AxisMundi Jerusalem
Inside Israel and the Palestinian Territories
Coffee Politics
An Israeli coffee chain is boycotting ‘Turkish’ coffee in response to the current anti-Turkish sentiment in Israel following the screening in Turkey of a TV drama which portrays Israeli soldiers in a negative light.
Marketing manager of Ilan’s Coffee House Michal Steg said the chain decided to pull its “Istanbul coffee” off the shelves as a way to show support for Israel.
“We sell more than 30 kinds of coffee and one of them is called Istanbul coffee, cafe Istanbul, and… we decided that we are going to take part of the feelings that we had in Israel and not to sell this coffee like for the next few weeks, days,” said Steg. “The idea is because we wanted to be part of what’s going on here and to feel more patriotic and so its a more kind of symbolic way to show it”.
Coffee shop regulars had mixed opinions about the coffee shop’s reaction to the political dispute.
“I know politically this is a bit of a tough time with Turkey but it’s still a friendly nation and I’m sure there are other forums to solve these problems but I wouldn’t go to the route of boycotting goods and products,” said Len, a Tel Aviv resident.
On the rocks
A new primetime drama series called “Ayrılık” (meaning ‘separation’ or ‘farewell’ in Turkish) recently made its début in Turkey on the state-run TRT 1 television channel. Israel’s Channel Two aired a scene from the fictional show, showing a Palestinian father holding a baby above his head and an Israeli soldier in full combat gear taking aim and shooting the infant. Since the broadcast, Israel-Turkey relations have been put under more strain. The heated debate about the show has further influenced previously close ties between the Jewish state and Muslim Turkey that have deteriorated somewhat since Israel’s December-January Gaza offensive. At the same time, Turkey has strengthened its relations with neighbouring Syria. (Read more here.)
Leading Israeli daily newspapers Yedioth Ahronoth, Maariv and Haaretz have reported extensively on the show, wondering whether it pointed to growing anti-Semitism in Turkey. Tourism agencies said Israeli vacation bookings in Turkey have fallen steeply since the show was aired. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his disappointment in “the incitement on Turkish TV”. Netanyahu aides said Turkey, which has mediated indirect Israeli-Syrian talks, could not be an honest broker in any future peace negotiations. Commenters on Israeli web portal sites have called on Turkey to look in the mirror and take responsibility for what they termed its genocide against the Armenians.
Professor Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, believes Turkey is “not clean of anti-Semitism”.
“Anti-Semitism is not only in Arab countries, we can see now growing anti-Semitism even in Europe and unfortunately Turkey is not clean of anti-Semitism,” he told Reuters. “Basically we see a long term development in Turkish foreign policy, which is distancing itself from the West. We’ve seen the Turks deviate from European behaviour, for example accepting (Iranian) President Ahmadinejad in Istanbul, even inviting President Bashir of Sudan, who was indicted for war crimes. Just recently, the Turks announced they would not join sanctions against Iran as their American allies desire. So we see basically Turkey giving in to the Islamic impulses of the AKP Party (Turkish Prime Minister’s Tayyip Erdogan Justice and Development Party).”
Click below to watch a selection from “Ayrılık”:
Turkey should be applauded for exposing the brutal tactics Israeli soldiers use against the Palestinians. Anti-Semitism has nothing to do with it, although it’s not surprising that many pro-Israeli bloggers are attempting to deploy the ‘great silencer’ in an effort to ward off criticism. Even Israeli soldiers have confessed to murdering Palestinian kids in cold blood (‘IDF in Gaza: Killing Civilians, Vandalism, and Lax Rules of Engagement: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072 040.html)
The IDF is sadly devoid of ethics. The illegal occupation has lead many Israeli troops to believe that killing Palestinian civilians is a routine matter, or worse, a right of passage – “You are the law, you are God” as one soldier put it.
The link below is an article by Amira Hass that describes what the Samouni family in Gaza experienced during Operation Cast Lead. It is just one of many incidents where the IDF knew it was targeting civilians and tried to destroy the evidence, corpses and all
Family who lost 29 Members in Gaza War: We envy the Dead
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1121 720.html
Who’s Actually Ready for Syrian-Israeli Peace Talks?
What exactly are the prospects for renewed Syrian-Israeli peace talks now?
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s has called for a new round of Turkish-mediated Syrian-Israeli negotations. The problem is that it is unclear whether Israelis or Syrians are still on board with the idea.
In a Reuters article about Erdogan’s proposal, some Israeli officials said they were now sceptical of Turkey’s role: Benny Begin, a Netanyahu confidant, suggested Turkey’s fierce criticism of the Israeli Gaza offensive had damaged Ankara’s role as a neutral negotiator and said any negotiations for a peace agreement would have to be conducted directly between Syria and Israel without a negotiator.
As for Syria, the Turkish paper Today’s Zaman quotes the Syrian political analyst, Sami Moubayed, who argues that the meeting between Syrian President Bashar al-Asad and Erdogan shouldn’t necessarily point solely to an interest in restarting Syrian-Israeli peace talks. Rather, it highlights improved Syrian-Turkish relations (they historically had their own tensions over a disputed Turkish land grab on the Syrian-Turkish border and Syria’s harbouring of Kurdish Workers’ Party leaders). Zaman also quotes Israeli analyst Shlomo Brom, who argues that the only ostensible mediator in future talks now could be the United States.
Meanwhile recent posts by Joshua Landis, an American analyst of Syrian politics, suggest that Syria’s best strategy may be to sit back and do nothing for now.
