Has 60 Years of Israeli-Turkish Ties Died in a Hale of Provocation and Bullets?

In many discussion, a good friend (who happens to be Turkish, and frankly makes all Turkey look good) and I have often discussed Israel-Turkish ties since Davos.

We have always recognized that an Israeli-Turkish alliance, had great benefits. As of yesterday Israel and Turkey had over 20 billion dollars in deals.

Now the question is not only whether these strong strategic/economic ties will weather this violent storm, but also whether this is a new development, or just a keystone event in a larger progression?

In other words, despite my great respect for modern Turkey and the Ottoman empires contributions to larger society, I can not help but feel that this recent, monumental, error by the Israeli government, only accelerated a trend that has been evident since Davos (for more on this please see post "Erdogan and Turkey: are the Israelis right, has Ataturk’s legacy failed Turkey").

The very fact that Turkey gave its tacit support for a flotilla that was bent on causing a provocation, reflects this larger trend.

Some in Turkey and Israel concede, that Turkey and Israel will both lose if the relationship is ended. Yet no one in Turkey raised the question on May 30 as to whether it served Turkey and the regions interest for this Turkish dominated flotilla to move ahead. Is it because Turkey has been silenced by Erdogan or because Erdogan speaks for Turkey?

I don't know.

At the same time I feel that it is only after such a tragic event that the nature of a nation-state can be discerned. It will only be a matter of time before we see if the ties will be truly cut, and what the Turkish-Israeli relationship really means.

Meanwhile I feel strangely confident. I say this only after speaking with my well educated friend and reading Hurriyet online (a Turkish English daily). I feel encouraged by the fact that many Turkish people remain pragmatic and rational. After 9 people were killed while NOT launching rockets, what more can any Jew, American, or Israeli ask of the Turkish people?

PS

There are "rumors" that more Turkish sponsored Flotillas are going to launched! I don't think this serves anyones interests.