Most Israelis say govt 'mistakenly' apologized

A large majority in Israel, 71 percent, believe it was a mistake to apologize to Turkey for the killing of nine Turkish nationals by Israeli soldiers when they boarded Mavi Marmara, a humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza in May 2010, according to a recently conducted poll.

Professor Efraim Inbar, the director of the Begin-Sedat Center for Strategic Studies, which commissioned the poll, said 55 percent of Israelis believe Turkey’s global and regional ambitions are behind the deterioration in relations. “Israel bashing brings Turkey popularity in Iran and the Islamic world,” he said yesterday at a panel organized by Turkish Policy Quarterly and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

Little attribution to anti-Semitism

A total of 24 percent believe domestic reasons are the cause of the souring of relations, while only 8 percent attribute it to anti-Semitism, according to Inbar, who said the Israeli public analyzed Turkish-Israeli relations from a realpolitik lens.

The Israeli apology is irrelevant to the future of relations because as long as Turkey is not interested in having good relations with Israel not much will change, said Inbar.

Nimrod Gore, the chairman of Mitvim, the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, used more optimistic rhetoric, saying the Israeli apology had opened channels for dialogue. But he also said the lack of progress in normalizing ties has fueled skepticism among the Israeli public about Turkey’s willingness to reconcile with Israel. Negotiations are stuck on the issue of compensation, but the Israeli public needs to see some visible steps from Turkey to increase their trust in the reconciliation process. One such step could be the exchange of ambassadors, according to Goren.


/HurriyetDailynews.Com/