This is a clip from the Turkish TV drama "Ayrilik", one of the shows (along with Kurtlar Vadisi) that have infuriated Israel in the past few months. "Ayrilik" literally means "separation." Viewer discretion is advised. 

While the Turkish foreign ministry doesn't control Turkish television, it is unusual for states to air negative fictional depictions of other states on public channels, much less of a military ally. Even during the Cold War, Western spy films steered away from scripts that pitted America against Russia. Think of who James Bond's enemies were- they were international criminals, not the Kremlin's minions.

I'd like to add a few things to the points that Evan made about the downward spiral in Turkish-Israeli relations. Turkey was working hard for the past few years to broker talks between Syria and Israel. These talks were raising Turkey's profile in the world, and success would have marked Turkey's return as a Middle Eastern power. 

Turkey could have then built on this diplomatic momentum to reinvigorate efforts to solve the Palestinian issue. Turkey's foreign minister, Ahmet Davutolgu, is an ambitious man who thinks about the world in broad terms. States make their mark in the Middle East by getting involved in the Palestinian cause. Turkey, which has amicable relations with all relevant players, including Hamas, was in a unique position to become the regional dealmaker.

But suddenly, Israel invaded Gaza without informing the Turks. This torpedoed Turkey's diplomatic efforts and made Turkey's relatively close relationship with Israel turn into a political liability. Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan genuinely felt betrayed, and this was an important precursor to his outburst at Davos (and the rest of the recent back-and-forth spats).

This turn of events also merged with socio-political changes in Turkey, namely the rise of Islamic identity (the youtube video is tagged with Islami Gundem, meaning the "Islamic Journal"). With prospects for Arab-Israeli peace in the Middle East looking grim, it makes more sense for Erdogan to stoke anti-Israeli sentiment, which strengthens both his base at home and Turkey's soft power in the region. I do believe that the Turkish-Israeli relationship reached its apex in the 1990s, and will not quite be the same for the foreseeable future. It is a sad development for those who want to see peace in the region.

- Jon

Update: Larison does an excellent job of parsing the situation here.
 


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