The Turkish-Israeli rapprochement, which was sealed with the 2 countries’ 6/27/2016 agreement to normalize relations (see JPS 46 [1]), suffered a setback this quarter because of the 9/25 Kurdish independence referendum. After 92% of Kurds voted in favor of independence, photos of Israeli flags being waved at events celebrating the vote proliferated in the media. Turkish pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who called the referendum a “threat to national security” for its potential to embolden the Kurds in Turkey, threatened to suspend (9/26) relations with Israel if Netanyahu did not abandon his support for an independent Kurdish state. He also alleged (9/30) that the presence of the Israeli flags showed “one thing, that [the Kurdish leadership] has a history with Mossad, they are hand-in-hand together.” Netanyahu denied (10/1) the accusation: “Israel played no part in the Turkish referendum, aside from the natural, deep and long-standing sympathy the Jewish people have for the Kurdish people and their aspirations.” Erdoğan repeated the claim a few times, but took no further action against Israel this quarter, opting instead to work with Iran and the Iraqi govt. to confront Kurdish separatists directly.
Quarterly Updates for (16 Aug 2017 — 15 Nov 2017)