{"id":19559,"date":"2010-06-08T00:14:10","date_gmt":"2010-06-07T22:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=19559"},"modified":"2023-04-16T09:49:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T06:49:27","slug":"israel-news-israel-opinion-israel-business-israel-culture-jewish-israel-travel-israel-activism-shop-optimism-photo-dudu-azulai-anti-israel-protest-in-ankara-photo-dudu-azulai-dd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/06\/08\/israel-news-israel-opinion-israel-business-israel-culture-jewish-israel-travel-israel-activism-shop-optimism-photo-dudu-azulai-anti-israel-protest-in-ankara-photo-dudu-azulai-dd\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Commerce is stronger than politics&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- YAELS: start of TD that holds the whole article-body --><\/p>\n<p><!-- YAELS: end of TD that holds the whole article-body --><\/p>\n<table dir=\"ltr\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"408\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"0\"><\/td>\n<td><strong>Even as  Israel-Turkey ties strain to the limit and calls for  trade boycotts grow  stronger on both sides, industrialists believe  financial ties wil<\/strong><strong>l  persevere <\/strong>Tani  Goldstein<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Published:<\/td>\n<td>06.06.10, 08:28 \/ Israel  Business<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><!-- P{margin:0;} \tUL{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-right: 16; padding-right:0;} \tOL{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-right: 32; padding-right:0;} \tH3.pHeader {margin-bottom:3px;COLOR: #192862;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;margin-top:0px;} \tP.pHeader {margin-bottom:3px;COLOR: #192862;font-size: 16px;font-weight: bold;} --><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\/\/ <![CDATA[\nvar agt=navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();var is_major = parseInt(navigator.appVersion);var is_ie = ((agt.indexOf(\"msie\") != -1) &#038;&#038; (agt.indexOf(\"opera\") == -1));var is_ie5 = (is_ie &#038;&#038; (is_major == 4) &#038;&#038; (agt.indexOf(\"msie 5.0\")!=-1) );\n \tfunction txt_link(type,url,urlAtts) {\n\t\tswitch (type){\n\t\t\tcase 'external' :\n\t\t\t\tif( urlAtts != '' ) {var x = window.open(unescape(url),'newWin',urlAtts)} else {document.location = unescape(url);}\n\t\t\t\tbreak;\n\t\t\tcase 'article' :\n\n\t\t\t\turlStr = '\/articles\/0,7340,L-to_replace,00.html';url=urlStr.replace('to_replace',url);\n\t\t\t\tif( urlAtts == '' || !urlAtts) {document.location = url;} else {var x = window.open(url,'newWin',urlAtts)}\n\t\t\t\tbreak;\n\t\t\tcase 'yaan' :\n\n\t\t\t\turlStr = '\/yaan\/0,7340,L-to_replace,00.html';url=urlStr.replace('to_replace',url);\n\t\t\t\tif( urlAtts == '' || !urlAtts) {document.location = url;} else {var x = window.open(url,'newWin',urlAtts)}\n\t\t\t\tbreak;\n\n\t\t\tcase 'category' :\n\t\t\t\turlStr = '\/home\/0,7340,L-to_replace,00.html';\turl=urlStr.replace('to_replace',url);\n\t\t\t\tif( urlAtts == '' || !urlAtts) {document.location = url;} else {var x = window.open(url,'newWin',urlAtts)}\n\t\t\t\tbreak;\n\t\t\t}\n\t}\n\tfunction setDbLinkCategory(url) {eval(unescape(url));}\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<table dir=\"ltr\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"116\">\n<tbody>\n<tr align=\"left\" valign=\"top\">\n<td><script id=\"2592235\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\/\/ <![CDATA[\nfunction ShowBigPic2592235 (URLstr){previewWin = window.open (URLstr, 'ThumbnailWin', 'screenX=1, screenY=1,resizable=no,toolbar=no,scrollbars=no,width=380,height=300');previewWin.focus();}\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/td>\n<td>Anti-Israel protest in Ankara  Photo:  Dudu Azulai<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Photo: Dudu Azulai\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/PicServer2\/24012010\/2592236\/3.jpg_a.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Photo: Dudu Azulai\" width=\"116\" height=\"116\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The growing rift  between Israel and  \t Turkey following the  tragic results of the Gaza aid <span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/articles\/Flotilla%20raid%20in%20foreign%20media\">flotilla  raid <\/span>is \t beginning to take an immediate  toll on the two countries&#8217; financial  and commercial ties.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Ankara announced it was suspending all of its joint   infrastructure projects with Israel, Turkish businessmen are cancelling   meetings with Israeli counterparts and it seems tourist activity   between the two countries has come to a screeching halt.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<table dir=\"ltr\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\"><strong>Repercussions <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr height=\"9\" bgcolor=\"#e5f0f4\">\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr bgcolor=\"#e5f0f4\">\n<td>\n<table dir=\"rtl\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"100%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"center\">\n<table dir=\"ltr\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" width=\"240\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\"><strong>Turkey suspends all infrastructure  projects with  Israel \/ <\/strong>Shoham Levy, Calcalist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr height=\"7\" bgcolor=\"#e5f0f4\">\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<div>Turkish  energy minister makes announcement in wake of Gaza  flotilla incident<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\"><span class=\"removed_link\" title=\"http:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/articles\/0,7340,L-3898754,00.html\">Full  story<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr height=\"15\" bgcolor=\"#e5f0f4\">\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Moreover, investment firms like Helman  Aldubi announced they were  divesting Turkish ventures and many Israelis  are calling for a boycott  on all Turkish goods.