Soccer Dad

It was inevitable that Turkey's answer to Jack Bauer, Polar Alemdar, would be traveling to Palestine in the heat of the recent turmoil on the Mediterranean. "Kurtlar Vadisi" (Valley of the Wolves) is a cult TV and movie phenomenon in Turkey and has cashed in on Turkey's political agenda for years. The original TV series established a leading man, Alemdar, in the image of a mafia-macho Turkish guy, admired by unemployed and frustrated young men all over Turkey. Short and ordinary looking, Polat had a self-defined sense of justice that included hanging traitors in the city center of Istanbul. "Kurtlar Vadisi" became an instant hit with its references to Turkish politics, its unabashed abuse of social sensitivities on patriotism, and with unprecedented scenes of violence that included assassination and torture on television. Then came the movie "Kurtlar Vadisi - Irak" (Valley of the Wolves - Iraq) in 2006, the most expensive Turkish movie at the time. That edition of the franchise told the story of hero Alemdar's fight against the "evil" U.S. troops in Iraq. Last year, Turkey's recent agenda on conspiracies of the deep state fuelled by the Ergenekon investigation opened the way for another installment in a series of movies, "Kurtlar Vadisi - Gladio." The news of a new film in the series came just days after Israel's attack on the Gaza flotilla. The name of the movie was enough for millions to buy tickets, "Kurtlar Vadisi - Filistin" (Valley of the Wolves - Palestine). Although there is no trailer for the movie at the moment, expect Alemdar to infiltrate Mossad and humiliate a number of Israelis along the way.

Israeli politicians and media outlets roundly condemned an episode of the popular Turkish soap opera, "Valley of the Wolves: Ambush," that depicted the Israeli intelligence service Mossad spying inside Turkey and kidnapping Turkish babies. The program also showed Mossad attacking the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv and taking the ambassador and his family hostage. In a written statement, "Valley of the Wolves: Ambush" producer Pana Film said the show "will continue to tell the truth and expose the wrongs."

The League's letter also pointed to two recent television dramas which portrayed Israelis and the Israeli military as inherently evil and conniving. The recent television series "Valley of the Wolves" reportedly featured Israeli agents as baby snatchers. "While we have celebrated Turkey's history of coexistence with Jews and the protection Turkish society provides for its Jewish community, we cannot ignore this new atmosphere and its potential consequences," said Mr. Foxman. "We respectfully urge the Turkish government to speak out directly to reject anti-Semitism and incendiary demonizing depictions of Israel and Israelis, and to reiterate Turkey's support for its Jewish community." ADL raised similar concerns in a letter to Mr. Erdogan in October 2009.