Presented by Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss, Senior Researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and co-editor of the institute’s journal Strategic Assessment.
The lecture will address the questions of:
- What are Turkey’s motives in adopting an anti-Israel stance?
- What are the chances of further deterioration into a direct military confrontation?
- Is there any chance of a reversal of the current negative trend in the bilateral relationship?
Since 2009, Turkish-Israeli relations have known ups and downs, but the overall trend has been negative. During this period, there were two attempts at normalization of relations between the states–both of which held less than two years. And yet, the deterioration in relations following the October 7th war has been exceptionally sharp. Turkey’s president’s harsh criticism of Israel includes the rejection of the portrayal of Hamas as a terror group and in contrast, presenting them as “freedom fighters” also defending Turkey against “expansionist aims” of Israel. In addition, Turkey has imposed a complete economic trade ban on Israel. Also, Turkey is active in law-fare against Israel, as well as using its media channels to promote pro-Hamas narratives. Even more worrisome, Hamas members operate relatively freely on Turkish soil, preparing terror attacks against Israelis.
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Dr. Gallia Lindenstrauss specializes in Turkish foreign policy. Her additional research interests are Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, the Cyprus issue, and the Kurds. She has written extensively on these topics and her commentaries and op-eds have appeared in all of the Israeli major media outlets, as well as in international outlets such as National Interest, Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey Analyst and Insight Turkey. Dr. Lindenstrauss completed her Ph.D. in the Department of International Relations at Hebrew University. She formerly lectured at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya (Reichman University), and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations at the Hebrew University, and a visiting fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center.