Israel and Turkey: Bridging the divide
Read on the website Vestnik KavkazaAuthor: Petr Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively to VK"
VK has recently received the information that the Israeli representative "non-governmental" delegation returned from Turkey, where it held a number of meetings with prominent religious and public figures in the country. Ironically, the information about the visit has not appeared in the Israeli media, and Turkish editions were limited only to short messages based on official statements of participants. Meanwhile, the members of the Israeli delegation consider their talks in Ankara and Istanbul as "very positive."
Turkish writer and social activist Adnan Oktar initiated the visit to Turkey of the Israeli delegation; he is one of the largest Turkish intellectuals who is, according to the rating of Jordanian Royal Center of Islamic Strategy, amongst the five most influential people in the modern Islamic world. Under the pen name Harun Yahya Oktar has published a number of fundamental works on Islam's relation to Darwinism and modern science in general, communism, Western philosophy and historiography, etc. in recent years. At the same time, he often spoke in the press against Islamic terror and for a dialogue between the Abrahamic religions, as well as for the existence of Israel and the Jewish people's right to their own state. Interestingly, at the initial stage of his research and writing career, Adnan Oktar was among the deniers of the Holocaust, but later he not only changed his views, but also publicly admitted his mistakes.
The idea of Adnan Oktar was that if the political dialogue between Turkey and Israel is stalling, it is necessary to arrange a meeting between the Jewish and Muslim leaders of the two countries, which, in turn, should help politicians and diplomats to take a fresh look at the problems. Inspired, Mr. Oktar not only organized the intended meeting, but completely funded it ignoring Israel's willingness to pay at least part of travel expenses.
However, to be frank, this action can hardly be called "non-governmental" and "non-political". Israeli delegation was headed by Yitzhak Cohen and Nissim Zeevi. They are not only rabbis but also Knesset members from the religious party of Shas, and Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen is, in addition, deputy minister of Finance of Israel. In addition, the Chief Rabbi of Geneva, Dr. Yitzhak Dayan, Rabbi Benjamin Abramson and counselor of Rabbi Nissim Zeevi Shushana Bekkerman arrived in Istanbul. The Turkish side was represented by members of the clergy and people of the ruling Justice and Development Party, who occupied prominent government positions in the past.
According to the members of the Israeli delegation, this kind of "interfaith" conference was held in two rounds - first in Istanbul and then in Ankara. The former head of the Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakish was a conference guide. At first, there was a certain tension, but the evening meal after the fast of the holy month of Ramadan not broke the ice but clearly made it melt. Yashar Yakish is summing up the discussions of the first day in his statement to the press: "August 15, 2012, we sat down for the evening meal breaking the daily fast with the Israeli delegation. In the course of the meal an atmosphere of friendship and trust was established. The Turkish side was represented by the former Minister of Health of Turkey, Mr. Khalil Shivgin, former ministers and members of the Turkish Parliament, as well as yours truly, Yashar Yakish. Both delegations in an unusually friendly atmosphere exchanged views on the situation in the relations between the two countries and agreed that the current tensions do not benefit any of the parties. During the meeting, several suggestions were made on how to get out of the situation, but in the end we decided that it is not necessary after the first meeting to speak with some specific initiatives that may be too hasty. We decided to create a working group of three people on each side, which would constantly communicate with each other, discussing these or other specific issues of bilateral relations and offering the solutions. When the time comes, we will hold additional meetings. "
Mr. Khalil Shivgin made generally similar statement to the media, adding that "it was nice to see that both sides are willing to make efforts and take concrete steps for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Israel, which, alas, became much worse after the incident with the" Mavi -Marmara. " However, I am confident that both sides need to further strengthen these efforts in the interest of the region and the world. "
Curiously, the members of the Israeli delegation, returning from Turkey, avoid any interview, apparently, having some instructions from the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu about it. At the same time, as one official said, "nobody is going to make a big secret out of this meeting. It has showed that the positions of Israel and Turkey on a range of problems of the region are similar."
In addition to meeting with a group of clergy and politicians, gathered by Mr. Adan Oktar, the Israelis also met with the representatives of the Turkish opposition.
Once again, both parties insist on the "non-governmental" and "informal" nature of the meeting, but considering that Adnan Oktar is related to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by long-standing friendly relations, and the fact that during the entire time the Israelis were in Turkey they were guarded by government security, it is hard to believe that Erdogan did not know anything about the visit. And in Israel, the authorities could hardly miss the "sudden" absence of deputy minister of Finance at a time when the economic problems in the country came to the fore. But the East, as we know, is tricky, and such games are not new for Turkey or Israel .
Adnan Oktar, summing up the discussions in Istanbul and Ankara, said that they were, in his view, an important step in the "gradual removal of tension" in relations between the countries. "Given the closeness between our religions and cultures and our shared history, respect for the Jews as the descendants of the great prophets of the Turks, the tension is completely abnormal" - Oktar added.
A member of the Israeli delegation Mordechai Keidar said the importance of this meeting was not limited to an attempt to improve relations between Israel and Turkey. According to him, Adnan Oktar is driven by far more ambitious plan, which fully corresponds to the personality scale of this amazing man: a full-scale dialogue and peace between Jews and Muslims across the world. "While in Turkey, I realized that this was indeed possible - Keidar said. - In addition, it became clear that for the Muslim world it is much easier to find common ground with religious Jews than with the secular. This point, in my opinion, should be definitely considered by our Foreign Ministry when forming diplomats embassies in Islamic countries. "
VK has recently received the information that the Israeli representative "non-governmental" delegation returned from Turkey, where it held a number of meetings with prominent religious and public figures in the country. Ironically, the information about the visit has not appeared in the Israeli media, and Turkish editions were limited only to short messages based on official statements of participants. Meanwhile, the members of the Israeli delegation consider their talks in Ankara and Istanbul as "very positive."
