Following a spat between Israeli Deputy Foreign Minster, Danny Ayalon, and Turkish ambassador Celikkol, Israel's damage limitation exercise appears to be bearing fruit. Ayalon has apologised to Celikkol after the latter complained that he had been humiliated by the Israelis in a meeting held only days before. The ambassador has been summoned to see Ayalon to explain why a violently anti Israeli show had been aired on Turkish television. The show had portrayed agents of Mossad as child murderers. Ayalon invited cameramen into his office and told them:
"Pay attention that he is sitting in a lower chair ... that there is only an Israeli flag on the table and that we are not smiling."
Chiding an ambassador for his country's ills is one thing. Demeaning him in the full glare of the cameras and in violation of normal protocol is another. It was clearly a crass and heavy handed piece of diplomacy, unworthy of a great state.
But what makes this episode even more unfortunate is that it has deflected attention from the really big issue here: the declining relations between Israel and Turkey. (A diplomat spat is a tiny matter in comparison).
For years Turkey has been paraded as a model of moderate Islam. Here is a country whose democratic and liberal credentials give the lie to the notion that Islam and modernity can never mix. Here is an ally of the US, a nation with favourable links to European countries, a nominal ally of Israel, a purported model for the Arab world.
Yet this is also a country whose media have just aired a violently anti Israeli show. Israel had every right to confront their Turkish 'allies' about this. Could you imagine the response if an Israeli show had portrayed the Turks as child killers? This was actually small fry compared to last October's disgusting piece of bigotry on Turkey's state controlled TRT1 television network when IDF soldiers were shown executing Palestinians by firing squad.
This crisis has been building for some time. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has been vocal in his criticism of Israel for some time. In recent months he has been an outspoken critic of Operation Cast lead, joining last week with his Lebanese counterpart, Sa'ad Hariri, to denounce the Jewish state's use of 'excessive and disproportionate' force. He once described the policy as a 'crime against humanity.' This is a true Islamist talking.
Last October, relations were strained further when Israel was barred from the Anatolian Eagle military exercise in Turkey.
Erdogan has also linked the termination of the Iranian nuclear programme with the dismantling of Israel's reactor at Dimona. His meetings with the Iranian backed Hamas terror group, from as early as 2006 when they won elections in Gaza, should hardly inspire confidence in Israeli circles.
Certainly Israel should have handled Celikkol differently and their subsequent apology makes some sense. But Israel is not primarily to blame for her declining relations with Turkey.