During the last few days I have been emotionally bombarded by the wave of reactions to the Gaza Flotilla Incident. My facebook page seemed to reflect my multiple personalities of living in three cities: Istanbul, Tel Aviv, and New York. One facebook friend placed a Israeli flag, with the star being replaced with a swastika, while another Turkish friend called to condemn all expression of anti-Semitism. One Israeli friend praised Israel’s actions as “self-defense,” calling his friends to join a protest in front of the Turkish embassy, while another Israeli friend called Israelis to demonstrate against the Israeli attack of innocent civilians. My Palestinian friends expressed their solidarity with the Turkish victims. My American friends were divided.
In Turkey, personal reactions were similar to those I witnessed during the Second Lebanon War. In general, it is strange when friends start to tell you to keep a low profile (due to being an Israeli citizen among other things). However, at the same time it is comforting since it was done with good intentions. While I did not poll my Jewish and other non-Muslim friends, no one could deny the tension; however, some of my Turkish friends (both Muslim and non-Muslim) thought that this was preposterous to think that the Jewish community would be attacked in retaliation. However, clearly it was not baseless with Prime Minster Erdogan numerous times reminding Turkish citizens of the need to protect the Jewish community, and in one speech he even went so far to make it clear that all Israelis whether consulate workers, tourists, or businessmen should be treated with the utmost respect and not be targeted. Lastly, it should be noted that as usual in such times, one Jew wrote an apologetic letter to his “Turkish brothers,” explaining to them about how Turkish Jews have far stronger ties with Turkey than Israel.
In the midst of all of this, I was interviewed by Israel private Channel Two station about what it was like being an Israeli in Turkey, together with an Israeli woman who is studying in Istanbul. As I have lived in Turkey off and on for years I experienced less pressure to leave the country. However, this student was bombarded by family and friends pleading with her to return home immediately, as if at any one moment she would be lynched. The truth is that this is the last thing which occurred to me and as individuals the threat seemed limited. However, in my opinion, there is no doubt that “official representatives” of Israel were in immediate danger and thus were wise to leave.
Arriving to Israel yesterday (Thursday, June 3) to participate in my daughter’s school program, I had to make clear both in Israel and in Turkey that I was not “packing my bags” and escaping with what I had. Here in Israel, while many are defending the IDF’s right to defend themselves on the ship, most people when asked agree that it should have never reached this stage, and that simply isolating the ship in the ocean without engaging in any physical contact with the protestors would have been ideal; in other words, it seems that most Israelis are silently opposed to this government’s lack of experience in dealing with issues of defense and public relations. I imagine demonstrations against Israel’s reaction and the Gaza blockade will be held on Saturday evening and will report to all if I take part. Then there are those who are demonstrating for Israel’s right to defend itself across from the Turkish embassy. There is a limit to such audacity (hutzpah) and like some of their Turkish counterparts who do not understand why at all they are demonstrating, I will relate to this phenomenon in a separate blog hopefully.
Lastly, I wanted to end with two people who I thought really provided me with a glimmer of hope. One was a Turkish man I met on the flight to Israel who decided to attend his friend’s wedding in Israel despite the situation. Clearly, he was against Israel’s actions but did not find it proper to boycott his friend’s ceremony. Second, there was a fellow who I met on the bus going to the northern Tel Aviv region. He was working on a project to bring Turkish students to Israel, which unfortunately fell victim to these events. However, even while hesitantly supporting Israel, he seemed determined to continue to work to strengthen ties between Turkish and Israeli citizens. For me this was important to see. In the end, we are all human and it is in the worst of times we need to struggle to go against the current and to retain personal ties even when our nations go to war, or in this case a virtual war on the screens of our televisions.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Gaza Flotilla: the making of a Greek Tragedy
While I will be elaborating more on the Israeli attack on the Gaza Flotilla, today I will offer some limited thoughts. First and foremost, and most sadly, the outcome of foreign ships trying to break the Israeli blockade itself would not have reaped such a tragedy. However, once coupled with the Turkish contingent it was clear that both sides were in for a showdown. For me, the weekend was spent thinking about how and when this clash would happen. Like a Greek tragedy, it was clear that there would be no good ending to this story. The activists would fight a victorious battle and not give into Israel occupying their ship. Would they radically fail? No, their lost battle would turn them into heroes. They could not have wished for a better outcome.
