sure the turkish government has treated the kurds really badly, and they refuse to acknowledge the armenian genocide. but that doesn't make them hypocritical when they criticize the blockade of gaza. if they had blockaded the kurds, cutting off critical food, medical and building supplies from them for years in violation of international law, then it would be hypocritical for them to criticize the israeli government over their actions in gaza. but they haven't done that.
if anything it is the israelis who have been hypocritical here, as they stood by the turks, up until recently their best ally in the region, notwithstanding their treatment of the kurds. the israeli right is only discovering the kurdish issue only because the turks are voicing their discontent with israel.
i find israel's reaction to turkey to be totally mind-boggling and short-sighted. as john cole and daniel larison point out, turkey is acting exactly like any government in the world would react in those circumstances. as larison wrote:
There has been a strong reaction because eight Turkish citizens were killed on a Turkish-flagged civilian ship in international waters by the armed forces of its ostensible ally while on a basically peaceful aid mission. Name me a government that would not have a strong reaction to such an episode.israel, once again, is acting just like the worst caracatures of its enemies. the current mood in israel is not just counter-productive, from the outside it seems outright crazy and pathological.
