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Last update - 14:55 02/11/2009
Turkish TV show portraying IDF soldiers as murderers sparks outrage
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Tags: Turkey TV, Gaza, Israel News 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his outrage over a Turkish television drama that depicts Israel Defense Forces soldiers as brutal war criminals.

The drama includes images of Israeli soldiers shooting a smiling young girl in the chest, steamrolling a tank through a crowded street and lining up a firing squad to shoot at a group of Palestinians.

"We are disappointed by the incitement on Turkish television and we are not very happy by the trends we are seeing in Turkey of late," he said at a joint press conference with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
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"These events question the path Turkey is on, and we hope it is toward strengthening peace and not the extremists," Netanyahu added.



The Foreign Ministry earlier on Thursday rebuked the acting Turkish Ambassador to Israel, Ceylan Ozen, over the show.

Naor Gilon, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director for Western Europe, on Thursday said that Israel places great importance on its relations with Turkey, but that it cannot stand by while such images denigrating Israel and the IDF are depicted.

"This kind of incitement is likely to lead to physical harm being done to Jews and Israelis who arrive in Turkey as tourists," Gilon told the Turkish envoy.

Gilon added that such a program, which uses stereotypes to instill hatred, must concern anyone who seeks coexistence between people of different nations and faiths.

He said that Israel views the program with utmost gravity, especially in light of the fact that the soldiers they depict as bloodthirsty killers in real life were the ones to aid Turkey after an earthquake there in 1999.

Earlier Thursday, the show's producer said that his show does not portray the IDF as a whole, but only a certain group of soldiers who had murdered Palestinians.

Speaking in an interview with Israel Radio, the producer added that he and his colleagues loved Israel and were convinced that Israelis do not support acts of slaughter perpetrated against Palestinians.

The show, called Ayrilik, features a love story that develops between the lead characters during Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

But a partial episode available on YouTube depicts multiple images of the IDF brutalizing the Palestinian population by shooting children in the chest and kicking elderly people on the ground, among other things.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that, "Broadcasting this series is incitement of the most severe kind, and it is done under government sponsorship."

Lieberman added: "Such a drama series, which doesn't even have the slightest link to reality and which presents Israeli soldiers as murderers of innocent children, isn't worthy of being broadcast even by enemy states and certainly not in a state which has full diplomatic
relations with Israel."