The clear loser in all of this is Israel itself and its international legitimacy. What was the Israeli government thinking? Why did they not simply line battleships and literally block the entrance of the ship. Yes, a diplomatic brouhaha would have ensued with serious international negotiations setting in. However, having your soldiers board a civilian ship in International Waters? What a pathetic use of soldiers, placing them in place of negotiations. Thus it needs to be clearly stated: Israel in the end, no matter how they play the cards, is the guilty party. Guilty of killing civilians not in their territory; guilty of sending an ill prepared capture of the ship; guilty of causing irreparable damage to Israel’s image. As eloquently stated by Yossi Sarid, this was the work of “Seven Idiots in the Cabinent.” http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/seven-idiots-in-the-cabinet-1.293418
Also the Turkish government needs to take a share of the blame. Why did they not intervene? While Prime Minister Erdogan and his Foreign Minister were traveling throughout South America, did not think to derail this tragedy. They certainly knew that these ships were full of woman and children and that some sort of clashes would ensue. Once again, Erdogan has failed; how will he defuse the massive wave of anti-Israel protestors? Will he be able to extinguish the fire that has been ignited? Will he be able to progress a peace initiative? Certainly, the worsening of relations with Israel will only make a peace agreement even farther away.
In this article, I have yet to mention criticism of the Free Gaza Campaign. Since I have been writing this blog, I have stated that I am against the blockade of Gaza. The Turkish contingent represented by the radical IHH (Insani Yardim Vakifi) foundation has shown their true colors in the past. The fact that the Free Gaza Campaign joined forces with them also shows what a desperate state of affairs they are in. Indeed, it was a reckless decision by the Campaign.
What is makes this case a Greek Tragedy however is the fact that Israel so willingly entered the trap and proved to the world that like in Gaza, they will use military force when they really should be negotiating.
Stay tuned for more......
The clear loser in all of this is Israel itself and its international legitimacy. What was the Israeli government thinking? Why did they not simply line battleships and literally block the entrance of the ship. Yes, a diplomatic brouhaha would have ensued with serious international negotiations setting in. However, having your soldiers board a civilian ship in International Waters? What a pathetic use of soldiers, placing them in place of negotiations. Thus it needs to be clearly stated: Israel in the end, no matter how they play the cards, is the guilty party. Guilty of killing civilians not in their territory; guilty of sending an ill prepared capture of the ship; guilty of causing irreparable damage to Israel’s image. As eloquently stated by Yossi Sarid, this was the work of “Seven Idiots in the Cabinent.” http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/seven-idiots-in-the-cabinet-1.293418
Also the Turkish government needs to take a share of the blame. Why did they not intervene? While Prime Minister Erdogan and his Foreign Minister were traveling throughout South America, did not think to derail this tragedy. They certainly knew that these ships were full of woman and children and that some sort of clashes would ensue. Once again, Erdogan has failed; how will he defuse the massive wave of anti-Israel protestors? Will he be able to extinguish the fire that has been ignited? Will he be able to progress a peace initiative? Certainly, the worsening of relations with Israel will only make a peace agreement even farther away.
In this article, I have yet to mention criticism of the Free Gaza Campaign. Since I have been writing this blog, I have stated that I am against the blockade of Gaza. The Turkish contingent represented by the radical IHH (Insani Yardim Vakifi) foundation has shown their true colors in the past. The fact that the Free Gaza Campaign joined forces with them also shows what a desperate state of affairs they are in. Indeed, it was a reckless decision by the Campaign.
What is makes this case a Greek Tragedy however is the fact that Israel so willingly entered the trap and proved to the world that like in Gaza, they will use military force when they really should be negotiating.
Stay tuned for more......
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The End of a school year, back to Istanbul, the CHP, and blocking Chomsky
The month of May is always a stormy season in academia: exams to grade and papers to read, the usual wishing the students on their way, with some taking the big/little step of graduation. For me, the end of May also has come to mean packing bags and heading back home to Istanbul and Tel Aviv. This year, however, is a bit different. I will be heading back for 14 months, and start to tackle the book project, which I talked about in my previous blog.
