ABSTRACT
In order to understand the pragmatic raison d'etat and realpolitik considerations that have influenced the Israeli attitude toward the Armenian Genocide, a brief overview of Israel-Turkey relations is needed. However, it is beyond the scope of this survey to go into Israel-Turkey relations in depth. The amazing development of bilateral relations between Turkey and Israel in the 1990s stands out against the backdrop of the tenuous connection between the two countries during the preceding forty years. Relations between Turkey and Israel began to improve dramatically after the Gulf War and the announcement of the international Madrid peace conference in 1991, which dealt with the peace process between Israel and the Arab countries. There are numerous elements in the Turkish-Israel alliance, each of them complex and deserving of in-depth treatment. The Armenian issue has been, from the outset, one marked by political weakness.
