Türkiye and Israel have had a long relationship dating back to WWII. The Jewish people were looking for a new home, and the Ottoman Empire assisted them in establishing themselves in the Middle East. Furthermore, the first universities of the young Turkish Republic were founded by Jewish professors who had been forced to flee Germany at the time. Türkiye has hosted Israel in the Middle East for many years, despite ongoing political tensions between the two.

On the other hand, Türkiye imports from Israel some vital national defense services and technological products. Although the two countries have a strong relationship, it has never been perfect due to political issues arising from the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Also, the Islamist groups in Türkiye causes a large influence on Turkish politics against Israel. It is possible to argue that some religious Israelis have a similar impact on Israeli politics. However, the two countries have many issues that require their cooperation.

Trade between Türkiye and Israel

The current trade volume between Türkiye and Israel is around $7 billion. Given that diplomatic relations between the countries were severed following the attack on the Mavi Marmara ship by the Israeli army while attempting to transport food and other humanitarian aid to Palestinians in 2010, the potential trade volume between the two countries has yet to be realized. Israel supplies Türkiye with refined petroleum, sharp iron, chemicals, and some agricultural inputs. Furthermore, Israeli companies have long served the Turkish people by renewing technologies used in the national defense system. Türkiye exports automobiles as well as some critical inputs for Israel's iron industry.

Bilateral Free Trade Agreements between Countries

The first free trade bilateral agreement between Türkiye and Israel was signed in 1997. This agreement exempts trading goods from taxation and other restrictions that countries impose on their exports and imports; in 2006 and 2007, some changes were made to the agreement text. Because of political reasons, developing trade relationships between countries took a long time. In the 1990s, the countries realized they needed each other, and the agreement came to fruition. Israel is surrounded by Arab countries, many of which are religious. Naturally, they regard Israel as an enemy state for religious reasons.

Türkiye is a secular country willing to join the Western world, and Israel has not been evaluated religiously despite some changes in the last twenty years. In the last two decades, Erdogan's administration has fostered hostile diplomacy toward Israel. However, the Turkish Republic's diplomacy tradition does not accept this approach, and regular and friendly relations between the two countries are expected to resume soon. The Turkish public does not accept any religious basis for developing international relations, and being a part of the developed Western world remains a high priority for the majority of Turks.

Opportunities by Investing in the Relationship between Türkiye and Israel

Israel has a highly talented labor force in technology and businesses producing high technology products in the fields from agricultural production to defense industries. Türkiye has well-talented engineers, large lands for doing agricultural businesses, and water required for many different production activities. Developing collaboration between the countries could give fruitful results in many fields.

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