18 March 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
The Turkish TV series “Ayrılık” (Farewell), which caused a diplomatic row between Israel and Turkey last October, will be aired on the Arab MBC1 station starting on Saturday, the Dubai-based Al-Arabia news channel reported on Tuesday.
The TV series sparked harsh reactions from Israel, and Turkish-Israeli relations significantly deteriorated after the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) broadcast “Ayrılık.” The series shows soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killing Palestinian children and torturing Arabs.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the broadcast of the series on TRT1 a “serious case of state-sponsored incitement.” The series dramatizes the brutality of the IDF soldiers during Israel’s Gaza offensive in 2008-2009 through a romantic story between the main actors. The scenes openly display Israeli soldiers opening fire on unarmed people, women and even children, including one girl who is shot in the head as she is smiling. Another scene depicting an infant deliberately killed by an Israeli soldier caused the greatest anger among Israeli officials.
