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factional differences in Israel partly explain the stupidity

Reader comment on item: Futile Israeli Efforts to Win Ankara Back
in response to reader comment: Israeli-Turkish relationships VS Israeli alliance with Greece , Romania , Bulgaria and Cyprus!!!

Submitted by Eliyahu (Israel), Feb 20, 2013 at 08:48

Yes, I agree with Daniel Pipes and others who question this weird move. But we should also take into consideration the factional differences in Israel --and within state institutions like the foreign ministry and defense establishment-- over the Turkish issue. Many people in these institutions were Labor Party loyalists originally and many of these were appointed by Shimon Peres, now state president. Peres' obsessive inclination over the years has been to please official Washington. And Washington has been eager to promote Turkey generally as well as to have Israel cooperate with Israel no matter how Turkey under Erdogan was undermining Israel.

Obama is a striking example of this pro-Turkish bias in official DC. Erdogan has been reported in the media to be Obama's best friend among foreign leaders. In this context, note that Obama and Erdogan have a sycophantic mutual admiration society going. Last year Obama gave Peres some medal or other. And this year Peres will give Obama the Israeli president's medal of distinction. So Peres' toadying juices are primed to toady to Erdogan too. Moreover, note that a dyed in the wool parasite, one Alon Liel, a former ambassador to Turkey, has often been invited to appear on Israeli radio or TV [heavily under Peres' influence] and has several times called for the Netanyahu govt to "apologize" to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara affair.

Liel has also argued against recognizing the Armenian genocide. That non-recognition is not only a Turkish position but a position of official Washington, of the State Dept and White House. Recall that Obama broke his 2008 campaign promise to recognize it. On his visit to Turkey in early 2009, Obama went into a verbal contortion in order not to say genocide.

Recall that the Netanyahu govt refused to "apologize" to Erdogan over the Mavi Marmara. Now it seems that the pro-Obama Peres faction has the upper hand.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (24) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
We dare you to [95 words]Nazim CairoMar 1, 2013 17:57203953
ı agree [109 words]havasMar 2, 2013 01:47203953
1Turkish chest Beating [44 words]Robert WFeb 24, 2013 15:28203826
Israel never had a friendly relationship with this Turkish regime [135 words]Herbert GrossmanFeb 20, 2013 18:48203724
1Enemy? Trade is booming between Israel and Turkey [52 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Can OzFeb 19, 2013 18:31203659
hostile to turkey ?? [27 words]roger spleenFeb 20, 2013 06:07203659
appeasement hysteria [45 words]BenFeb 23, 2013 16:45203659
3When will they ever learn...WILL they ever learn? [112 words]NuritGFeb 19, 2013 16:48203658
Israel Not Doing Anything The US Has Not Already Done [113 words]M. ToveyFeb 19, 2013 12:52203655
3Very enlightening and disappointing article i could say. [290 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
AlexandrosFeb 19, 2013 11:41203653
1me and three other guys [160 words]mythFeb 19, 2013 10:55203652
2There Should Be An Apology For Marmara - But Not What You Think! [43 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Ron AnderFeb 19, 2013 09:53203651
2DOESN'T ISRAEL REALIZE WHEN A COUNTRY SPITS IN ITS FACE? [155 words]Ilene RichmanFeb 19, 2013 09:16203649
Relations with Turkey [53 words]Leonard MarkowitzFeb 19, 2013 08:20203644
1... analysis :) [36 words]JoshFeb 19, 2013 07:41203642
1Politics is the art of the possible [397 words]MozereFeb 19, 2013 07:22203641
3A bit misleading again [526 words]AlexandrosFeb 19, 2013 21:07203641
11Israeli-Turkish relationships VS Israeli alliance with Greece , Romania , Bulgaria and Cyprus!!! [173 words]Gregoris GregoriouFeb 19, 2013 02:45203634
2factional differences in Israel partly explain the stupidity [313 words]EliyahuFeb 20, 2013 08:48203634
8The explanation is America's secret agenda, not Israel . [559 words]IanusFeb 20, 2013 16:13203634
Turkey has always been the most brutal murdering country of all time! [14 words]BobMar 18, 2013 13:46203634
2Turkish AWACS. [120 words]Steven LFeb 19, 2013 00:54203631
Futile Israeli Efforts to Win Ankara Back [112 words]Judith DaviesFeb 19, 2013 00:04203629
a death wish? [37 words]RitaFeb 18, 2013 23:04203626

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