[News] The Turkiye–Israel trade boom: Talk is cheap, but money talks

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 The Turkiye–Israel trade boom: Talk is cheap, but money talks

While denouncing Israel's actions in Gaza as a 'genocide' and 'inhumane,'
Erdogan is stealthily supplying Israel and its military forces with all the
necessary goods to keep on ticking.

A Cradle Correspondent
<https://thecradle.co/authors/a-cradle-correspondent-117>

MAR 14, 2024 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/the-turkiye-israel-trade-boom-talk-is-cheap-but-money-talks
(Photo Credit: The Cradle)

Muslim-majority countries have been especially vocal amid the global
condemnation directed toward Israel for its genocidal war on Gaza. For
obvious reasons, Muslim leaders face mounting pressure from their
populations to adopt a firmer, more assertive position on the Palestinian
cause. This pressure has only intensified as the war, now in its sixth
month, coincides with the holy month of Ramadan.

Among these leaders is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who
initially adopted a relatively neutral stance toward Tel Aviv's war in
order to position himself as a mediator
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-erdogan-discusses-israeli-palestinian-conflict-with-uns-guterres-turkish-2023-10-10/#:~:text=Following%20a%20surprise%20attack%20by,Palestinians%20to%20stop%20the%20conflict.>
in
the prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel.

However, the enormous Palestinian civilian death toll – now approaching
32,000 in Gaza – and mounting international condemnation of Israel's
actions have complicated Ankara's mediation ambitions.

Erdogan's rhetoric shifted significantly and quickly in response to the
global outrage when, on 20 October, he publically declared that Israel's
military actions amounted to "genocide."

Then, during a pro-Palestine rally a week later, the Turkish president
called Israel a "war criminal <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/11283>,"
leading to the recall of ambassadors from both countries for a thorough
assessment of the situation.

*Turkiye's trade with 'war criminal' Israel*

Considering Erdogan's critical stance, the recall of Ankara's ambassador
from Tel Aviv, and the ongoing massacres of thousands of women and children
in Gaza, Turkiye, under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
– whose political roots are mired in Islamist ideology – might have been
expected to reassess its trade ties with Israel.

Overnight, Turkiye, the only Muslim-majority NATO member state, could have
imposed economic sanctions to pressure Israel into a Gaza ceasefire. But
that did not happen.

Instead, not only has trade between Turkiye and Israel
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/17708> skyrocketed, but the majority of
commerce and shipping operations are being conducted by companies
affiliated with a group supported by Erdogan, the Independent
Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD
<https://www.musiad.org.tr/icerik/-meet-with-2?en>).

While publicly, pro-government factions in Turkiye target and censure
individuals for patronizing Starbucks and other international franchises
that have demonstrated support for Israel, in private, they milk profits
out of Israel's war on Gaza.

Ergodan's public condemnations mean nothing in light of his secretive
expansion of trade activities with the occupation state.

In 1996, Turkiye and Israel signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that
mutually exempted both countries from customs duties on industrial product
imports, in a deal that significantly developed Israeli–Turkish economic
relations.

Despite the various political crises that have cropped up between Turkiye
and Israel – as in the Mavi Marmara incident, when Israeli commandos
stormed a Turkish-flagged Gaza aid ship and killed aid workers – their
economic ties have continued to grow quietly in the background,
particularly since 2002, when Erdogan and the AKP came to power.

That bilateral trade volume has seen a remarkable increase over the years:
data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Turkish exports to Israel
expanded five-fold from $1.4 billion in the early 2000s to $5.1 billion in
2023. Moreover, Turkiye is among the top four states for Israeli imports.

*Fueling the Israeli war machine *

Turkiye provides 65 percent of Israel's steel imports, with Turkish
multi-sector conglomerate ICDAS – affiliated with MUSIAD – notable as a key
exporter to the occupation state. Since the onset of the Gaza war on 7
October alone, ICDAS has shipped 50,000 tons of steel to Israel.

A portion of this steel supports Israel's military industry in the
production of munitions that are currently being used to decimate the
densely-populated Gaza enclave and attack neighboring Lebanon and Syria.
Notably, ICDAS has facilitated steel exports to the port of Haifa with 64
shipments in 2023 and nine more after 7 October.

ICDAS' contributions extend beyond trade; the company has also been
recognized for its role in constructing a mosque in Canakkale, an effort
that earned a commendation from Mehmet Gormez, the President of Religious
Affairs. At a ceremony marking Israel's 69th anniversary, ICDAS was,
telling, honored as the top Turkish exporter to Israel.

