The curious case of Shay Gal: Israeli arms company distances itself from Turkey critic

“The curious case of Shay Gal: Israeli arms company distances itself from Turkey critic Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Thu, 05/07/2026 - 12:36 Israel Aerospace Industries said Gal had not been employed for some time, after he declared Turkey the 'next Iran' The replica of a tactical 3D Capture air defence system by Israel Aerospace Industries at the Defense Tech Expo exhibition in Tel Aviv on 17 February 2026 (Jack Guez/AFP) Off Over the past year, Shay Gal has emerged as an Israeli writer consistently portraying Turkey as Israel’s next target across a range of publications, from Israel Hayom and The Times of Israel to Greek media outlets. Last year, he described Turkey as “ the new Iran " and a recent article he wrote for Israel Hayom was titled “Iran Was the Rehearsal. The Turkish File Is Open". Such open animosity from a prominent member of the Israeli arms industry has caused concerns in Turkey. Gal had identified himself on his X profile as “VP External Relations at Israel Aerospace Industries”. His articles came at a time when tensions between Turkey and Israel were already running high over disagreements related to Palestinian statehood, the war in Gaza, and Syria’s territorial intergrity. Despite these tensions, the two countries have continued intelligence relations and maintain a military hotline to manage their relationship. Israeli officials have maintained that Turkey is neither “the next Iran” nor Israel’s new enemy – even though Naftali Bennett, the Israeli politician seen as the likely challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in parliamentary elections later this year, used similar language to Gal's to describe Turkey in January. Gal’s series of articles published while using his IAI title also angered Israeli officials, who see him as someone who is further damaging Turkish-Israeli relations. Earlier this month, Gal insinuated in an article that Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, built by Russia , could become a military target for Israeli strikes. 'Legal notice' Now, in a statement to Middle East Eye, IAI has said that Gal no longer works for the company. “Shay Gal has not been employed by IAI for a considerable period of time, and any position he expresses does not reflect the company’s views, nor is he authorized to speak on behalf of the company,” an IAI spokesperson said in a written statement. “I would like to let you know that a formal letter was sent to him by the company’s legal counsel, requiring him to remove any representation of himself as a Vice President at IAI.” In this screenshot before his profile was changed, Shay Gal used his Israel Aerospace Industries' job title, despite being dismissed from this job at the start of 2025 (Screengrab) The spokesperson added that, following the legal notice, Gal had since updated his title on his X profile accordingly. Indeed, the IAI title no longer appears on his X profile. Gal’s dispute with IAI goes beyond a simple profile description on X. He is currently in a court battle with the company over his dismissal at the start of 2025. His prolific writing on Turkey appears to have begun after he was let go by IAI in January 2025, following nearly three years in the role of vice president responsible for communications. In the legal proceedings, Gal argued that the company had sought to replace him on baseless grounds and claimed the accusations against him were politically motivated. Could Azerbaijan be dragged into the US-Israeli war on Iran? Read More » The company, in turn, told the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court that, in addition to inappropriate workplace behaviour, Gal had given interviews to media outlets without prior authorisation or coordination. According to IAI, he used the company’s media activity to promote his personal image rather than advance the company’s interests. One specific accusation made by the company during the proceedings was that, contrary to company agreements, Gal had published opinion articles on his own initiative and without permission while identifying himself as a vice president. In response, Gal said last year that under his leadership, IAI’s communications department had been built from scratch and he had led the company “to unprecedented achievements”. “Media exposure reached more than half a billion dollars a year abroad. The company's position was strengthened as a central factor in national security and in Israeli society,” he said. MEE attempted to contact Gal with written questions through his LinkedIn and X accounts, but no response had been received by the time of publication. Inside Israel Ankara News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

Summary generated from the RSS feed of Middle East Eye. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.middleeasteye.net.