I've talked to Israeli officials both on and off the record about the Turkish government's increasingly hostile behavior towards Israel. While the Israelis have expressed concern and disappointment, they seem confident that the two countries' longstanding ties--particularly those between the Turkish and Israeli militaries--will ultimately overcome any animosities and outlast the Turkish government's current backslide into Islamism. I hope so but have my doubts, based on events like this. From Y Net:
A mass anti-Israel rally was held in Istanbul Monday. The demonstrators, who rallied in support of the riots in east Jerusalem, carried Palestinian Authority flags and posters of the al-Aqsa Mosque, and set Israeli flags on fire.
"Turkey has two facets – the modern European one, which is rational and tolerant, and the Islamist one, which is sometimes hostile to Israel," a Foreign Ministry source told Ynet.
"These complexities dictate much of the complex and delicate relations Israel has with Turkey."
The radical Muslims who incite the riots in Jerusalem want nothing else but to damage Israel relations with the more moderate Muslim forces, added the source.
"(The ministry) was not surprised by the rally… We have every confidence that the rational, leading elements in Turkey will know the difference between outrageous incitement and the facts, which prove that Israel is seeking peace and coexistence."
Let's hope so. It seems like the Turks--led by an Islamist government--are being swept up in the rising global tide of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel venom.