‘The game has changed’: Turkish buildup on Syrian border sparks Israeli concerns

Turkey has been moving swiftly to expand its influence over Syria, with Israel being concerned by reports on Tuesday that the Turkish military is poised to launch a large-scale invasion. Read more

Wretched

Early this past Sunday morning, I was looking at the news headlines and reading the latest wretched pontifications from Blinken and Lammy. Read more

Turkey ban rules out Israeli wrestling team Olympics chances

The Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) has barred a delegation of five wrestlers from flying to Istanbul for an Olympic qualifying event on May 9-13. Read more

What does Turkey’s election mean for Israel?

Turkey’s High Election Board (YSK) declared on Monday that the country would be heading to a runoff election in late May, after incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan failed to secure over 50% of the vote in Sunday’s election. Read more

United Hatzalah ends Turkish relief mission citing ‘concrete and immediate threat’

A delegation of around 40 workers from Israel’s United Hatzalah emergency response organization is returning to Israel immediately amid a “concrete and immediate threat” to the team on Sunday. Read more

Yair Lapid in Istanbul: Iranian attacks against Israelis a ‘clear violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iran’

In a further sign of Israel’s improving relationship with Turkey, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid arrived in that country on Thursday and met with his counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in Ankara. Read more

Report: Turkey’s intelligence organization nabs Iranian assassination team

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) arrested an eight-man cell that was working on behalf of the Iranian secret service to target Israelis in the country, Turkish media reported Thursday. Read more

Israel and Turkey ‘return to dialogue,’ renew economic cooperation

Israel and Turkey have agreed to renew talks on a new civil aviation agreement and the return of Israeli airline flights to Turkey and resume the activity of the two countries’ Joint Economic Commission. Read more

Turkish FM makes first visit to Israel in 15 years

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu landed in Israel on Tuesday for an official visit, the first such visit in 15 years. Read more

Top Turkish delegation to visit Israel

A delegation of top Turkish leaders will arrive in Israel this week, ahead of a planned visit by President Isaac Herzog to the country, the president’s office said. Read more

Under economic and geopolitical pressure, Erdoğan attempts to make nice with Israel

In a virtual discussion held by the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), Turkish scholar and former politician Aykan Erdemir said Jews should be wary of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s outreach efforts towards Jews and Israel. Read more

Was Erdoğan’s meeting with rabbinic leaders a ‘spectacle of tolerance’?

When the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS) gathered its members for the first time under one roof in a multiday conference last week in Istanbul, the event became more than a garden-variety gathering when, to the rabbis’ surprise, they found themselves invited to dinner at the presidential palace in Ankara by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Read more

Lapid to Turkey: Shut down Hamas offices on your soil

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Monday evening responded to the recent discovery of a Hamas terrorist network in Judea and Samaria and in eastern Jerusalem by delivering a message to Turkey. Read more

Mordi and Natali Oknin released from prison in Turkey and are returning to Israel

After joint efforts with Turkey, Mordi and Natali Oknin were released from prison and are on their way home to Israel. Read more

Lawyer for Israeli couple detained in Turkey files appeal

Attorney Nir Yaslovitzh, the lawyer representing Natalie and Mordy Oknin—the Israeli couple being detained in Turkey under suspicion of espionage for photographing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s residence—submitted an appeal on behalf of his clients. Read more

Israel dispatches senior diplomat to help in release of couple held in Turkey

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has decided to send Consular Division head Rina Djerassi to Istanbul on Monday to augment efforts to secure the release of the Israeli couple Mordy and Natali Oaknin, tourists who were arrested by Turkish authorities and are possibly facing espionage charges after taking a picture of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s residence. Read more

Israel offers Turkey emergency aid in wake of devastating floods

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz contacted Turkey’s defence attaché to Israel and the Turkish Defense Ministry on Sunday and offered to send a search and rescue delegation to help Turkey cope with the aftermath of devastating floods. Read more

How will we know who won the war?

Maybe one day, we will discover that the impetus for Hamas’s latest onslaught against Israel wasn’t the pending Israeli Supreme Court decision about whether or not to respect the property rights of Jewish landlords in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

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Turkey’s bid to return to Ottoman-era glory endangers Israel and the region

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has high ambitions. He wants to take his country back to what he perceives as the glory days of the Ottoman Empire, but the leader, who has been described as “pugnacious” and has been at the pinnacle of power since 2002, appears to be leading the country down the wrong path as he quashes secularism, supports radical Islamism, suppresses democratic reforms and adopts a forceful foreign-policy approach that aims to assert Turkish hegemony in the region. Read more

Erdoğan’s loss is Israel’s gain

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared, during the lead-up to the country’s March 31 municipal elections, that “whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey,” he couldn’t have imagined that the catchy campaign slogan was going to energize his rivals and bode ill for his own continued reign of terror. Read more

Turkish president says he will ‘confront’ Israel, teach Jews a lesson

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned a group of Turkish youth on Saturday that “Jews in Israel” beat Palestinian women and children, and that Turkey will confront them. Read more

Prepare for the overdue “big one”

Anticipated major earthquakes both geophysical and political are long overdue…writes Michael Kuttner. Read more

Priorities

Decisions made by political leaders and those in authority usually reflect their priorities…writes Michael Kuttner. Read more

Turkey, terror, and tirades: what the Paris attacks reveal about Erdogan’s regime

On Monday, the European Union (EU) announced it is partnering on counter-terrorism projects with Middle East countries—including Turkey, Egypt, Yemen, Algeria, and the Gulf states—in the wake of the Islamist terror attacks in Paris at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket. But is Turkey a suitable partner for that initiative? Read more

Turkey’s Erdogan – an Autocratic Islamist Bigot…writes Isi Leibler

After over 50 years of Israeli-Turkish intelligence co-operation and sharing, the Turkish disclosure to Iran of the identities of Mossad operatives – apparently subsequently executed, illustrates the depths to which Israel-Turkey relations have descended under Islamist autocrat, Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan. Read more

Turkish Ambassador speaks to Canberra group

Turkey’s ambassador to Australia Oguz Ozge has addressed the Capital Jewish Forum. Read more