The Jewish community in Turkey has expressed their support of the ongoing normalization period between Turkey and Israel, as many hope to see the process reach further levels.
Hatay Jewish Community Foundation Chair Şaul Cenudioğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA), "Above all, we wish to live in peace no matter what country it is. It is pleasing that the relations with Israel, which deteriorated due to some events in the past, have reached a positive point today." He also underlined the importance of Israeli President Isaac Herzog's recent visit to Turkey.
Emphasizing that as Turkish Jews they support the development of relations between Turkey and Israel, Cenudioğlu said: "Good relations between the two countries make us happy. It should make everyone happy just as it makes us happy. Because humanity wants peace above all else. There is a war between Russia and Ukraine. Wouldn't it be better for humanity if there were peace?
"It is in the interests of both countries that the relations between the states are at a high level. This is reflected in trade, tourism and politics, and it also develops people. What is in our hearts is to increase relations to a higher level, to travel easily between the two countries and to increase the trade potential. These benefit both countries."
Reiterating that different faiths have lived peacefully together in the southern province of Hatay for centuries, he said, "Hatay is a garden of civilizations in this respect. We invite all Israelis to the Expo 2021 Hatay event, which will open its doors on April 1, in order to further the relations between the two countries."
Amid the normalization process between the two countries, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett could visit Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday.
Earlier in March, Erdoğan said he believed Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Turkey would be a turning point in the long-strained relations between the regional powers and that Ankara was ready to cooperate in the Eastern Mediterranean with a focus on the energy sector.
"In this process, Israeli Prime Minister Bennett may come as well. With his arrival too, there may be a chance to start a new era in Turkey-Israel ties," Erdoğan told reporters on a return flight from a NATO summit in Brussels.
"One of the most important steps we can take together for bilateral ties, I believe, would be cooperation in natural gas," he added, and said details of the cooperation would be discussed later during a visit by his foreign and energy ministers to Israel.
Herzog visited Turkey earlier this month to meet Erdoğan, the first visit by an Israeli head of state since 2007, as the countries seek to mend fractured ties.
The common goal of Turkey and Israel is to revive bilateral political dialogue based on common interests, Erdoğan said and underlined that the historic visit of Herzog will be a "new turning point" in relations.
Herzog for his part said the aim is to lay foundations for the development of friendly relations between Turkey, Israel and the peoples of the two countries.
"Israel and Turkey can and should engage in a cooperation that will impact this region we all call home," Herzog said.
Herzog's visit is seen as a step toward moving from a period of strained ties to improved relations with Turkey. Erdoğan has said the visit will herald a "new era" and that the two countries could work together to carry Israeli natural gas to Europe, reviving an idea first discussed more than 20 years ago. Plans for a subsea pipeline from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe, excluding Turkey, have stalled after the United States expressed misgivings in January.
In recent months, the two regional powers have sought a rapprochement after nearly a decade of broken ties. Turkey has recently been working to improve relations with several countries in the region as part of a normalization process launched in 2020. Turkey has said it would not abandon its commitment to Palestine in order to broker closer ties with Israel.