Jerusalem’s response to mounting Turkish aggression remains passive at best, possibly towards hoping the situation will rectify itself. Turkey, a former staunch ally to Israel has taken a sharp turn to the right, now showing a more prominent Islamic identity, an image makeover since the days of joint Israel-Turkey air force maneuvers, when Turkey was a secular Islamic state.
As senior members of Israel’s diplomatic entourage in Turkey are packing their bags, ousted by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer warns against severing commercial ties with Turkey, which remains a vital ally in that area of business and commerce.
The daily HaMevaser reports that in an address in Tel Aviv on Monday, to a conference addressing regional commerce, Fischer stressed the importance of continuing commerce with Turkey, making his statement as 40 Israelis were just released from a humiliating ordeal in the Istanbul airport.
Fischer stated that while Israel’s economy is larger than most of her neighbors, Turkey represents over 700 billion dollars worth of potential trade annually. The governor stressed that Turkey is the regional leader in commerce and is establishing itself as a prominent member of the international trade community in dealings with Asia and Europe, as well as the greater Middle East. Turkey is a major partner in Israeli commerce explained Fischer, and compromising this reality would have a devastating impact on the economy.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
Wringing our hands because we ‘need’ them too much is like cowering in front of the school bully- it simply empowers him! High time we recognized the TRUE SOURCE of ALL our economy/security/VERY EXISTENCE! instead of attributing it to people and like that let this rasha happily go the same way as all those before him…
Turkey and Israel are major trading partners and the collapse of commercial relations will hurt both countries substantially. It’s also the only Muslim country with whom Israel had fairly normal relations. It’s also the former colonial power, and if it gets too big most of the Arabs will start getting nervous (though in all fairness, the Ottoman period was “relatively” good for Jews)
Stanley Fischer is an American moderate and a pragmatist. He doesn’t say “bow to them, Now”, which would be wrong – as you explained. He says, don’t loose them. This moderate view is in line with the Torah’s position of believing in G-d and his “Hashgacha”, while taking a role in “Hishtadlus”.