Turkey and the Elrom Affair: A Singular Affair or a Link in the Chain of Terror Incidents in the Turkey of the 1970s?

Efrat E. Aviv

On 17 May 1971, the Israeli Consul General, Efraim Elrom, was kidnapped in Istanbul by the terrorist organization, the People's Liberation Front of Turkey. The Turkish government and military confronted the terrorists, in particular, and the entire radical left in Turkey, in general, as Elrom's kidnapping was only one incident among constant terrorist anti-establishment activity conducted by the radical left in Turkey. Turkey claimed that it did everything in its capacity to release Elrom but failed.
This article attempts to examine whether Turkey indeed did everything possible to release Elrom or that trying to save Elrom's life can be viewed as one more link in the chain of Turkey's anti-terrorist campaign which prevented Elrom’s rescue from being a top priority on the Turkish agenda.