Maybe it’s me but there must be better ways to manage foreign relationships!
Ahmet Oguz Celikkol
Most people in their private and business lives find that a genuine interest in, and respect for, those that one engages with leads to better outcomes. Surely that is just common sense.
So a recent report from Stratfor telling of an ‘incident’ between Israel and Turkey leaves me, frankly, speechless. Here’s how the report reads:
Last week a small crisis with potentially serious implications blew up between Israel and Turkey. Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkish Ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol to a meeting Jan. 11 to protest a Turkish soap opera that depicted Israeli agents kidnapping Palestinian children. When the ambassador arrived, he received a lower seat than Ayalon — and was photographed in that position, making it appear that Ayalon was speaking to an inferior. Ayalon wouldn’t shake hands with him during the televised parts of the meeting, and had an Israeli flag visible on the table. Topping it all off, Ayalon told an Israeli cameraman in Hebrew that the important thing was that people see Celikkol sitting down low “while we’re
Danny Ayalon
up high.”
Turks saw the images as a deliberate Israeli insult, though Ayalon argued that the episode was not meant as an insult but as a reminder that Israel does not take criticism lightly. While it is difficult to see the relative height of seats as an international incident, Ayalon clearly intended to send a significant statement to Turkey. The Turks took that statement to heart, so symbolism clearly matters. Israel’s intent is not so clear, however.
Now I haven’t a clue about diplomatic procedures but have travelled widely across the world, including visiting both Turkey and Israel. Like everywhere, people come in all flavours but in all countries it’s not hard to find reasonable, open-minded, considerate individuals who, like all of us, just want a quiet, peaceful life. So reading about these sorts of antics just leaves me cold. It doesn’t strike me as the best way to build long-lasting, peaceful relationships between neighbours.
It’s in Israel’s best interest, right now, to let a bad situation bad. Calm hostility is better than unpredictable improvements, the way the PM sees it. He has everybody in a box, and prefers it that way.
Turkey is not heading the right way, either, as its increasingly frosty negotiations with the EU demonstrates.
There too, just as Israel, the EU has no interest to go anywhere with Turkey, as the EU is busy swallowing the Balkans.
PA
Learning from Dogs 
It’s in Israel’s best interest, right now, to let a bad situation bad. Calm hostility is better than unpredictable improvements, the way the PM sees it. He has everybody in a box, and prefers it that way.
Turkey is not heading the right way, either, as its increasingly frosty negotiations with the EU demonstrates.
There too, just as Israel, the EU has no interest to go anywhere with Turkey, as the EU is busy swallowing the Balkans.
PA
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