I would've thought that Israel wouldn't be on here because of the whole Jewish boycott thing from the Arab world. Kind of surprised me when I saw it was an answer.
Turkey is not Arab, except for a tiny minority. It's true though that also other Muslim countries boycott Israel, but there are some exceptions, like Egypt and Jordan to some extent, while they had excellent relations with Turkey until recently, Israeli air force often having practice over Turkey as there isn't enough (suitable) space in Israel.
I see quite a few Turkish products in the supermarket, especially dried fruit which is very popular here. Turkish Air has 5-6 daily flights to Tel Aviv. Oh, just remembered, my toilet was made in Turkey ☺
Turkey is one of Israel's oldest (and only) allies, or the closest thing they have to that, in the region. The Arab League boycott of Israel goes back to the Arab invasion of Israel in May 1948, the day after the country declared independence. Turkey was not a party to that invasion. They became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israeli independence in March of 1949. The Turkish Republic was founded as a secular republic in 1923, after the collapse of the largely secular Ottoman Empire, led by Mustafa Atatürk who introduced many far-reaching liberal reforms. The Turkey of '48-'49 was still very much Ataturk's Turkey; though he had died 10 years prior his political party was still in control.
That doesn't mean relations have always been easy. Turkey is in a weird place, always trying to balance between East and West, Europe and Asia, the Christian and Muslim worlds, tradition and modernity...
... and between Ataturk's vision of a secular republic and the country's conservatives' desire for politics with a more theocratic bent. Lately the country has been dominated by Erdogan, an Islamist, and relations between Turkey and Israel have soured, particularly following the last so-called Gaza War, as pan-Islamic ideas have gained traction there and opposition to Zionism and to Israel has always been about pan-Islamism and pan-Arabism.
but Turkey is not Arab as pointed out. They have historical disagreements with virtually all of their neighbors and no true friends. Their regional politics have always been about this complex balancing act I described while playing adjacent countries off of one another. So that includes, for example, joint military exercises with Israel as a bulwark against Hizbollah (shia)-dominated Lebanon, Alawite (basically shia)-controlled Syria, and explicitly theocratic (and shia) Iran. Turkey is sunni.
"opposition to Zionism and to Israel has always been about pan-Islamism and pan-Arabism."
Or, you know, the ethnic cleansing at the heart of the Israeli state (particularly the Nakba); the ghettoization of Palestinians behind Warsaw-like walls; illegal settlements that use an architecture of permanent occupation and surveillance; the bulldozing of homes; ongoing aerial and other assaults.
You know - primordial irrationalism, or responses to incessant real-life murder: either one.
It's what I said. Pick up a history book sometime. By an actual historian not a Chomsky or Zinn acolyte. People by and large are not rational. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know or understand much about the world.
but then they will also play these countries against the Kurds (whose state of Kurdistan, if ever recognized, would claim more territory from Turkey than anywhere else), and of course Da'esh whom everyone hates.
Also there's that old cliche: the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as Daesh is fighting Iran, Syria, and the Kurds then I'm sure Turkey doesn't mind them getting their hands on some weapons, whether Turkey hates them or not. This is pretty basic stuff and agrees perfectly with what I said about Turkey playing its neighbors off of one another. If it ever looked like Daesh was winning the fight and had the resources to turn it's attention to expanding northward things would be a little different.
I was going to say the same thing^ very interesting who doesn't show up. No Greece, no Bulgaria, no Cyprus, no Ukraine, no Armenia, no Georgia, no Azerbaijan, no Syria, no Lebanon... Turkey gets along *so* well with it's neighbors. :D Though hatred of and being hated by one's neighbors is sort of a Middle East and Balkan tradition so hardly unique to Turkey but they seem especially good at it.
precisely that. turkey actually does trade with most of its neighbours, it's just that the volume is not as high as it is with some other more industrial states since most of Turkey's neighbours are smaller economies.
the relations haven't always been zero sum, or based on hatred as you've put it. yes there are different political momentums during which they have soured but Turkey all in all has very positive relations with Greece (who is also a Nato ally), Georgia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Iraq and Iran (well as much as you can with the Iranian government really).
That doesn't mean relations have always been easy. Turkey is in a weird place, always trying to balance between East and West, Europe and Asia, the Christian and Muslim worlds, tradition and modernity...
but Turkey is not Arab as pointed out. They have historical disagreements with virtually all of their neighbors and no true friends. Their regional politics have always been about this complex balancing act I described while playing adjacent countries off of one another. So that includes, for example, joint military exercises with Israel as a bulwark against Hizbollah (shia)-dominated Lebanon, Alawite (basically shia)-controlled Syria, and explicitly theocratic (and shia) Iran. Turkey is sunni.
Or, you know, the ethnic cleansing at the heart of the Israeli state (particularly the Nakba); the ghettoization of Palestinians behind Warsaw-like walls; illegal settlements that use an architecture of permanent occupation and surveillance; the bulldozing of homes; ongoing aerial and other assaults.
You know - primordial irrationalism, or responses to incessant real-life murder: either one.
Actually I should've said "we" but, it's complicated...
the relations haven't always been zero sum, or based on hatred as you've put it. yes there are different political momentums during which they have soured but Turkey all in all has very positive relations with Greece (who is also a Nato ally), Georgia, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Iraq and Iran (well as much as you can with the Iranian government really).