Ambassadors of Turkey to Israel

The reviewed sources do not provide a complete, authoritative chronology of every Turkish ambassador to Israel or the exact dates of every posting. They also distinguish among chiefs of mission, chargés d’affaires, and accredited ambassadors: Seyfullah Esin was the first Turkish chief of mission and chargé d’affaires, while full ambassadorial representation came later. The roster below therefore includes only officeholders and gaps that can be documented from the available sources.[1][2]

Turkey recognized Israel in March 1949 and inaugurated its diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv on January 7, 1950.[1][3] Seyfullah Esin, a career diplomat, served as the first Turkish chief of mission and presented his credentials to Israeli President Chaim Weizmann.[3] He is described as chargé d’affaires rather than ambassador, reflecting the mission’s initial formal rank.[1]

The mission was downgraded following the 1956 Suez Crisis, when Turkey withdrew its ambassador and reduced the legation to chargé d’affaires level without breaking diplomatic relations.[2][4] Turkey reduced the level of its diplomatic ties again in 1980 after the Knesset adopted the Jerusalem Law.[3] The Turkish mission in Tel Aviv had been restored to legation status in 1963 and was upgraded to an embassy in January 1980.[2]

In December 1991, following the Madrid Arab-Israeli peace process, Ankara raised its relations with Israel to ambassadorial status.[4] In March 1992, a Turkish ambassador presented credentials to Israeli President Chaim Herzog, although the reviewed sources do not identify that ambassador by name.[2] Turkey and Israel exchanged ambassadors during this normalization, beginning a period of strengthened bilateral ties through the 1990s.[5]

Seyfullah Esin served from January 1950 as the first Turkish chief of mission in Israel and presented his credentials to President Chaim Weizmann.[3] His precise end date is not recorded in the reviewed sources, and he is identified as a chargé d’affaires rather than an ambassador.[1]

Feridun Sinirlioğlu is identified as Turkey’s ambassador to Israel in 2004 and 2005.[6][7] In June 2004, he was summoned back to Turkey for consultations but was expected to return to Israel within days.[7] He also participated in a BESA Center and Israeli Foreign Ministry conference, although the sources do not establish the full dates of his posting.[6]

Namik Tan is identified as Turkey’s ambassador to Israel in a Globes special publication, but that source does not state the dates of his ambassadorship.[8]

Ahmet Oğuz Çelikkol served as Turkey’s ambassador to Israel from 2009 to 2010.[9] His tenure coincided with a serious deterioration in Turkey–Israel relations and ended during the aftermath of the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.[2][10]

Mekin Mustafa Kemal Ökem was appointed Turkey’s ambassador to Israel in November 2016 following a normalization agreement between the two governments.[2] He arrived in Israel in December and formally assumed the post that month.[2] A former adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, he was described as Turkey’s first ambassador to Israel in approximately six years.[10][11] Ökem discussed shared Turkish and Israeli concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and regional ambitions during his tenure.[11] Turkey recalled him in May 2018 amid protests over the relocation of the United States embassy to Jerusalem and violence along the Gaza border.[12]

Şakir Özkan Torunlar, a veteran diplomat and former Turkish ambassador to the Palestinians, was announced as Turkey’s ambassador to Israel in October 2022 after a four-year gap in ambassadorial representation.[2] He began working in December 2022 after submitting a copy of his letter of credence to Israel’s Foreign Ministry and formally presented his credentials to President Isaac Herzog on January 11, 2023.[13] Turkey withdrew him from Israel in November 2023 while maintaining diplomatic relations.[14] Torunlar remained in Ankara through at least July 2024, when Turkey was represented in Israel by chargé d’affaires Gürçay Şeker.[15] Torunlar retired in May 2025 while still in Ankara, and a new chargé d’affaires subsequently arrived in Tel Aviv. The reviewed sources do not identify a successor ambassador.[2][16]

The ambassadorial succession has been interrupted on several occasions. After the 1956 Suez Crisis, Turkey downgraded its legation to chargé d’affaires level without severing relations.[2][4] After the 1980 Jerusalem Law, Turkey again reduced the level of its representation.[3]

Following the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey recalled its ambassador and later downgraded diplomatic ties.[2] No Turkish ambassador was stationed in Israel for approximately six years, until Kemal Ökem arrived in December 2016.[10] A second extended gap began in May 2018, when Turkey recalled Ökem and instructed Israel’s ambassador in Ankara to leave. Both embassies were subsequently staffed by chargés d’affaires, although diplomatic relations were not formally severed or downgraded.[12][17]

On August 17, 2022, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to reinstate ambassadors and consuls general, restoring full diplomatic ties.[12][2] Torunlar’s assumption of the post later that year ended the second extended gap. His withdrawal in November 2023 created another period without a resident Turkish ambassador; subsequent reporting identified a chargé d’affaires as the head of Turkey’s mission in Tel Aviv.[15][14]

Several episodes involving Turkish ambassadors to Israel became significant moments in the broader bilateral relationship.

In April 2000, Turkey’s ambassador to Israel was involved in a diplomatic dispute after Israeli Education Minister Yossi Sarid participated in a Jerusalem commemoration for Armenian victims of the First World War and announced that Israeli high-school curricula would include the Armenian events of 1915. The source refers to the ambassador’s role in the episode but does not identify the officeholder by name.[18]

The most widely reported incident occurred in January 2010, when Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Ambassador Ahmet Oğuz Çelikkol over a Turkish television program. Ayalon kept Çelikkol waiting in a hallway, seated him below the level of Ayalon’s chair, and arranged for television cameras to record the encounter.[19][5] The resulting diplomatic row became a public symbol of the deterioration in Israel–Turkey relations. Çelikkol later stated in his own account that he had been appointed ambassador in 2009 and served until 2010.[9]