As Landis argues, “Syria may be weak militarily but it holds many regional cards.” Right now, its position is fairly good. Saudi Arabia is making moves towards improving relation. Between improved diplomatic relations with Lebanon, and the current Lebanese political standstill, Syria hasn’t lost its foothold there either. It will also be important in internal Palestinian negotiations.
“[Syria] will likely stand firm,” Landis says, ” allowing Lebanon’s emulous factionalism to paralyse progress in forming a government. Assad can also stand back as Netanyahu and Obama play their game of chicken over settlements and the future of Palestinian land. If Obama blinks and allows Netanyahu to continue to expand Israel’s control over Palestinian land, as most expect him to do, it will be Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan — America’s allies — which will take the most heat for America’s failure.” Best to stay in the clear for now.
well said bruce. israel is becoming a thorn on the side for the U.S. considering we give them billions in our hard earned tax payer dollars you would think they would at least try and stop making us look bad. if it was any other country that was violating human rights at the level israel does or violate international law the way israel does then the world and especially the U.S would have slapped them with sanctions and embargos years ago. why do we continue to support a fascist regime that is the equivalent of the taliban? they are of no benefit to the U.S
from Global News Journal:
Austrian far-right leader isolated over Israel stance
Senior figures from across Austria's political spectrum have condemned the head of the far-right Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, over his party's European election campaign directed against Israel and Turkey.
In an advertisement in the newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Freedom opposes the accession of Turkey and Israel to the European Union. Although Turkey is in EU accession talks, Israel is not.
Heinz-Christian Strache prepares for a TV discussion in Vienna, Sept. 17, 2008. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader (AUSTRIA)
"What is the most distasteful and despicable is the style," says Ernst Strasser, the conservatives' candidate in next month's elections for the European Parliament, referring to Strache's campaign. "This style is abusive. He vilifies other religions and ethnicities."
According to Chancellor Werner Faymann, Strache is "a hate monger, a disgrace".
"It makes absolutely no sense for Israel to be mentioned. Israel is not a candidate for accession. There isn't even an accession process. The only reason to mention Israel is to serve anti-Semitic prejudices. It is disgraceful."
I do not quite get it. Mr. Fayman may object to Strahe’s style (although words are more important),but certainly, Strache is not the first or the only one who is objecting to “Israel and other ethnicities”. Not that that is the most important, to begin with.
If Austria in general is not enamoured by far right, and only “senior figures from accross Austria’s political spectrum” are condemning Strahe’s rude words against Israel and Turkey, how come, then, that Mr.Heider who exuded much more directly expressed hate of almost anything “not Austrian”, got such a wide following, not to mention the most elaborate state funeral that I have ever seen; the politicians, the Church, the young and the old in their full splendor, flowers and candles and all the paraphernalia of the pomp. Why such a big deal about Strache, then.
from FaithWorld:
Singing away theological differences in Nazareth
(Photo: Pope Benedict with Galilee religious leaders, 14 May 2009/Osservatore Romano)
Talk about a picture being worth 1,000 words. There's more than that behind this picture of Pope Benedict holding hands and singing a song for peace with leaders of other religions in Nazareth's Basilica of the Annunciation on Thursday. This might seem like an innocent gesture to most people who see it. To some Vatican correspondents following the pope on his Holy Land tour, it was an unprecedented step that spoke volumes about the evolution of his theological thinking.This sing-along started at an interfaith meeting when a rabbi began singing a song with the lyrics "Shalom, Salaam, Lord grant us peace." At some point, the 11 clerics on the stage stood up and held hands to sing the simple tune together. Never very spontaneous, Benedict looked a little hesitant but then joined in. It was something of a "kumbaya session" -- a "religious version of We Are The World," one colleague quipped -- but it was good-natured and well meant. The pope has been preaching interfaith cooperation at every stop on his tour and it seemed appropriate that it culminate in a show of unity among the religions in Galilee.But wait a minute. This is the same Joseph Ratzinger who, when he was a cardinal heading the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, frowned on Pope John Paul's pray-in with other religions at Assisi in 1986. He even declined to attend what became one of the landmark events of his predecessor's papacy. Catholics cannot pray together with other religions, he argued, because only Catholicism was the true faith and all others were flawed to greater or lesser extents. Praying together carried the risk of syncretism, or mixing religions.Over the years, Cardinal Ratzinger made several critical comments about other religions, especially Buddhism and Islam (although he is changing there as well). He drew a sharp line between Catholics and other Christians in the 2000 document Dominus Iesus that called Protestant denominations deficient and not proper churches. They felt slighted and several said so openly. The only faiths Ratzinger seemed interested in were Orthodox Christianity and Judaism (ironically, given the cool welcome he got in Israel -- but that's another story).Things change when a cardinal becomes a pope. Suddenly, he was no longer just the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog, he was the head of the world's largest church and its smallest country. He was a spiritual leader, a temporal head of state, a major diplomatic figure and one of the most prominent -- if not the most prominent -- spokesman for religion on the planet. That's a lot to juggle at the same time.
Dear Writer,
Very interesting to know and noted this recent behavior by Jerusalem people towards Turkish coffee.
Unwanted controversies were created ,blown by these two countries.
Frankly speaking, Turkish coffee is really a good flavor and interested to consume again and again.
These sudden emotions towards some coverages by Turkish against Israel are purely temporary.
Now a days, many countries nationalism mixes with day today products,consumption and to life styles.
Business is different from politics.
Both are friends in many terms.
Turkey is an important country ,with diverse cultural backgrounds.
Your photos at coffee shop is excellent.