From the Bosphorus: Straight - Sober clarity in Turkish-Israeli relations

Precise clarity, we think, is a good thing. You negotiate a new mortgage for your home, you want to know all the fees, any clause that might vary the interest rate, just what changes in policy the bank may have in store next year. You go to the doctor with a headache, “it may be,” or “let’s see how you feel in a week” are unsatisfactory answers. If it takes an MRI or some other test, we are inclined to get it over with and focus on concrete and succinct results.

So this is, nearly a year after the Israel-Gaza war and the infamous firestorm at Davos, exactly what we have when it comes to the Turkey-Israel relationship. The first Israeli ministerial visit to Turkey since this relational malaise settled over two once-strong allies has served as the diplomatic equivalent of a frank talk with the banker or a no-nonsense review by the physician.

Thank you Benjamin Ben-Eleizer, Israeli minister for trade, industry and labor, the catalyst for this exercise in clarity. After Ben-Eleizer’s meetings with President Abdullah Gül, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and a handful of other top figures in the government, no ambiguity remains.

Turkey’s relationship with Israel will remain chilly at best for the foreseeable future. We will have to clean up a few outstanding weapons contracts, and then let’s be done with it. No more joint training exercises. Israel cannot expect any diplomatic help from Turkey until it reverses a whole spate of policies that most of the world finds objectionable. Turkey should not expect to be asked to shoulder any prestigious new roles as a regional power, say brokering talks on the Golan Heights with Syria.

Neither side should engage in any wishful thinking that the relationship will return any time soon to what it once was.

But, as Ben-Eleizer repeatedly said, and his some in his entourage repeatedly emphasized, business is business. An energy deal involving a Turkish company? No problem. An expanding Israeli bank here or a Turkish investment firm there ... let’s talk about it. In January, the Red Sea port of Eilat will surely beckon to the Turkish tourist, if not with the same allure as before. Antalya, and its beaches, will surely remain a destination for tourists from Tel Aviv, but surely fewer will come than in recent years.

We remain convinced that there is much complimentary between the economies of these two countries. Turkey’s anemic technology sector could benefit greatly from Israeli expertise. Turkey’s export agriculture can perhaps never reach its full potential without borrowing a few tricks from Israel. Israeli firms in need of skilled labor and a regional marketing hub could benefit greatly from Turkey. We wish there were the will for exchanges between universities in our two countries at all levels.

But not now. That much is clear.