In addition, Israel sources 95 percent of its cement from Turkiye, with
notable clients that include the Israeli Ministry of Defence. According to
the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), cement exports to Israel totaled
$174 million in 2023, with $6.39 million of that figure recorded from 7
October to the present.

Leading Turkish cement exporters to Israel include Akcansa, Limak, Oyak,
Nuh Cement, and Eren Holding. The latter, a member of the MUSIAD, has most
notably supplied Israel with over 200,000 tons of materials since 7 October.

Facing Turkish public outrage over its exports to Israel, MUSIAD made a
statement
<https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/musiaddan-israil-ile-ticaret-iddialarina-iliskin-aciklama-iddialari-tuzugumuz-dogrultusunda-titizlikle-inceliyoruz/3133671>
on
10 February to address its member companies' trade with Israel:

In recent days, our organization and members have been put under suspicion
due to the alleged commercial activities of a few of our members with
Israel. For this reason, we are meticulously examining the allegations that
put our institution and members under suspicion in line with our charter
and are operating our internal processes. Information will be provided when
the processes are complete.

Despite that promise, MUSIAD did not respond to the *Evrensel*
<https://www.evrensel.net/abn/pdf/EVR20240304.pdf> newspaper's requests for
information on its processes, and evidence of ICDAS' unabated steel exports
to Israel has emerged. According to TIM's data, ICDAS exported steel worth $35
million
<https://tim.org.tr/files/downloads/rakamlar/2024/1/2024-01-ulkeler-konsolide-ihracat-rakamlari.xlsx?v=638457555565947592>
 in January 2024 and $38.5 million
<https://tim.org.tr/files/downloads/rakamlar/2024/2/2024-02-ulkelere-gore-sektorel-ihracat-rakamlari.xlsx?v=638457555565947592>
in
February.

*Bypassing the naval blockade *

An important indicator of the sustained economic engagement between Turkiye
and Israel – despite Tel Aviv's continued war crimes in Gaza – is the
active maritime traffic linking the ports of both countries. This comes at
a time when the Red Sea naval blockade
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/21707> of ships destined for Israeli
ports by Yemen's Ansarallah-aligned armed forces is heavily supported by
Arab and Muslim populations worldwide.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, in a conversation with
journalist Kemal Ozturk, revealed <https://t.co/gZoGhKeuEZ> that between 7
October and 31 December 2023, 701 ships embarked from Turkish ports to
those in Israel, averaging eight voyages daily.

This tally encompasses 480 vessels departing directly from Turkish ports
for Israel and 221 additional ships originating from third-country ports,
which docked in Turkiye while en route to Israel.

Although AKP leaders and MUSIAD member companies have upped their negative
rhetoric against Israel, Turkiye–Israel economic relations are thriving
like never before. Turkiye continues to meet Israel's critical needs for
steel, cement, vegetables, fruits, automobiles, and electrical appliances,
while Zorlu Holding meets 7 percent of Israel's electricity needs thanks to
its energy investments in the occupation state.

Publicly visible political tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv appear to
have had no impact on the commercial front. Erdogan's calculations are not
hard to discern: Turkiye is currently grappling with an economic crisis and
is heavily invested in enhancing ties with pro-Israel Washington and EU to
enable its recovery.

After all, the full normalization <https://thecradle.co/articles-id/3120> of
Turkiye's relations with Israel in 2022 facilitated similar progress with
Greece and Egypt.

*Continuing the 'shame trade'*

In this context, Ankara is trying to stay clear of rekindling a political
crisis with Israel, and so Erdogan directs most of his public criticism
specifically at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he
perceives as nearing the end of his political career.

For Ankara, political and economic objectives take precedence over
humanitarian concerns, allowing trade between Israel and Turkiye to persist
despite the popular, widespread anger over the genocide taking place in
Gaza and calls for severing bilateral relations altogether.

At a pro-Erdogan rally in western Sakarya province on 24 February, a banner
demanding "End the shame trade with Israel
<https://www.duvarenglish.com/banner-reading-end-shame-of-trade-with-israel-removed-at-erdogans-rally-video-63902>"
was promptly confiscated by police officers. Despite the gathering's
support for the president and his party, this rhetoric was clearly a step
too far for Turkish political and business elites.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20240314/1725884a/attachment.htm>