In the wake of the flotilla crisis, Israel's relations with Turkey have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Once Israel's closest ally in the region, both countries fearing Islamism together with Iranian and Arab expansionism, the alliance now hangs by a thread.
As the geopolitical tectonic plates shift, so does the rhetoric of Israel's defenders. Into the crosshairs of Hasbara-niks and pro-Israel campaigners comes the Turkish state. Turkey certainly has many deeply disturbing features that can and should be highlighted. To say nothing of its recent Islamist turn, this is a country that continues to oppress the Kurdish people and of course in 1917 carried out a genocide in its slaughter of over one million Armenians. Not only has Turkey never apologised for the genocide, it has vigorously denied it, protesting against commemorations of the slaughter and persecuting Turkish writers who have tried to come to terms with the past.
In recent Israeli demonstrations against Turkey and in vigils outside its embassy, placards have been prominently displayed reminding the world of the Armenian genocide. But until very recently not only were Turkish human rights abuses – past and present – ignored by Israel and its supporters, they were among the most active in perpetuating the denial of the Armenian genocide.
In his book The Banality of Denial: Israel and the Armenian Genocide, Yair Auron recounts the shameful history of Israel's complicity in Armenian genocide denial. Driven by short-term political considerations, Israeli governments have resisted recognising the genocide and in 1982 tried to pressure Israeli scholars from taking part in an international conference on the subject.
