Sept.9 2011
An apology, returning the vessels that took part in the flotilla ,
compensating the casualties and their families, lifting the Gaza
blockade, and Israeli acquiescence to an international probe – these
were the Turkish demands from Israel a few weeks after the Marmara
events, so that the Turks won’t slam the door in our face and be kind
enough to return the Turkish ambassador to Tel Aviv.

Yet now, after their hopes were dashed, with the international
committee that the Turks so much wanted failing to meet Turkey’s
incredibly impudent demand for an anti-Israeli legal document, Erdogan
has no option left but to raise the bar of threats and sanctions.

And so, in the finest tradition of the Turkish crescendo, Erdogan’s
threats and sanctions had been growing since the Palmer Report ; it
appears that it’s only a matter of time and some current excuse that
would prompt the successor of the Ottoman Empire to demand that we
hand over parts of the Land of Israel.

Erdogan’s appearances and repeated threats are reminiscent of parodies
about neighborhood thugs who do everything they can to sow fear in
their environment, even if they fail to understand where their words
lead to or whether they can deliver on every rash pledge.

Yet in his own eyes, Erdogan is no less than a Pasha who wishes to
restore the Ottoman glory days, as long as everyone follows his
decrees and threats. All of this is of course done in the spirit of
Islam, which Barak Obama characterized in his 2009 Cairo speech as
offering “justice, progress, tolerance and respect for the dignity of
all human beings.”

Given these noble Islamic principles, we can understand why the
current Pasha, in his role as the regional guardian of morality, sees
fit to preach to Israel and explain how terrible it is to violate the
incredibly important commandment “thou shalt not murder.”

Yet somehow, Erdogan forgot a few trivial facts along the way. For
example, that only two weeks after his “thou shalt not murder” speech
he threatened the Kurds with extermination, some 95 years after his
forefathers did the same, in practice, to the Armenians while
completely denying their actions. He also forgot Turkey’s war against
these Kurdish rebels, the use of chemical weapons, the detention of
many Kurdish political leaders, and the utilization of the secret
police against opposition groups.

Indeed, only last month, Turkey launched a massive bombardment of
Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, including population centers, while
killing civilians indiscriminately.

Almost every indication shows that Erdogan has decided to grant Israel
a divorce, yet despite this there are quite a few Israelis who lament
and criticize the “reckless” act of not apologizing – even if the
Turkish demand for apology is only meant to bring Israel down to its
knees, thereby glorifying Ankara. Of course, later there will be
another excuse in order to trample Israel’s honor, and mostly tie its
hands vis-à-vis the Palestinians.

And so, based on the same logical lapse that prompted many Israelis to
say that “we must make peace, because without it the situation is
unbearable” – while wholly relaying on wishful thinking - today we are
hearing apology fans asserting that “we must apologize, because a rift
vis-à-vis Turkey is intolerable,” assuming that “appeasing the Turks
is possible because we really want it.”

At times, a bad option is unavoidable, for the simple reason that all
other options are worse

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