14/01/2010 The Israeli media on Thursday slammed the government's handling of a diplomatic row with Turkey in which it humiliated Ankara's ambassador and then retreated with public apologies. "The policy of 'no more groveling' led by Foreign Minister (Avigdor) Lieberman, was transformed within a matter of days into a situation in which Israel was forced to dispatch an official and diplomatic apology," Israel's Maariv newspaper said in an article entitled "Capitulation."
The spat again turned the spotlight on the controversial minister, an ultra-nationalist who has said Israel should strike back at international criticism and defend its "national honor."
Under pressure from Israeli President Shimon Peres, Lieberman's deputy Danny Ayalon issued a formal apology late on Wednesday as Turkey threatened to withdraw its envoy.
Amnon Abramovitch, a television commentator on Israel's Channel Two, criticized the "infantile conduct" of the government and a commentator on Israel's military radio referred to the "humiliation after the humiliation."
The centrist opposition Kadima party joined in criticizing the government, with senior official Haim Ramon saying it "should also send a letter of apology to the Israeli people following the humiliation we have suffered."
A spokesman for Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the protest was justified but said "the style and the procedure that were used were not appropriate and apologies were due." "The prime minister hopes the affair is behind us," the spokesman, Nir Hefetz, told public radio.
An editorial in the left-leaning Haaretz meanwhile came to the defense of Ayalon and Lieberman, both members of the ultra-nationalist Israel Beitenu (Israel Our Home) party, for defending Israel's "honor."
"The competition between ex-diplomats, politicians, broadcasters and pundits to be the rudest in criticizing the pair brings back memories of the times when anyone who publicly sought to restore the honor of the Jewish people was shouted down by a meek and frightened establishment for fear of angering the gentiles and bringing disaster upon the community," it said.
"Lieberman... the outsider, who represents a national agenda, is a bull in the china shop of the foreign ministry, the DNA of which is stamped with restraint, apologetics and lip-biting."
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