Tag: Turkey

Turkey is trying hard to carve out a new international role, attempting to leverage the unrest generated by the Arab Spring to garner wider influence throughout the Mideast and beyond. The larger story, the part that transcends the Turkish thrust/counter-thrust, is far more intriguing. Shifting regional alignments offer a wealth of possibilities for savvy Israeli initiatives in a wider sphere of ripening influence. Indeed, a true sea change is imminent for the Israel in the heart of the Balkans.

Given that Israel is on the frontline fighting terrorist threats, having been subjected to terrorism on an almost daily basis since its birth, one would expect that Israel would be among the founding members of the GCTF. Nope. Israel was not included among the membership, and is not even permitted to attend its meetings as a non-member.

Turkey, no doubt, is an important regional power, and Israel must weigh its steps carefully when dealing with it, because of the changes that are occurring in the region and in light of the unsolved difficulties with Turkey – the flotilla two years ago and the gas in the future.

There is good reason to think that the Mavi Marmara affair was orchestrated at the highest levels of the Turkish government, in order to embarrass Israel and to weaken, if not break, the blockade. And in this it was successful, insofar as the US response was to force Israel to weaken the embargo on goods into Gaza, ending Israel’s attempt to bring down the Hamas regime by economic means.

The 144-page indictment seeks 10 aggravated life jail sentences for each commander, including former Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, according to the English-language Turkish news service Today's Zaman, citing the Sabah daily.

European Turkey in its present form consists of the small region around Istanbul, Adrianopolis, Kirkilisse, and Rodosto. For the history of the Jews, the cities Adrianopolis – today’s Edirne, and the capital from 1361 – 1453 – and Constantinople – today’s Istanbul, capital since 1453 – come into consideration. Both cities once had thriving Jewish communities, but show signs of going under today.

Anatolia News Agency cited a Cypriot official as saying that Netanyahu offered to build a gas terminal for Cyprus on condition that all 10,000 construction workers be Israeli citizens and that 20,000 Israeli "commandos" be deployed to protect the workers and the terminal.

Why would a leading figure in Turkey's ruling Islamist party identify the era of rising Islamism as a “great shame…[in which the Middle East ] fell prey to the thirst of barbarian bloodshed”?

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once said that democracy was like a trolley. You ride it until you get to your destination and then get off. Presumably that’s at the point where you have consolidated power to the point you can do whatever you want and have turned Turkey into an Islamist state.

While Pakistan has been invited to the NATO summit in Chicago next week, Israel has been left out, at the request of Turkey, according...

It was a few days before Passover when I first heard the horrific cackling. “What,” I asked family members, is that? It sounded just like the longtime leftist agitator Shulamit Aloni. But it wasn’t.

Turkey will block Israel from participating in a NATO summit next month because the Jewish state has not responded for the killing of Turks who attacked Israeli naval officers boarding the illegal flotilla Mavi Marmara in May 2010.

It is astonishing to note how much the Obama Administration, supposedly so sensitive to the views of Arabs and Muslims, has ignored the concerns of America’s own Arab allies.

The French Interior Ministry announced Monday the deportation of two Islamists, adding that it is planning to expel three more, in the wake of...

The drill, called "Noble Dina", will continue through April 5, and will also include the U.S. Sixth Fleet. It is aimed at simulating submarine combat, airborne dogfights, as well as coordinating the defense of offshore natural gas platforms.

According to the Iranian news agency Mehr, Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday...

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As the Turkish PM continues to undermine Turkish democracy, throw hundreds of moderates into jail, destroy the nation’s institutions, support Iran, throw hysterical tantrums about how much he hates Israel, promote Islamism in the region, and is fresh from yet another meeting with Hamas leaders, Obama continues to use Erdogan as his guru.

Turkey has closed its embassy in Syria because of what it says is a worsening security situation, as President Bashar al-Assad continue to bombard the...

In an interview in Ankara, Turkey, published by the Anatolia news agency on Monday, Political Bureau Chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal accused Israel of using the Gaza Strip as a "guinea pig" for testing its military capabilities before attacking Iran.

A solution in which the Syrian people are empowered to operate more freely in a true multi-party government, under the aegis of multinational protection against both Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, would be the most desirable, achievable outcome. It is not possible to broker this outcome while ignoring Russia.

Israel's Army Radio cited a report in the Turkish daily newspaper Zaman as saying that Turkey has warned Iran against perpetrating acts of terrorism against Israelis...

Any real and workable solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict must be based upon this sociological fact: tribalism and loyalty to traditional religious and sectarian frameworks are the prevailing cultural and political framework of the Middle East.

Turkish PM on the list, Israeli PM Netanyahu conspicuously absent.

A war of words has erupted between Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan and American Novelist Paul Auster. Auster seemed to hit a nerve, suggesting that his allegations might be true.

Relations between Cyprus and Israel have been intensifying since Israel's fallout with its former regional ally and Cyprus' adversary, Turkey.

Efraim Halevy served as Mossad's chief from 1998-2002.

"Shoa", a 9-hour French documentary about the Holocaust, will be broadcast for the first time by a Muslim country.

Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman reported yesterday that Turkey pledged to provide Hamas aid money in lieu of Iran.

Haniyeh and Erdogan reportedly discuss finances in Haniyeh's first official visit to Turkey.