Standing with Israel

I saw a copy of the latest Foreign Affairs at Kinokuniya yesterday, whilst I was there to pick up some books by Joel Rosenberg and Michael Oren ... the former writes about Israel and the Mid-East conflict from a Christian perspective ... As for Oren, his book "Power, Faith and Fantasy" was recommended as a good primer on US foreign policy viz Israel since times past. (All the books are extremely thick! I hope to get down to them!)

Incidentally, Foreign Affairs is also completely online... and I got sidetracked with a piece in the magazine titled "Is Turkey leaving the West?"

Singaporeans can hardly be called parochial. Because we live in a small, open economy, I think we're pretty well-read about international affairs. But following my recent Israel trip, I guess my reading has now been extended to Mid-East affairs, and not just what's happening in Asia, Europe & the US.

This article in Foreign Affairs was interesting to me. I didn't know that in the past, Turkey and Israel were allies... that in 1998, Turkish newspapers wrote headlines championing the Turkish-Israeli alliance: "We will say 'shalom' to the Israelis on the Golan Heights," one read. I didn't know that the tide has been turning since the ruling Turkish party came into power.

According to an article by Soner Cagaptay in The Washington Post in February 2009:

"For years, Turkey has had normal relations with Israel, including strong military, tourist, and cultural and commercial ties. The Turks did not emphasize religion or ideology in their relationship with the Jewish state, so Israelis felt comfortable visiting, doing business and vacationing in Turkey. But (Turkish Prime Minister) Erdogan's recent anti-Israeli statements - he even suggested that God would punish Israel - have made normal relations a thing of the past. On Jan. 4, 200,000 Turks turned out in freezing rain in Istanbul to wish death to Israel; on Jan. 7, an Israeli girls' volleyball team was attacked by a Turkish audience chanting, "Muslim policemen, bring us the Jews, so we can slaughter them."

Anti-Semitism is not hard-wired into Turkish society - rather its seeds are being spread by the political leadership. Erdogan has pumped up such sentiments by suggesting Jewish culpability for the conflict in Gaza and alleging that Jewish-controlled media outlets were misrepresenting the facts. Moreover, on Jan. 6, while demanding remorse for Israel's Gaza operations, Erdogan said to Turkish Jews, "Did we not accept you in the Ottoman Empire?" Turkey's tiny, well-integrated Jewish community is being threatened: Jewish businesses are being boycotted, and instances of violence have been reported. These are shameful developments in a land that has provided a home for Jews since 1492, when the Ottomans opened their arms to Jewish people fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. The Ottoman sultans must be spinning in their graves."

This shift in sentiment towards Israel by a long-time ally is interesting to note. Coming back from Israel, touring the Yad Veshem, and hearing about re-emerging anti-Semitism in Europe - this latest article in Foreign Affairs is sobering. We need to pray for the hearts of the Turks and the Israelis to be re-knitted back to one another! It is sad when friends turn their backs on one another. It's also a sobering reminder to an oft-asked question - at the last, which nations will stand with Israel?