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Israel’s President Isaac Herzog landed in Ankara in Turkey on Wednesday, for the first state visit to Turkey by a senior Israeli official since 2008, as signs continue to indicate a thaw in relations.
President Herzog was welcomed by his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who spoke of a “historic” visit that marks “a turning point in relations between Turkey and Israel”. He expressed hope that the strengthening of the relationship between the two nations “will provide an opening for future joint opportunities”.
President Herzog said he felt that is a “great privilege for both of us to lay the foundations for the cultivation of friendly relations between our states and our peoples, and to build bridges that are critical for all of us”. He further explained that the rewarming ties with Turkey was being conducted “under no illusions, but reflects bilateral interests”.
Israeli TV reported that the leaders discussed Turkey’s relationship with Hamas, the terror group that rule Gaza, as well as the gas exploration that Turkey pursues in the Mediterranean, which could prove a diplomatic challenge due to Israel’s energy-cooperation agreement with Cyprus and Greece who have hostile relations with Turkey.
During the 24-hour visit, President Herzog travelled to Istanbul to meet the Turkish Jewish community at Neve Shalom Synagogue where he was invited to recite the blessing over the Torah. In a tweet he praised the community, exclaiming “all Jews are connected to each other through bonds of mutual responsibility and shared fate, and the community here is a marvellous example of this”.
After the visit, Turkish officials have demonstrated an archaeological gesture of goodwill by agreeing to return what is considered one of the most important ancient Hebrew inscriptions in existence. Israel has been trying to negotiate the return of the tablet, called the Siloam Inscription, for many years after it was originally taken by the Ottomans. The inscription is 2,700 years old and provides physical historical proof for the biblical account of the construction of a water tunnel from the Pool of Siloam to the City of David in Jerusalem.
Historically, Turkey and Israel were close allies with “strong historical, religious, and cultural roots” as described by President Herzog. However, both countries withdrew their respective ambassadors in 2010, in response to Israel’s raid of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara as it attempted to breach a naval blockade on Gaza. The move to re-establish normalised ties with Israel comes as Turkey has been trying to end its international isolation, by normalising ties with several countries in the Mideast region, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
