ISRAELI EMBASSY HOPES FOR BETTER TIMES AFTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001532 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2034 TAGS: PREL IS TU SUBJECT: ISRAELI EMBASSY HOPES FOR BETTER TIMES AFTER RECENT TURKEY-ISRAEL SPATS REF: ANKARA 1481 Classified By: DCM Doug Silliman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Israeli DCM Menahem Kanafi told DCM October 21 that the Turkish MFA and Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) have been responsive to Israeli requests regarding a soap opera airing this week on TRT that dramatized graphic Israeli violence against Palestinian civilians. After the Israeli Ambassador had spoken to the MFA and TRT, the episodes appeared to have had violent sequences edited out. The Israelis had argued that it was not the violence itself that was the problem, but the fact that the series showed only violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers, did not take into account "our sensitivities," and could lead to broader anti-Semitic sentiments among Turks. TRT, Kanafi said, tried to explain away the violence in the original series by saying that, in the end, an Israeli soldier falls in love with a Palestinian girl and the series ends with a message of peace. ¶2. (C) Kanafi also commented that the sting was going out of the last-minute cancellation of Israeli participation in exercise Anatolian Eagle (reftel). Israel had noted during and after the Gaza crisis that Erdogan and other GOT officials had noted in public their disappointment that Israeli pilot trained in Konya had bombed Gaza, and had gotten several press queries about whether Israel was planning to participate in the June 2009 version of the exercise (in which Israel was not involved). "We should have seen this coming," he said, but assumed that the continued planning of the military details of the exercise represented political assent. ¶3. (C) Tel Aviv is now looking at the planned December 2009 visit of the Israeli Economy Minister to Turkey and a planned Turkish Parliamentary visit to Israel as indications of the amount of damage the string of mini-crises has done to Turkey-Israel relations. Kanafi noted that many senior officials in the current Israeli government have been pro-Turkey in the past. He argued that a relatively small Turkish gesture -- such as a visit by FM Davutoglu to Israel without a side trip to Gaza, or going to Gaza from Egypt -- would go a long way toward soothing Israeli public and official angst about Turkey. COMMENT ¶4. (C) Kanafi commented that Tel Aviv is generally very pleased that two former Turkish Ambassadors to Israel are now at the top of the Turkish MFA: U/S Feridun Sinirlioglu and Deputy U/S for the Americas, Security, and PD Namik Tan. He said the Netanyahu government has not yet written off PM Erdogan, although official and public doubts about Erdogan's personal willingness to continue a strategic relationship with Israel are growing. Separately, PM Advisor Hakan Fidan told DCM October 20 that Israel is a topic that PM Erdogan and POTUS will have to address if/when Erdogan visits DC later this year. JEFFREY "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"