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      1.   AND TURKEY WANTS ACCEPTANCE INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION? 16:40  |  steve 01/11/09
      2.   Seeing the light more and more everyday 16:40  |  Paul 01/11/09
      3.   Iman al Hams, 13, shot in the chest (and other places) 16:40  |  Apa 01/11/09
      4.   No Jew must visit Turkey. 16:40  |  Anne 01/11/09
      5.   Jewish persecution 16:40  |  Jethro 01/11/09
      6.   execution style never ever happened. 16:40  |  JO 01/11/09
      7.   Sad 16:40  |  Paul 01/11/09
      8.   Have They Or Have They Not? That Is The Question. 16:40  |  Yaakov Sullivan 01/11/09
      9.   no link to reality 16:40  |  yuval 01/11/09
      10.   Well said Jethro... 16:40  |  Silvienne 01/11/09
      11.   What,you dont hear about what the IDF does? 16:40  |  teeman 01/11/09
      12.   The delegitmation process goes on 16:40  |  MB 01/11/09
      13.   The Turkish people live in glass houses 16:40  |  Yonatan 01/11/09
      14.   1916 Armenean Massacre vs the supposed 2009 Israeli `Massacre` 16:40  |  Anthony David Marks 01/11/09
      15.   They should be showing 16:40  |  B.Morris 01/11/09
      16.   Turkey , another radical state , a new 16:40  |  TOMY 01/11/09
      17.   No choice 16:40  |  Aharon 01/11/09
      18.   Turkish delight in TV drama warning 16:40  |  ky 01/11/09
      19.   to teeman#11 16:40  |  Ilya 01/11/09
      20.   Next time we should follow our morals 16:40  |  David 01/11/09
      21.   to Apa#3 16:40  |  Ilya 01/11/09
      22.   Kol Ha Kavod Israeli Army 16:40  |  Brazilian Jew 01/11/09
      23.   Like the do with Kurd people? 16:40  |  Enrico 01/11/09
      24.   To Teeman of London 16:40  |  Jackie 01/11/09
      25.   Selling the TV drama to Europe? 16:40  |  Nikki 01/11/09
      26.   Yaakov repeats falsehoods 16:40  |  Jackie 01/11/09
      27.   What About the Movies Of the Hitler`s Destruction On Jewish 16:40  |  George 01/11/09
      28.   To These Israeli Apologists 16:40  |  Yaakov Sullivan 01/11/09
      29.   Is this the Beginning of the End of Israel? 16:40  |  Kristof 01/11/09
      30.   It is not so good when Israel starts to feature as 16:40  |  r cummings 01/11/09
      31.   will the producers show in tv how turks killed millions of armeni 16:40  |  charro 01/11/09
      32.   Israel should accept his own created rules 16:40  |  Castroman 01/11/09
      33.   tv drama/silvienne 16:40  |  zoe 01/11/09
      34.   Turkey has a right to be angry at Israel 16:40  |  Lujan 01/11/09
      35.   to #23 You have no ground to stay 16:40  |  Dimitry 01/11/09
      36.   How about an Armenian Genocide drama? 16:40  |  Haim 01/11/09
      37.   Good publicity for the Turkish drama 16:40  |  Abu Firas Al Qudsi 01/11/09
      38.   It is a new phenomenon in media war (that Israel started) 16:40  |  Khaled 01/11/09
      39.   turkish genocide 16:40  |  Alex 01/11/09
      40.   Islamic takeover of Govt/Army has obvious.... 16:40  |  bernard ross 01/11/09
      41.   Do not be so touchy 16:40  |  Fred Shapiro 01/11/09
      42.   PLEASE! 16:40  |  Jane 01/11/09
      43.   charro on the Armenian Genocide 16:40  |  Yaakov Sullivan 01/11/09
      44.   UN human rights chief endorses Goldstone Gaza report 16:40  |  Emmauel Kantsky 01/11/09
      45.   Jackie on Jenin: I am not staing falsehoods 16:40  |  Yaakov Sullivan 01/11/09
      46.   A Mask 16:40  |  Yaacob 01/11/09
      47.   George there were also films such as 16:40  |  David Israel 01/11/09
      48.   Israelian jews should open their eyes 16:40  |  Castroman 01/11/09
      49.   Turkish Double Standard Delight 16:40  |  James Syngen-Symth 01/11/09
      50.   Turkey going the wayof Iran 16:40  |  IW 01/11/09
      51.   Reality 16:40  |  EED 01/11/09
      52.   To #44, Fred 16:40  |  Charles 01/11/09
      53.   Turkish Genocide of Armenians 16:40  |  Veritas 01/11/09
      54.   Jethro 16:40  |  proud american 01/11/09
      55.   zoe #33 16:40  |  Veritas 01/11/09
      56.   Armenian Story 16:40  |  Castroman 01/11/09
      57.   JO 16:40  |  prettysad 01/11/09
      58.   Thank god that Turkey got enlightend 16:40  |  Najat 01/11/09
      59.   Israel`s TV drama problem... 16:40  |  BBSNews 01/11/09
      60.   Israel needs Turkey more then Turkey need Israel 16:40  |  Nami 01/11/09
      61.   cummings` baddies 16:40  |  SDHD 01/11/09
      62.   The world is getting more aware of jews 16:40  |  Rony 01/11/09
      63.   Lies 16:40  |  Syrian opinion 01/11/09
      64.   To Charles (#52) 16:40  |  fred shapiro 01/11/09
      65.   See what a jew says about the Armenians 16:40  |  Ani 01/11/09
      66.   Enough Already! 16:40  |  massaraksh 01/11/09
      67.   At least they they are talking about reality 16:40  |  Ishmael 01/11/09
      68.   Of all... 16:40  |  Sunshine 01/11/09
      69.   Nejat From Mugla (Near Milas) 16:40  |  David Israel 01/11/09
      70.   I am a Turk (1) 16:40  |  mr280zxt 01/11/09
      71.   the producer will (or should) thank the Israeli Govt 16:40  |  HasanC 01/11/09
      72.   Re #21 Ilya 16:40  |  Apa 01/11/09
      73.   I am a Turk (2) 16:40  |  mr280zxt 01/11/09
      74.   to Veritas #55 16:40  |  Ilya 01/11/09
      75.   I am a Turk (3) 16:40  |  mr280zxt 01/11/09
      76.   Turkish TV Drama 16:40  |  Denis C. Gray 01/11/09
      77.   mr280zxt from sunny southern CA 16:40  |  David Isarel 01/11/09
      78.   We need Spilberg`s talant now 16:40  |  Victor 01/11/09
      79.   They sound worried 16:40  |  Jackie 01/11/09
      80.   No worries #12 16:40  |  Bruno 01/11/09
      81.   You take the word 16:40  |  Jackie 01/11/09
      82.   Armenian Genocide 16:40  |  Ari Ben-Canaan 01/11/09
      83.   veritas 16:40  |  zoe 01/11/09
      84.   At the end Israil has to choose 16:40  |  Serdar KASAPOGLU 01/11/09
      85.   This is not a beauty contest! 16:40  |  Sar Chasm 01/11/09
      86.   The big lie 16:40  |  sencar 01/11/09
      87.   Israili turists dont be afraid, Liberman does not know Turks 16:40  |  Serdar KASAPOGLU 01/11/09
      88.   jewish genocide 16:40  |  ahmet 01/11/09
      89.   THE REAL STORY 16:40  |  james hazan 01/11/09
      90.   Turkey 16:40  |  Mehmet Akif Çağdaş 01/11/09
      91.   I think Turkey meant Iranian or Syrian soldiers. 16:40  |  4:20 01/11/09
      92.   David Israel from New York 16:40  |  mr280zxt 01/11/09
      93.   Shock!!! 16:40  |  Cengiz 01/11/09
      94.   What`s the fuss ? 16:40  |  David 01/11/09
      95.   What a loss... 16:40  |  Bazmann 01/11/09
      96.   Turkey 16:40  |  Omer 01/11/09
      97.   Mass population programming 16:40  |  Rankoo-Karoon 01/11/09
      98.   To Haim in Austin 16:40  |  John 01/11/09
      99.   To David in RIainy NY 16:40  |  John 01/11/09
      100.   To Victor: I`d like to see a Spielberg film about the Nakhba 16:40  |  John 01/11/09
      101.   surprised the didnt us this movie as part of Goldstone report 16:40  |  tal 01/11/09
      102.   blood libel 2009 ... dont be fooled 16:40  |  Naftali 01/11/09
      103.   armenian story 16:40  |  richard 01/11/09
      104.   to Richard in Florida 16:40  |  mr280zxt 01/11/09
      105.   this called thank you from turkey to israel 16:40  |  denis 01/11/09
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