Rumors of a political about-face in Israeli-Turkish relations were already spreading when U.S. President Barack Obama landed in Tel Aviv last week, but those who were in the know were asked to keep quiet. The impression of fleeting hope during Obama's visit prevailed as the hours wasted away and nothing substantial hit the press. When Dr. Joseph Ciechanover (who served as the Israeli envoy to the U.N. inquiry over the 2010 Turkish flotilla incident) and National Security Council Chief Yaakov Amidror approached Turkish officials recently, they were informed that the big "boss," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was completely uninterested in restoring ties between Jerusalem and Ankara, and that the gaping wound left over from the IDF's deadly response on the decks of the Mavi Marmara was only getting more infected. Israel's part of the political deal with Turkey would be painful. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to apologize to Erdoğan under Obama's scrutiny. Turkish thugs onboard the Mavi Marmara fueled by Turkish incitement to attack Israel used force to try break through Israel's legal maritime blockade against the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops were defending their country when they boarded the flotilla that day. The apology, therefore, represented a lack of respect for those IDF soldiers who endangered their lives encountering armed Turkish activists. It is possible that Erdoğan never wanted to end the crisis. His vision for a revitalized Ottoman Empire was bolstered by the post-Mavi Marmara reality; Erdoğan happily deployed anti-Semitic rhetoric as a populist tool to drive his expansionist policy. The world is not stagnant, though. Civil war is roiling in Syria. Iran has taken sides, and Turkey stands opposed, maintaining its relations with Washington while simultaneously representing NATO's regional interests. These allies are all a part of the same package, and the U.S. president acted for the benefit of all sides while keeping in mind his country's best interests. Israel and Turkey could have concluded the crisis earlier. Ciechanover reached the conclusion that because of operational difficulties (and not including the actual takeover of the ship), Israel should apologize for the killing of the Turkish nationals. We know that then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak, with the backing of the defense establishment, pushed Netanyahu to agree to the apology. At a Forum of Seven meeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, former Minister Without Portfolio Ze'ev Binyamin (Benny) Begin, former Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and adviser Yaakov Amidror all supported the resolution to end the conflict. Former Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon (who is now defense minister) disapproved of the measure. Netanyahu decided not to express his opinion. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman absented himself altogether, but afterward pressured the prime minister heavily and Netanyahu torpedoed the initiative. Too bad. Because of the geopolitical shift that has since occurred, and because Erdoğan adopted a hostile line against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been battling armed rebels in Syria's civil war, the time was ripe for Israeli reparation. The move is in Israel's best interests. Though the apology has sore spots, it also provides a legal guarantee for our soldiers, who do not bear the responsibility either real or imaginary for their military activities. The government that deploys its troops is the responsible party, and that's the crux of the issue. It is relatively unimportant that Turkish officials have said that Erdoğan received the green light from Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for his reconciliation with Israel. Last week, they found out that even though the international community rejects Israeli settlement construction and expansion in the West Bank, Western nations support certain original Israeli concepts, such as the right to Jewish statehood and that there is no need to stop construction in Judea and Samaria as a condition for the mere existence of peace talks. The positive atmosphere that Obama brought to the region with his visit also included reconciliation with Turkey. That MK Hanin Zoabi, who was on board the Mavi Marmara in 2010, is the only unsatisfied party with the Turkish deal is the best proof that the deal was worth it.
