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What Israel Can Learn From Turkey

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  • What Israel Can Learn From Turkey

    WHAT ISRAEL CAN LEARN FROM TURKEY
    By Selene Verri

    Huffington Post
    Jan 9 2009
    NY

    Originally published on GroundReport.com, the citizen journalism site
    covering world news at the local level.

    Turkey recently condemned Israel's offensive in Gaza. Ankara has even
    decided to suspend its mediating efforts between Israel and Syria.

    It would be easy to dismiss such a position as just solidarity with the
    Muslim brothers and sisters in Gaza. Not that it would be wrong. But
    I would like to change the perspective on the issue, noticing that
    Israel and Turkey, two long-standing allies, have more in common than
    one could imagine:

    1. Both Turkey and Israel are countries strongly defined by their
    main religions, and yet both are secular countries. In both cases
    religion identifies largely with ethnicity (with the important
    exceptions of Kurds, of course, where ethnicity is predominant,
    and Alevis, who are not considered as a religion minority). Which
    has brought discrimination and / or war against religious and / or
    ethnic minorities. The modalities are different, but the similarities
    are striking.

    2. Both Turkey and Israel are countries artificially created by the
    international community. Israel, through the partition of Palestine
    into two states decided by the United Nations in 1947; Turkey,
    through the Treaty of Lausanne, which in 1923 replaced the 1920
    Treaty of Sèvres, actually reintegrating a series of territories
    which had been previously stripped off it, and frustrating the Kurds'
    hopes for an independent State (hopes that had been fed by the Treaty
    of Sèvres). I should add that the international community has not
    little responsibility in the Armenian genocide.

    3. Both countries have compulsory military service. In Israel,
    it applies both to men (3 years) and women (2 years); in Turkey,
    it's mandatory only for men (15 months). I admit I don't know what
    the consequences of this are in Israel (where a limited amount of
    conscientious objection exists anyway), but I know in Turkey for a
    long time this situation helped PKK recruit militants, since many
    Kurds did not wish to be sent to fight against their own fathers or
    brothers, preferring rather fight at their side.

    4. Both countries are just a few weeks away from the next electoral
    rendezvous. On February 10, Israelis will vote for the next government
    (and, for those of you who can read French, I suggest that you go
    through this interesting article by Le Monde); on March 29, municipal
    elections will take place in Turkey.

    Let me focus on this last point. The key issue in Turkey's local
    elections will be the Kurdish majority regions (what PKK and in general
    militant Kurds refer to as "Kurdistan", a word that in Turkey can
    bring you straight to prison). On the subject, I recommend you read
    this article on the Christian Science Monitor.

    Now, what has been the big news in Turkey in the last few days (apart
    from Nazim Hikmet's rehabilitation)? I quote from Reuters:

    Turkey has launched its first 24-hour Kurdish-language TV station.

    Which brings me to the conclusion:

    1. Israel is moving towards elections â~F' Israel bombs Palestinians

    2. Turkey is moving towards elections â~F' Turkey gives more rights
    to Kurds

    Of course Kurds are not satisfied, and they are not completely paranoid
    in considering this decision as a way by the government to get as many
    votes as they can, in short a propaganda move. It is also true that
    Ankara has quite a double-face attitude: while PKK is considered a
    terrorist group, soon after Hamas won the elections the AKP government
    welcomed to Turkey Khaled Meshal, the exiled Hamas leader. And they
    never uttered a word about the rockets fired against Israel.

    Nonetheless, one cannot help noticing that making propaganda through
    opening up to minorities is a more democratic way than bombing
    civilians. So, what are the main differences in this situation? Why
    do two similar countries in two similar situations act in such
    different ways?

    First of all, Turkey is a EU candidate. It is true that in the last
    few years the great reform impulse that marked the first period of
    the AKP government has slowed down, if not thoroughly stopped. And
    the new nationalistic vague has not helped in that sense. It is
    also true that this government is struggling hard at least to show a
    nice image of itself, which is surely not enough, but it's helping
    improvement. And improvement is never easy, especially for a proud
    people like Turks. The journey is still long, but the path is the
    right one.

    Now, this doesn't mean of course that Israel should be a candidate to
    the EU, but at least it shows that the EU can actually have a role
    in international politics. More than that: personally, I think we
    have a responsibility in that sense.

    But in all this story we must not forget one decisive point: in Turkey,
    Kurds vote. In Israel, Palestinians don't.

    --Boundary_(ID_ZuixV7ptwG+h/o1XATu9ow)--
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