Turkey’s diplomatic relations with Israel deteriorated sharply over the past week, which can be attributed to media content with incitement against IDF soldiers. The Turkish state media portrayed them as bloodthirsty murderers of little children. It seems that the Turkish media that caused a significant deterioration is trying to cover up the effects of the publicity and journalists in the country are putting the blame on their government, saying that it encourages anti-Semitism and racism against Israel, since it controls the television channel that broadcast the provocative content inciting against Israel.

“The Turkish government is twisting the knife. They control the channel and the series - and can do with it whatever they want,” said the publicist Burhan Ayeri to the newspaper “Hurriyet,” which presented a collection by journalists, publicists, commentators and politicians that unhesitatingly criticized and pointed a finger at the government. “These programs are deceptive and shape public opinion,” said Ayeri about the series which appeared on the state channel of Turkey.

The writers did not hold back their criticism and expressed their position that “Turkey has an anti-Semitic government” and that “it touches on sensitive issues with Israel.” This was stated by former Foreign Minister İlter Türkmen, who added: “We should be cautious, so as not to hint at anti-Semitic feelings. In general we should avoid anything which can be construed as racist.”

The former foreign minister also commented, “The series creates nervousness among people. There's already a certain level of racism in Turkey – and these types of shows only inflame it.” Türkmen complimented Israeli conduct in the case in that they chose not to react impulsively and claimed that “the Israelis acted cautiously. They did not overreact, and it shows that they care about relations with Turkey. We did overreact with our responses,” he said. 

In contrast, another paper professed innocence in the affair, when a journalist of the daily Evrensel claimed that the series represents the “real news.” He wrote: “I wasn’t aware that there’s a problem with showing the Israeli army ‘pretend-kill’ innocent civilians – because it does do it. This is not portrayed only on TV shows but also in the news reports.” The writer continued to argue that the series does not depict an exaggerated picture of the Israeli army or spread hatred.

Jerusalem criticized the publication of incitement in the Turkish media and the officer in charge of the Turkish embassy was summoned for a clarification. Last night (Thursday) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was “disappointed” with the release of the series, adding that “since Operation Cast Lead, Israel has not been pleased with trends in Turkey and the question arises where it is headed. We hope they are interested in peace and strengthening our connection, because this is an important country and the connection with them is also important for peace.”