The Reflections of Israeli Apology to Turkey after Mavi Marmara Crisis on Turkish Press: Examples from Daily Newspapers; Cumhuriyet, Hürriyet, Sözcü, Yeni Şafak and Zaman

Abstract

In line with the diplomatic history began in 1949, the relations between Turkey and Israel have fluctuated from time to time until the beginning of 21st century. Issues like Davos crisis, strikes on Gaza and the humiliation of Turkish ambassador caused the relations between two countries sour particularly. The main incident that caused tension in relations occurred when Israeli forces assaulted a flotilla of aid-carrying ships, aiming to break the country's siege on Gaza, and flotilla's lead vessel Mavi Marmara on May 31, 2010. After the incident caused death of nine Turkish activists the diplomatic relations between two countries came to a stopping point. The ongoing situation for 3 years has recently taken a new dimension with Israel's apology to Turkey which meets Turkey's three basic demands. This study examines the reflections in Turkish media within the context of Mavi Marmara incident. The results of this study are based on the data collected from five newspapers Cumhuriyet, Sözcü, Yeni afak, Zaman and Hürriyet which are representing different political ideologies in Turkey. The study aims to examine the relevant news about Mavi Marmara incident in forenamed newspapers using the critical discourse analysis on the dates March 23, 24 and 25. According to study, newspapers with different publication policies and ideology represent news stories using different discourses.