The following story reminds me of the famous movie “The Mouse That Roared,” starring Peter Sellers, about a tiny imaginary duchy that declares war on the United States. The movie, based on the satirical novels of American-Irish writer Leonard Wibberley, ridicules international relations, the arms race and US politics.
The story took place on July 2 at a roundtable in Istanbul with Israeli academics and a senior representative of the Israeli Consulate in the city. The event was held at the height of diplomatic efforts to end the crisis of the Mavi Marmara flotilla and rehabilitate ties between Turkey and Israel. One of the speakers was professor Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University — the very same center where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his June 2009 speech, in which he first expressed his commitment to a two-state solution.
Before I quote Inbar, I should note that the website of the center he heads explains that it was established “in memory of (late Israeli Prime Minister) Menachem Begin and (late Egyptian President) Anwar Sadat, whose efforts in pursuing peace lay the cornerstone for conflict resolution in the Middle East.” The head of the institute carrying the name of those who broke through the barriers between Israel and the most important Arab state, sounded the death knell of the close relationship between Israel and the first Muslim state that granted it recognition.
The senior professor then went on to threats: “We were always cautious on the issue of recognizing a Kurdish state, but if Turkey (a country of 73 million inhabitants with the second-largest army in NATO) continues to pressure Israel too much, we may have to revise our position. I know Kurds come to Jerusalem. If Turkey continues to be hostile to us, we will respond. We will not turn the other cheek. Sorry, we are not Christians.” And that's not all. Inbar warned that Turkey will not force Israel ''to do something that we haven't done to this day'' – a broad hint concerning aid to the Kurds, the opponents of the Ankara regime. In response to a question from one of the participants, asking him what exactly he meant, Inbar opted to leave his listeners with fodder for anxiety. “I’m not sure I want to make myself any clearer,” he said obliquely, and did not elaborate.
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