אנקרה. אנחנו אף פעם, בעצם, לא חיים רק את היום המסומן בלוח השנה, ולעבר יש השפעה עצומה על עיצוב ההווה שלנו. כאשר מנהיג חמאס הגולה, חאלד משעל, בי־ קר באנקרה ב־2006, נשמעו מחאות על ביקורו בטורקיה, המשתייכת לארגון נאט”ו, הן מבית והן מחוץ. מחאות כא־ לה לא נשמעו באחרונה, כאשר ראש ממשלת טורקיה, רג’פ טאיפ ארדואן, קיבל בברכה במשכנו הרשמי באיסטנבול את ראש חמאס ברצועת עזה, איסמעיל האנייה. הזמנים
משתנים.
The Arab League is extending its observer mission to Syria for an additional month in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the ten month-long uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Read the story »It all started in June 2007, with the discovery of weapons and explosives in a residential compound in Istanbul’s Umraniye district. Police found documents allegedly outlining it all: a secret group calling itself Ergenekon composed of former military and intelligence personnel, and their civilian counterparts.
Read the story »“די מוצל מח. ינסראל דלה ן מנהל את המגעים עם טורקיה”
Read the story »I’ve been musing about President Barack Obama’s speech on the Middle East and North Africa for the past week: I like it, I like it not. And I still don’t have a clue what to make of it after listening to him on Sunday as he addressed the influential pro-Israel lobby group, American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
No doubt that the president gives fantastic speeches. The one on Thursday had two parts. In the first half, Obama has so many good points about the change sweeping the Arab world. In fact, I liked what I heard so much that I now feel sorry that he actually gave the speech. Why? Friends and colleagues are convinced that he could not have ignored the Israeli-Palestinian issue — but I wish he had. That’s the problem. In these two speeches, President Obama missed an opportunity to make two distinct points, and that bringing Israel up on Thursday muddled his message.
Read the story »For the last few years Turkey has been trying to sell itself as the re-shaper of the Middle East. But now that the region is reshaping itself in dramatic and unexpected ways, the late, lame and confusing responses of Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan’s government show that Turkey’s renewed activism in its Muslim neighbourhood has not gone very far.
No one knows how the Arab Spring will end — but it’s clear that with this awakening, the Arab people have nullified all of the narratives that others have used to describe them. Their endless tolerance and surrender to victimhood at the hands of their authoritarian rulers finally ran out. Many feel so desperate that they no longer care whether they lose their lives by taking to the streets. Since February, thousands have indeed paid the ultimate price, but with a purpose: they want change.
Read the story »Both Turkey and Iran play vital roles in bringing peace to their immediate neighborhoods — and ideally, they’d also have a relationship with the West. Yet the crisis in Syria has put each of them in a difficult position.
The regime of Bashar al-Assad may survive this threat, and the Syrian regime may quash the protests and kill many this week. But unlike their counterparts in Libya, Syrian anti-government protestors are alone in their fight. It’s nearly impossible to conceive that the Arab League would call upon the international community to intervene in Syria, which, according to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, is necessary to legitimize any military action.
Read the story »