When, on October 7, the terrorist group Hamas launched an unprovoked attack on Israel, killing more than 1,300 Israeli men, women and children (and wounding thousands more), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, rather than dusting off his usual inflammatory anti-Israel rants, uncharacteristically advised both sides for restraint. That was, after Erdoğan’s vow to isolate Israel internationally had brought Turkey a heavy geopolitical cost, This was Erdoğan’s pragmatist-self.
