Israeli diplomat in Turkey invited to official function for the first time since Mavi Marmara incident

An Israeli diplomat, Yosef Levi Sfari, Israel's charge d'affairs at its embassy in Ankara, was invited to an official Turkish function for the first time since he was posted to Ankara in 2011. It was also the first time any Israeli diplomat was invited to a Turkish function since the Mavi Marmara incident. Turkey's Daily Hurriyet tried to tie the story to Prime Minister Netanyahu's apology, but

Erdogan willing to fight Syria to the last American

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has become one of his biggest opponents, believes that an American attack on Syria should topple Bashar al-Assad (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

Erdogan said
that the limited strikes which the United States is reportedly planning
against Syria would not be enough and pushed for a broader military
offensive.


"A limited operation cannot be

US and UK getting cold feet on Syria?

Overnight, both the United States and the United Kingdom indicated that they are putting off their attack on Syria for a few days (in line with a request made on Wednesday by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon).

President Barack Obama said he had not yet made his decision regarding a U.S. strike on Syria during an interview with PBS NewsHour senior correspondents Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill. The

Turkish passenger charged with threatening to blow up plane

A 25-year old Turkish ethnic is facing several charges as a result of threatening to blow up a plane on a flight from Montreal to Istanbul.

Let's go to the videotape.



MFS - The Other News has more details.

The pilot of the Airbus A330 with 316 passengers on board turned back 90 minutes out of Montreal's Trudeau Airport on Sunday.

Dogan Akkaya, 25, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with

The Costanza doctrine

I left the US 22 years ago, and I really no longer watch television at all, so this was enlightening to me. How many of you are familiar with the Costanza doctrine from the popular television hit Seinfeld?

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).



So what does the Costanza doctrine have to do with Israel and the Middle East? Adam Turner suggests that the Obama administration should adopt

Prime Minister's office urges Israelis not to go to Turkey

The counter-terrorism unit of the Prime Minister's office is urging Israelis and other Jews not to travel to Turkey this summer or for the upcoming holidays.

The advisory, issued every year
before the High Holidays and Passover when Israelis travel abroad in droves,
grouped Turkey together with Azerbaijan, Nigeria and Kenya as countries where
there are continuous potential threats, and

Turkey encourages its citizens to spy on each other

The government of Turkey is encouraging its citizens to spy on each other.

Last week, police announced plans to install neighborhood informant
boxes in cities across Turkey. Dubbed the Confidential Police Notice
Point Project, the move will allow residents to submit anonymous written
and oral tips on their neighbors. Picture a small black box on the
corner where neighbors drop in slips

Obama's credibility gap

Evelyn Gordon points out how President Obama's failure to take to task his best friend forever (BFF), Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over Erdogan's failure to abide by the agreement the two of them made with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, is weighing heavily on the 'peace process.'

As Jonathan noted
yesterday, Israeli pessimism about renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace

Obama to meet Muslim Brotherhood at White House

President Obama has apparently not given up on restoring the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt. Toward that end, he will be meeting with them at the White House later this month (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).

Obama would reportedly meet with Brotherhood officials to "hear their
opinion" on developments in Egypt, in the presence of Turkish
diplomats.

Egypt Independent heard from

Egypt tells Erdogan to stay home

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan surely misses his old buddy and pal, ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy. I, on the other hand, am taking a liking to Egypt's new military rulers. On Sunday, the Egyptian army told Erdogan to stay home. They're not going to let him in for a provocative visit to Gaza either.

Egyptian media is reporting on Sunday that Turkish Prime Minister
Recep

Congress throws down the gauntlet to Rohani

Just days before his inauguration, the US House has sent a sharp message to Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani, passing harsh sanctions designed to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero.


The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday
containing punishing new sanctions against Iran, entrenching the US
position on the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear program just
days