Israel & Turkey: Time to Repair Relations?

Relations between Tel-Aviv and Ankara are set to get back on track after a series of statements blaming each other since Israel's Gaza offensive a year ago. Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced Thursday that he had accepted an invitation to visit Turkey in January. Barak received the invitation from Turkey's envoy to Israel, Ahmet Oguz Çelikkol.

Barak said Israel's relations with Turkey were of "strategic importance" and added, "Turkey is a key and important player in the region in reference to Israel's relations with its neighbors. Relations with Turkey are important on many different levels."

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Comments

[Jonathan]

Your write that "relations between Tel-Aviv and Ankara are set to get back on track..." However, there never have been relations between Tel Aviv and Ankara, just as there never have been relations between New York and Ankara, or Washington and Izmir, etc., because the capital of Israel is Jerusalem, and as such, it is where the nation's government is located. Whether or not this pleases you, it is simply a fact. This is true regardless of where the embassy of Turkey or any other country is located, as the article refers to relations between Israel's government and that of Turkey, and not to communications between Turkey and its embassy in Tel Aviv. There's enough controversy in the Mideast, and achieving clarity and communication are hindered rather than helped by factual misrepresentations.

[Scott Lucas]

Jonathan,

The Turkish Government's Embassy is in Tel Aviv, which it considers the seat of the Israeli Government. The article merely reflects that Turkish perspective.

S.