“Now you're talking Turkey” took on a whole new meaning on Monday evening when President Isaac Herzog and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan engaged in a 40-minute conversation in which they agreed that a return to former good relations that existed between their two countries was important for regional security and stability.
Relations between Israel and Turkey began to sour in 2010 when then deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon publicly humiliated Turkish ambassador Ahmet Oguz Cellikol, who was recalled, leaving the position vacant for a long time.
The situation was exacerbated by the killing that year of 10 Turkish activists when Israeli commandos boarded the lead ship Mavi Marmara in the so-called Gaza peace flotilla.
Despite the ensuing tensions between the two countries and the exchange of barbs between Erdogan and then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there was a Turkish diplomatic presence in Israel, and trade between the two countries continued to flourish.
In 2016, Mustafa Kemal Okem presented his credentials to then-president Reuven Rivlin, but he was likewise recalled two years later in response to clashes on the Gaza border in which 60 Palestinians lost their lives. Ankara also expelled Israel's ambassador Eitan Na'eh and Israel took similar action by expelling Turkey's Consul in Jerusalem and summoning its deputy ambassador in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to face the wrath of the Foreign Ministry.
After the change of government in the United States, Turkey wanted to warm up relations with the Biden administration, analysts say, and sought to do so by upgrading its relationship with Israel through the appointment of a new ambassador.
The person named in 2020 was Uhuk Ulutas, 40, a pro-Palestinian who happens to be familiar with Israel, having studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. If diplomacy runs its course and he gets around to presenting his credentials, he will present them to Herzog.
In their conversation, Erdogan and Herzog both noted that despite the pandemic, trade relations between Israel and Turkey continued to grow.
The two leaders agreed to maintain a dialogue despite political differences and pledged to cooperate in an attempt to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Political pundits predict that Erdogan's next phone call to Israel will be to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.