The alarming wave of anti-Semitism around the world, which has expanded since the outbreak of the war, raises many question marks not only regarding the security of Israelis abroad and the continuation of international relations, but also in terms of the economic aspects.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's accusations against Israel of crimes against humanity, and reports of a wave of antisemitic statements on Chinese social networks to the point of wiping Israel off the Alibaba map, raise many questions about the continuation of large-scale trade between Israel and these countries.
In light of the statements on the subject, and in light of the sensitive relations between Turkey and Israel, the question arises whether trade relations between Israel and Turkey will be harmed and whether they have already begun to suffer.
In the meantime, against the backdrop of the tomato produce that remained near the Gaza Strip and the harsh criticism, the food chains stopped importing tomatoes from Turkey.
Uriel Lin, president of the Association of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, told Israel Hayom that "as of 2022, total imports from Turkey stand at $6.8 billion a year, with total imports of goods and services amounting to NIS 140 billion. This is a wide range of products, mainly metals, machinery, rubber and plastics, transportation products and spare parts, food, agricultural crops, chemicals, clothing, furniture and paper, and even pearls and precious stones.
Erdogan. Continues to incite, photo: AFP
"Great importance for trade"
"Fresh agricultural produce is $500 million a year. All the large food chains have close trade ties with Turkey, so the volume of agricultural produce is significant."
Asked whether there was an impact on trade between the two countries, Lin said, "There are a few importers who have announced that they will not buy from Turkey. We have hundreds of businesses in Israel that have trade relations with Turkey. This is a very personal consideration of each importer as to how he feels about this issue. Obviously, from the standpoint of the national-economic interest, it would be better if we continued trade relations with them, but you can't tell people to do so by force after the Turkish president attacks Israel and backs Hamas. This is an emotional step that cannot be ignored.
"On their side, it didn't happen, not something that came to us. I think, knowing the population there, that they will consider it and take into account the existing data. When the Turkish president incites against it, it's not that simple, and it's an atmosphere they have to take into account."
On the tightening of trade relations, Lin says: "At the beginning of 2022, a very large delegation came to us from Turkey, which included about 60 Turkish industrial people, and there were extraordinary meetings with us, with the industrialists and with the Export Institute. As a result, we decided as a policy to send a large delegation of buyers from Israel to Turkey, and in December we sent no less than 80 buyers. There were at least 20 Turkish media hosting us at a big press conference, and there was an extremely positive atmosphere.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, photo: Reuters
"The goal was to encourage more Israeli importers to buy more from Turkey instead of buying from Europe and the United States. Turkey has a developed industry, prices are not high, and transportation prices are low because they are close to us, when goods can arrive within a day.
"As mentioned, trade with Turkey is of great importance, so we deliberately cooperated with them both because of prices and produce and because of the cost of sea freight, which has become a significant component of the expense."
"There is a drop in bookings"
As a cheap country, Turkey has become an attractive source of online shopping for Israeli consumers. For example, many consumers purchase items from international fashion chains on Turkish websites through shipping companies in Israel.
According to Serdar Giovinkoya, CEO of the Turkish shipping company Yolando, "There is a decrease in orders because the regular deliveries, which are cheaper, have no expected arrival time.
"Now there is one shipping company that ships items to Israel - DHL. Since this is express delivery, it is a delivery that costs more. However, the number of shipments remained the same."
According to Benny Bohnik, owner of the group "That's what I want": "I assume that Turkey is hijacking a lot and will continue to hijack in all worlds of deliveries and shopping sites in Turkey through shipping companies. The interesting question is how long the Israeli consumer will be able to resist not buying from Zara Turkey, for example. We are known as consumers who do not stick to big consumer strategies. The consumer says to himself: What am I influencing in this whole thing, and doesn't understand that one plus one is an impact."
Asked whether there is a decline in purchases on websites from China, he says: "I'm sure there is a decline in orders from sites from China, but it's hard to associate it and understand whether it's because of the national mood or as a protest measure. In addition, all international sites are now experiencing delivery delays, such as companies like Ali Express and Amazon. There are far fewer flights, so logistics capabilities are significantly lower. Amazon is having a very hard time sending. As for the Shi-in website, I assume that there is an influence there because of the public discourse."
Most are not anti-Semites
Galia Lavie, a researcher and deputy director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Center for Israel-China Policy at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), says that she does not see long-term damage to trade relations between Israel and China, but believes that China's image in the eyes of Israelis has been damaged. Lavi clarifies that the official Chinese response is much more severe than anti-Semitism, and it is quite possible that it will harm Israel-China relations in the future.
Galia Lavi, Photo: Noa Abhar.
According to her, "You have to take things in proportion. True, there is a wave of anti-Semitism in China, which is disturbing, but there are 1.4 billion people in China, and the vast majority are not anti-Semites. In terms of the effects on trade, we Israelis, not a people known for its boycotts, we don't have a boycott mentality."
Lavi relates separately to exports and imports from China. According to her, "Israeli exports are mostly based on one company - Intel. Intel is already looking for alternatives to China because of the trade war or the technology war between China and the US, so if there is any harm here, it's not something that wasn't planned before, and certainly not this anti-Semitism will dictate Intel to stop exporting."
As for imports, Lavi does not rule out the possibility of a decline in it from China in the short term. "Most of our imports from China are consumer goods – cars, clothes, electrical appliances and so on. We may see short-term damage here, people can boycott China, Turkey or other countries that annoy them. But in the long run, as I said, Israelis are not known for their ability to boycott over time."
Galia Lindenstrauss, Photo: Chen Galili
Dr. Galia Lindenstrauss, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies specializing in Turkey, says, "If you look at the past, despite various crises in relations between Turkey and Israel, there was no real harm to Turkish exports to Israel, but on the contrary – they only grew and expanded. In the current crisis, concrete steps to stop Turkish exports to Israel were only following decisions by Israeli retailers, mainly in agriculture. Turkish exports to Israel are so diverse that even if some ties are damaged, many other contacts will continue."
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