Jewish Life Digital Edition October 2015 | Page 11

GREECE INCREASES

PHOTOGRAPHS: BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM

MILITARY TIES WITH ISRAEL
Despite its hard-left government, which has a
history of denouncing Israel, Greece has been
quietly strengthening its military bond with
Israel. A joint exercise between Israeli and Greek
attack helicopter squadrons took place in the
Negev Desert last month, the latest in a series
of operations involving both militaries. The
exercise in the Negev took place at Ramon Air
Force Base and involved crews from squadrons
that operate the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and followed a much larger joint exercise in
August this year. Transport and attack helicopter
squadrons from both countries took part.
Such co-operation has become commonplace
over the past few years as, to an extent, Greece
has replaced Israel’s former regional ally, Turkey,
as a military
partner.
SUCH CO-OPERAThe alliance
TION HAS BECOME
is particularly
COMMONPLACE OVER
important
for the Israeli
THE PAST FEW YEARS AS,
Air Force,
TO AN EXTENT, GREECE
whose ability
HAS REPLACED ISRAEL’S
to carry out
flight trainFORMER REGIONAL ALLY,
ing is reTURKEY, AS A MILITARY
stricted due
PARTNER.
to Israel’s
size and its relations with its neighbours. Israeli
officials explained that, despite the initial fears
that the anti-Israel members of Syriza would
change Greek’s foreign policy, the party has
proved to hold diverse voices on the subject. In
addition, Syriza’s coalition partners, the rightwing Independent Greeks, have had a bigger
say on defence issues.
IG Party leader Panos Kammenos, the defence
minister, supports strong ties with Israel. In addition, foreign minister Nikos Kotzias, a former
communist but also a professional diplomat, is
seen as friendly to the Jewish state.
One senior Israeli diplomat said: “One of the reasons we are not overly worried about the rise of
Jeremy Corbyn (the new Labour Party leader) in
Britain is that our recent experience with Syriza
has shown that even far-left governments with
anti-Israeli elements realise that co-operation
against joint security threats trumps fashionable
radicalism, which was good in opposition but
totally unrealistic in government.”

HERZOG SAYS ISRAEL SHOULD
ABSORB SYRIAN REFUGEES

PM Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a call from Israel’s opposition to absorb
Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war. He dismissed the statement by Labour
leader Isaac Herzog, saying that “Israel is a small country, a very small country,
that lacks demographic and geographic depth”. Netanyahu said Israel had
already done a lot to help Syrians, but would not help by opening its borders.
“Israel is not indifferent to the human tragedy of the refugees from Syria and
Africa,” he told his cabinet. “We have already devotedly cared for approximately
1 000 wounded people from the fighting in Syria and we have helped them to
rehabilitate.”
Herzog issued his call for the absorption of Syrians last month, as the international media was gripped by the migration crisis. “Jews cannot be indifferent
when thousands of people are looking for a safe place… [or] cool in the face of
murder,” he said. Herzog was praised on the left, and Arab politicians echoed
his call.
However, the issue did not cut cleanly across political lines. Ayoub Kara, a rightwing MK and deputy minister, told Army Radio he wanted Israel to absorb
“several thousand” refugees and said he believed the Holocaust should compel
Israel to act. K