’s is.
Behuz,
Anytime a Turk complains, as you did that : israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip from land, air and sea, I can’t help point out that your government, in whose behavior you should have much morme interest that in Israel’s, has imposed a a blockade on Armenia from land, sea and (until recently air).
Berhuz,
I believe we want the same thing–peace and justice for all peoples of Israel and Palestine. But Hamas is the worst curse that ever befell the Palestinian people. It is nonsense to suggest Hamas has any authentic desire for peace. Never mind their actions–Hamas thugs could have stopped every rocket attack on Israel if they so desired. In fact, they were behind this steady, low-grade assault. True peace with Israel would undermine their power. Even their rhetoric is not peaceful.
And do you honestly believe that there is any nation in the world who would not blockade a neighbor that was firing rockets at it? The U.S. would not passively accept random rocket attacks coming from radicals in Canada, and neither would Turkey if rockets were coming from Syria, Iraq, or Armenia. If Hamas wants to claim legitimacy and sovereignty over Gaza, they have to behave by the rules of sovereignty. And sovereign powers must be able to control attacks on other powers launched from their territory. This is a principal of the law of nations that has been accepted for centuries. By failing to “prevent” (and in fact by sponsoring” rocket attacks on Israel, Hamas was guilty of failing to live up to its responsibilities. No nation can reasonably be expected to sand by passively and tell its citizens to simply run to a bomb shelter every time there is an incoming rocket.
Merhaba Turk Arkaslarim,
I travelled throughout Turkey, from Istanbul to Igdir and I am very fond of the people and their unmatched hospitality. However, I am amazed at the utter lack of self reflection that some Turks show when they criticize Israel.
Right or wrong, the Turks used extreme force and ethnic cleansing when addressing Armenian, Assyrian, Greek & Kurdish “intifadahs” and if I am not mistaken they were quite forceful when they put down arab revolts. We can be absolutely certain that the Turks would scream for war if a constant barrage of missiles hit their cities from (let’s say) the Autonomous Kurdish Region of Northern Iraq.
And right or wrong, after the conflict was over, the Kemalists engineered the exchange of 1.5 million Greeks (of Anatolia & Eastern Thrace) for 0.6 million Turks of Greece via the Treaty of Laussane. And through constant pressure, the population of Christians that were excempt from the exchange has dwindled to less than 1% of Turkey. On the other hand the number of Moslems in Israel proper, as well as the territories has surged forward.
The purpose is not to judge the manner in which Turkey put down its own “intifadahs,” but merely to ask that it judges Israel by the same standards which it judges itself.
Jay : The purpose is not to judge the manner in which Turkey put down its own “intifadahs,” …
Why not???
What Does “Islam” Mean?
The word “Islam” itself means “Submission to Allah.” The religion of Islam is not named after a person as in the case of “Christianity” which was named after Jesus Christ, “Buddhism” after Gutama Buddha , “Marxism” after Karl Marx, and “Confucianism” after Confucius.
Similarly, Islam is not named after a tribe like “Judaism” after the tribe of Judah and “Hinduism” after the Hindus. The Arabic word “Islam” means the submission or surrender of one’s will to the will of the only true god worthy of worship, “Allah” (known as God “the Father” in Christianity).
Anyone who does indeed submit to the will of Allah as required by Islam is termed a “Muslim,” which means one who has submitted to the will of Allah. Many people in the West have developed the sad misinformed trend of calling Islam “Muhammadenism” and it’s followers “Muhammadins.” This is a totally foreign word to Muslims and unrecognized by them. No Muslim has ever called his religion “Muhammadenism” or called himself a “Muhammadin.”
Excuse me, but what exactly does the phrase “Turks are a highly emotional people” mean?
Well Mustafa if your prayers are with the so called peaceniks of the “israeli” then lets have a jewish israeli state in Turkey. Would you accept that?
Israel has no right to exist on the Palestinian soil. They came in to existence by opression and have continued to live by opressing the people whos country they stole. 80 % of the Palestinians are from cities, towns and villages located in the parts of Palestine that zionists named israel. Palestine is not only the westbank/gaza and east jerusalem. that is only 20 % of Palestine.
Allah has said in the Quran that he will send against the jews those who will inflict harm on them until the day of judgement. Last time was Hitler, next time will be from the Islamic ummah and the zionists will have nobody to blame but themselves.
If you feel so sorry for these zionist thiefs then you can fight with them against the Muslims. Enough is enough. We dont want good relationsship with these murderer zionists. The only solution to the problem is to dismantle israel as a state, the jews should return to their original countries and let the Palestinian Muslims, Palestinian Christians and Palestinian Jews live in peace in their country Palestine.
Zionism is from satan.