Turkish writer and social activist Adnan Oktar initiated the visit to Turkey of the Israeli delegation; he is one of the largest Turkish intellectuals who is, according to the rating of Jordanian Royal Center of Islamic Strategy, amongst the five most influential people in the modern Islamic world. Under the pen name Harun Yahya Oktar has published a number of fundamental works on Islam's relation to Darwinism and modern science in general, communism, Western philosophy and historiography, etc. in recent years. At the same time, he often spoke in the press against Islamic terror and for a dialogue between the Abrahamic religions, as well as for the existence of Israel and the Jewish people's right to their own state. Interestingly, at the initial stage of his research and writing career, Adnan Oktar was among the deniers of the Holocaust, but later he not only changed his views, but also publicly admitted his mistakes.
The idea of Adnan Oktar was that if the political dialogue between Turkey and Israel is stalling, it is necessary to arrange a meeting between the Jewish and Muslim leaders of the two countries, which, in turn, should help politicians and diplomats to take a fresh look at the problems. Inspired, Mr. Oktar not only organized the intended meeting, but completely funded it ignoring Israel's willingness to pay at least part of travel expenses.
However, to be frank, this action can hardly be called "non-governmental" and "non-political". Israeli delegation was headed by Yitzhak Cohen and Nissim Zeevi. They are not only rabbis but also Knesset members from the religious party of Shas, and Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen is, in addition, deputy minister of Finance of Israel. In addition, the Chief Rabbi of Geneva, Dr. Yitzhak Dayan, Rabbi Benjamin Abramson and counselor of Rabbi Nissim Zeevi Shushana Bekkerman arrived in Istanbul. The Turkish side was represented by members of the clergy and people of the ruling Justice and Development Party, who occupied prominent government positions in the past.
According to the members of the Israeli delegation, this kind of "interfaith" conference was held in two rounds - first in Istanbul and then in Ankara. The former head of the Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakish was a conference guide. At first, there was a certain tension, but the evening meal after the fast of the holy month of Ramadan not broke the ice but clearly made it melt. Yashar Yakish is summing up the discussions of the first day in his statement to the press: "August 15, 2012, we sat down for the evening meal breaking the daily fast with the Israeli delegation. In the course of the meal an atmosphere of friendship and trust was established. The Turkish side was represented by the former Minister of Health of Turkey, Mr. Khalil Shivgin, former ministers and members of the Turkish Parliament, as well as yours truly, Yashar Yakish. Both delegations in an unusually friendly atmosphere exchanged views on the situation in the relations between the two countries and agreed that the current tensions do not benefit any of the parties. During the meeting, several suggestions were made on how to get out of the situation, but in the end we decided that it is not necessary after the first meeting to speak with some specific initiatives that may be too hasty. We decided to create a working group of three people on each side, which would constantly communicate with each other, discussing these or other specific issues of bilateral relations and offering the solutions. When the time comes, we will hold additional meetings. "
Mr. Khalil Shivgin made generally similar statement to the media, adding that "it was nice to see that both sides are willing to make efforts and take concrete steps for the normalization of relations between Turkey and Israel, which, alas, became much worse after the incident with the" Mavi -Marmara. " However, I am confident that both sides need to further strengthen these efforts in the interest of the region and the world. "
Curiously, the members of the Israeli delegation, returning from Turkey, avoid any interview, apparently, having some instructions from the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu about it. At the same time, as one official said, "nobody is going to make a big secret out of this meeting. It has showed that the positions of Israel and Turkey on a range of problems of the region are similar."
In addition to meeting with a group of clergy and politicians, gathered by Mr. Adan Oktar, the Israelis also met with the representatives of the Turkish opposition.
Once again, both parties insist on the "non-governmental" and "informal" nature of the meeting, but considering that Adnan Oktar is related to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by long-standing friendly relations, and the fact that during the entire time the Israelis were in Turkey they were guarded by government security, it is hard to believe that Erdogan did not know anything about the visit. And in Israel, the authorities could hardly miss the "sudden" absence of deputy minister of Finance at a time when the economic problems in the country came to the fore. But the East, as we know, is tricky, and such games are not new for Turkey or Israel .
Adnan Oktar, summing up the discussions in Istanbul and Ankara, said that they were, in his view, an important step in the "gradual removal of tension" in relations between the countries. "Given the closeness between our religions and cultures and our shared history, respect for the Jews as the descendants of the great prophets of the Turks, the tension is completely abnormal" - Oktar added.
A member of the Israeli delegation Mordechai Keidar said the importance of this meeting was not limited to an attempt to improve relations between Israel and Turkey. According to him, Adnan Oktar is driven by far more ambitious plan, which fully corresponds to the personality scale of this amazing man: a full-scale dialogue and peace between Jews and Muslims across the world. "While in Turkey, I realized that this was indeed possible - Keidar said. - In addition, it became clear that for the Muslim world it is much easier to find common ground with religious Jews than with the secular. This point, in my opinion, should be definitely considered by our Foreign Ministry when forming diplomats embassies in Islamic countries. "