Upon landing in Istanbul, I will be participating in the Hrant Dink Memorial Workshop, at Sabanci University, where I will be presenting a paper entitled: Remnants of the Past/Present: Jews, Greeks, and Armenians, as Historical/Living Artifacts. This paper was previously presented in a conference in New York last year, and since then I have been working on developing the theoretical side. Far from my field of Ottoman Palestine, this paper began while working with the Bezalel School of Arts in Israel, when I accompanied a group of architecture students studying under the direction of Professor Senan Abdelqader to Istanbul. For this, I began to investigate historical issues connecting Ottoman Jerusalem with Istanbul. It is exciting project, and once published I will post it –or at least the information where to find it.
Of course, this long introduction is basically explaining why I have not submitted a blog entry for little over a month. However, once over there, I will start sharing more stories with you about Turkey and Israel branching out and focusing on human interest stories, in addition to the political analysis.
The fact that I have not been writing does not mean that exciting things are not happening. In Turkey, the head of the opposition party, the CHP (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi), Deniz Baykal has stepped down following a sex-scandal that was caught on tape. It must be stated that this comes to a relief to many who had wished he would have stepped down years ago as he never conjured up enough votes during the last 5 terms to become Prime Minister. If all goes as planned, the future leader of the party Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will prove to be a real competitor to the the AKP and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. There is no doubt that the AKP monopoly, which has lasted almost 8 years, needs to come to an end. For more on the moderate candidate who has the chance of breathing new life into the CHP see the following link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gandhi-kemal-a-symbol-of-decent-politics-2010-05-19
As for Israel, I guess the biggest non-surprise yet pathetic move was blocking Noam Chomsky from entering the Palestinian territories to give a lecture. If they are interested in limiting efforts to start world boycotts, the Israeli government best get their act together and reinstate the basic human rights every democracy prides itself in: freedom of speech and expression. Blocking Chomsky is a cheap move and will only exacerbate relations between Israel and educational institutes abroad (and in Israel for that fact). This is just another case of limiting entry to people who are outspoken of Israeli politics and the occupation and is quite worrying to say the least.
Wishing everyone a nice and safe summer,
Louis
Upon landing in Istanbul, I will be participating in the Hrant Dink Memorial Workshop, at Sabanci University, where I will be presenting a paper entitled: Remnants of the Past/Present: Jews, Greeks, and Armenians, as Historical/Living Artifacts. This paper was previously presented in a conference in New York last year, and since then I have been working on developing the theoretical side. Far from my field of Ottoman Palestine, this paper began while working with the Bezalel School of Arts in Israel, when I accompanied a group of architecture students studying under the direction of Professor Senan Abdelqader to Istanbul. For this, I began to investigate historical issues connecting Ottoman Jerusalem with Istanbul. It is exciting project, and once published I will post it –or at least the information where to find it.
Of course, this long introduction is basically explaining why I have not submitted a blog entry for little over a month. However, once over there, I will start sharing more stories with you about Turkey and Israel branching out and focusing on human interest stories, in addition to the political analysis.
The fact that I have not been writing does not mean that exciting things are not happening. In Turkey, the head of the opposition party, the CHP (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi), Deniz Baykal has stepped down following a sex-scandal that was caught on tape. It must be stated that this comes to a relief to many who had wished he would have stepped down years ago as he never conjured up enough votes during the last 5 terms to become Prime Minister. If all goes as planned, the future leader of the party Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will prove to be a real competitor to the the AKP and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. There is no doubt that the AKP monopoly, which has lasted almost 8 years, needs to come to an end. For more on the moderate candidate who has the chance of breathing new life into the CHP see the following link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=gandhi-kemal-a-symbol-of-decent-politics-2010-05-19
As for Israel, I guess the biggest non-surprise yet pathetic move was blocking Noam Chomsky from entering the Palestinian territories to give a lecture. If they are interested in limiting efforts to start world boycotts, the Israeli government best get their act together and reinstate the basic human rights every democracy prides itself in: freedom of speech and expression. Blocking Chomsky is a cheap move and will only exacerbate relations between Israel and educational institutes abroad (and in Israel for that fact). This is just another case of limiting entry to people who are outspoken of Israeli politics and the occupation and is quite worrying to say the least.
Wishing everyone a nice and safe summer,
Louis
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