Turkey’s newest TV series, ‘Ayrilik’, has been causing outcry among the Israelis. ‘Ayrilik’, a new mini-series whose first episode aired on Tuesday evening on Turkey’s state-sponsored TRT One channel, depicted Israeli army soldiers shooting down Palestinians, including a smiling girl and a baby held up by his father.
On Thursday, the Foreign Ministry rebuked the acting Turkish Ambassador to Israel, Ceylan Ozen, to protest what it saw as a complete fabrication of events. The mini-series looks at the life of a Palestinian couple whose love blossoms during the Gaza war. During the first episode Israeli soldiers viciously murdered Palestinian children and women, and in one scene lined up 10 innocent Palestinians and gunned them down execution-style.
Thursday's protest comes after week-long strides by Turkey to distance itself from Israel. Early in the week, Turkey barred Israel from participating in a NATO air force drill, which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said was a result of public concern over the Israeli war crimes committed against Palestinians during the recent Gaza war. As well, Turkey strengthened its ties with Syria on Tuesday, signing a civil and defense cooperation treaty.
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
