Could two little words have made any difference? If those words were a timely “We’re sorry,” the increasingly radical government of Turkey says its relationship with Israel might have been normalized.
We don’t believe it, nor should anyone else.
The biggest story out of the Middle East in recent days has been the dramatic deterioration in Turkish-Israeli relations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had demanded Israel apologize for its sea raid on the Mavi Marmara last year during the notorious Gaza flotilla. Eight Turks and a Turkish-American died at the hands of Israeli troops.
Israel expressed regret for the loss of life and offered to pay compensation to the families. But it wasn’t enough.
It could never have been enough.
Once the deadline for the apology passed last week, Erdogan instituted a series of diplomatic downgrades, from expelling the Israeli ambassador to threatening legal action in the World Court.
Turkey also has gone on record supporting the Palestinian statehood bid in the United Nations later this month.
Some critics of Erdogan fear he dreams of returning his nation to its former Ottoman glory, with himself installed as some sort of new Pasha.
Whether true or not, clearly the Turkish president is a shameless hypocrite, posing as a valiant champion of human rights at the same time he orders indiscriminate bombing of Kurdish areas in northern Iraq.
There are those, including many in Israel, who had urged the Netanyahu government to make the apology. They argued that bilateral relations with Turkey, and the resulting trade, security and diplomatic benefits therein, were too important to sacrifice on the altar of national pride.
They had a point. Israel’s once-close relationship with the large Muslim country did offer untold advantages. Were the status quo ante guaranteed, making that official apology might have been worth considering.
But the government in Ankara willfully put itself on a collision course with Israel long before the flotilla. Erdogan has turned his nation away from the West and would have concocted any pretext for downgrading relations with Israel.
We still hope Israel finds a way to repair the diplomatic damage with Turkey. We further hope the downward spiral does not lead to any military confrontation.
But let no one be deceived that an apology would have patched things up. At least this way, Israel avoids any further humiliation Turkey seems bent on inflicting.