<\/p>\n<p>The shekel and the new Turkish Lira (TRY), it seems, have never  been  so estranged.<\/p>\n<h3>Significant commercial ties<\/h3>\n<p>According to the Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) and the   Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEI), some 900   large Israeli corporations are currently operating in Turkey, mainly in   the chemistry, pharmaceutical and medical supplies, software and   communication industries; and of course \u2013 various defense contractors.<\/p>\n<p>Those include some of the biggest companies in Israel, such as  Elbit  Systems, Israel Chemicals, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI),  Netafim  Crop and Israel Oil Refineries (ORL).<\/p>\n<p>IMA and IEI data indicate that in 2009, some 1050 small  exporters  had commercial ties with Turkey and 557 had significant sales  in the  country.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, IEI and MAI  refused  to divulge the names of all the Israeli companies trading with  Turkey,  citing business confidentiality. The decision may also stem from  their  desire to protect Israeli companies from a possible ban \u2013 or   worse.Israel&#8217;s trade with Turkey came to $2.5 billion in 2009, with  imports  amounting to $1.4 billion and exports amounting to $1.1  billion.<\/p>\n<p>Turkey was Israel&#8217;s 10th largest market in 2009, with exports to  it  making up 1.6% of Israel&#8217;s total exports, which came to $67.5  billion.<\/p>\n<p>Turkey exported $109.7 billion worth of goods and services in 2009,   with 2.2% of it to Israel.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/PicServer2\/24012010\/2591990\/IST10_wa.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"268\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Mutual interests  will prevail? Anti-Israel rally in Turkey  (Reuters)<\/p>\n<h3>Talks of boycott unrealistic&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;Talking about cutting all ties and a boycott are exaggerated and   unrealistic,&#8221; said Dan Catarivas, MAI&#8217;s director of Foreign Trade and   International Relations.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We have to keep things in proportion. The vast economic ties   between the two countries will persevere. The driving interests \u2013 on   both sides \u2013 are stronger than any call against them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Turkey&#8217;s decision to suspend all joint ventures, he said, &#8220;was a   government decision\u2026 which I&#8217;m not so sure can even come to pass,   because it contradicts various international treaties Turkey is a part   of, like the World Trade Organization, or the OECD \u2013 both of which   prohibit such bans.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Catarivas said that even if Turkey declares an embargo, it would   affect only the public sector in Israel, &#8220;which is only a small part of   Israel&#8217;s activity in Turkey.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Jerusalem and Ankara practice free market policies with an   independent, robust business sector that is not subject to government   directives, he added.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And since the majority of the activity lies with the business   sector, the financial forces will overcome any political pressure.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Catarivas believes that the &#8220;overall panic, as if Israeli and  Turkey  are on the verge of severing all ties,&#8221; is mostly media-made.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know of no Turkish company that has severed ties with Israeli   partners, nor do I know of any Israeli importer or exporter that has   decided to do so.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Complexities of diplomatic relations<\/h3>\n<p>Catarivas said that there is no need to read too much into Ankara&#8217;s   decision to recall its ambassador.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Diplomatic relations have many facets \u2013 political, economical,   cultural \u2013 and they don&#8217;t always coincide. Israel&#8217;s political and   strategic ties with Turkey are experiencing an obvious crisis; but in   many cases, even if diplomatic ties are cut, commercial ties are   preserved.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Venezuela recalled its ambassador, Israel had no diplomatic   relations with Austria for a year and Jordan and Egypt recall   ambassadors on a regular basis, but it&#8217;s always business as usual.&#8221;<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/PicServer2\/24012010\/2586503\/ANK01_wa.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" width=\"408\" height=\"297\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Entangled with the  West. Turkish PM Erdogan (Photo: Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>Turkey, he added, is facing a complex situation not only where   Israel is concerned, but with the United States and Europe as well.   &#8220;(Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan&#8217;s policies are hurting   Turkey&#8217;s ties with the West, but even within his powerbase \u2013 and a big   part of that is Turkey&#8217;s new business elite \u2013 many have business ties   with Israel and their interests are to preserve ties.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Here too, there are those who are furious with Turkey, but want  to  preserve business ties.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Checks and balances<\/h3>\n<p>As for concerns that Israeli defense contractors are supplying Ankara   with weapons it may one day turn against Israel, Catarivas said he   trusts that the defense establishment&#8217;s system of checks and balances   &#8220;would prevent Israeli exports from ending up in the wrong hands.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Catarivas went on to dismiss claims suggesting maintaining business   ties with Turkey would be unpatriotic, maybe even self-serving: &#8220;It&#8217;s in   Israel&#8217;s best interest to maintain business ties with as many markets   as possible, Turkey included.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Israel&#8217;s existence relies on its continued market activity and   exports. We employ thousands of people, which bolsters Israel just as   much as national pride.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In my opinion, conducting business \u2013 even with Turkey \u2013 is true   patriotism.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Chairman Israel-Turkey Business Council Menashe Carmon agrees: &#8220;There   is a strong interest to preserve commercial relations and they will   persevere.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<table dir=\"ltr\" border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\/\/ <![CDATA[\nGA_googleFillSlot(\"Yn_main_tv_300_250\");\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"http:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ads?correlator=1275948659578&amp;output=json_html&amp;callback=GA_googleSetAdContentsBySlotForSync&amp;impl=s&amp;prev_afc=7&amp;a2ids=%2C%2C&amp;cids=%2C%2C&amp;eid=31865000%2C36816001&amp;client=ca-pub-5997776081861329&amp;slotname=Yn_main_tv_300_250&amp;page_slots=Yn_main_728_90%2CYn_main_120_600%2CYn_ros_text_120_600%2CYn_main_tv_300_250&amp;cookie=ID%3D3f8a4dfec7994039%3AT%3D1275948254%3AS%3DALNI_MbkojnPeqF_IUj7BYXPKib6iMHBzw&amp;ga_vid=1532995360.1275948663&amp;ga_sid=1275948663&amp;ga_hid=995591878&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ynetnews.com%2Farticles%2F0%2C7340%2CL-3899057%2C00.html&amp;lmt=1275948659&amp;dt=1275948663847&amp;cc=17&amp;biw=1151&amp;bih=550&amp;ifi=4&amp;adk=1964702069&amp;u_tz=180&amp;u_his=1&amp;u_h=800&amp;u_w=1280&amp;u_ah=800&amp;u_aw=1280&amp;u_cd=24&amp;u_nplug=20&amp;u_nmime=80&amp;flash=10.0.45\"><\/script> <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\/\/ <![CDATA[\nGA_googleCreateDomIframe('google_ads_div_Yn_main_tv_300_250' ,'Yn_main_tv_300_250');\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;What  happened will, naturally, have a detrimental effect, but it&#8217;s  too early  to say how much damage has been caused. I believe it will  turn out to  be less severe than we think.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He too believed the media contributed to a &#8220;sense of  catastrophe,  which isn\u2019t true\u2026 At the end of the day, both parties want  trade to  continue \u2013 so it will.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\/\/ <![CDATA[\nvidProcsArticleHooks={detectOpenSendTalkback:function(){if ((document.referrer.length>0)&#038;&#038;(document.referrer!=window.location.href)) {var tmp=window.location.href.split('?');if (tmp.length>1) {tmp=tmp[1].split('&#038;');for(var i=0;i<tmp.length;i++){var t=tmp[i].split('=');if ((t.length==2)&#038;&#038;(t[0]=='openSendTalkback')&#038;&#038;(t[1]=='1')) {setTimeout(function(){openInnewWindow('\/YediothPortal\/Ext\/TalkBack\/CdaTalkBack\/1,2497,L-3899057-0-68-3085-0--,00.html',435,490,0);},200);};};};};},getSendTalkbackLink:function(articleId){if (''+articleId=='3899057') 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title=\"http:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/articles\/0,7340,L-3898754,00.html\">Turkey  suspends all infrastructure projects with Israel<\/span><\/td>\n<td width=\"80\" height=\"80\" bgcolor=\"#e1e5f0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Photo: AP\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/PicServer2\/24012010\/2548800\/TTW111_a.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Photo: AP\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" \/><\/td>\n<td height=\"80\" valign=\"top\" bgcolor=\"#e1e5f0\">$1B  pledged at Palestinian investment meet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even as Israel-Turkey ties strain to the limit and calls for trade boycotts grow stronger on both sides, industrialists believe financial ties will persevere Tani Goldstein Published: 06.06.10, 08:28 \/ Israel Business Anti-Israel protest in Ankara Photo: Dudu Azulai The growing rift between Israel and Turkey following the tragic results of the Gaza aid flotilla [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":783550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[846,1094,89,922],"tags":[128],"class_list":["post-19559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-tourism","category-turkey","category-world","tag-terrorism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}