Israel's new man in Ankara could be in for bumpy ride
The choice of prominent diplomat Eitan Naeh as Israel’s ambassador to Turkey is a clear sign of the importance his government places on fixing the relationship, but though he's being magnanimously received in Turkey, he'll have his hands full clearing the path to normalization.
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Israel’s newly named ambassador to Ankara likely heaved a sigh of relief as he perused the headlines in Turkey on Nov. 16. The virulently anti-Semitic Yeni Safak recorded Eitan Naeh’s appointment on its front page in determinedly neutral prose.
Islamist newspapers such as Yeni Akit and Dirilis Postasi ignored the news altogether, a telling silence indicating that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s militant base has digested his decision to end six years of diplomatic froideur with Israel.