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Sun, Dec 19, 2010 | The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

From the trailer of "Valley of the Wolves: Palestine." An IDF soldier shoots at innocent passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara (Yazete.com)

Turkish Movie: “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine”

“Valley of the Wolves: Palestine” is a Turkish movie portraying the Marmara affair as a premeditated IDF attack to kill innocent activists, slated for the end of January 2011. Joining previous films and series, it is an example of the extensive use made in Turkey of the affair to defame Israel.

Overview

On January 28, 2011, the Turkish movie “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine,” based on the affair of the Mavi Marmara will be shown in theaters. The plot deals with a Turkish agent and his comrades who go to Gaza to exact revenge from the Israeli commander responsible for planning the killing of passengers aboard the ship. The movie is another in a popular television and movie series entitled “Valley of the Wolves” which are anti-Israeli, anti-Semitism and anti-Western.

The trailer for the movie (available on YouTube) represents IDF soldiers as immoral murderers who shoot Mavi Marmara passengers in cold blood and kill innocent Palestinians.^[1] There is also a children’s game called “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine” currently being sold in Turkey.^[2]

Poster: "Valley of the Wolves: Palestine" (Yazete.com)

The movie is another example of how the Mavi Marmara affair is exploited for intensive hate propaganda. The anti-Israeli incitement which is directed at target audiences in Turkey and abroad, is in our assessment carried out with the agreement of the Turkish government. For example, on November 14, 2010, IHH leader Bülent Yildirim, in an interview with the Islamic Turkish Star, accused Israel of the deliberate “massacre” of the Mavi Marmara passengers and described the “Zionists” [i.e., Jews] as controlling the United States, its president and Congress, the administration and the media.^[3]

In previous TV seasons of “Valley of the Wolves” (“Valley of the Wolves: Trap,” “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq”) and in another movie produced by the same company that produced “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine” there are: a Jewish doctor who harvests organs from Iraqi war victims to transplant in Jewish patients, Israeli officials who kidnap Turkish babies to convert them, and IDF soldiers who shoot Palestinian children at close quarters.

The movie “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine”

The movie is a continuation of a popular television series which ran for several seasons, and of another “Valley of the Wolves” movie. It was filmed in south Turkey with landscapes similar to Israel’s. Four hundred actors and crew members were involved in its production and Mark Meddings, a Hollywood specialist, supervised the special effects. Necati Şaşmaz (whose voice is dubbed by another actor),^[4] who produced the movie and played the leading role, is a familiar face to Turkish TV viewers from his leading roles in previous episodes of the show.

Necati Şaşmaz is sometimes described as the Turkish James Bond. Millions of young Turks idolize him, imitating his mannerisms and speech. (Today’s Zaman, August 15, 2010)

The movie was supposed to premiere at the end of November 2010 but technical difficulties postponed the date and it will arrive in theaters on January 28, 2011.^[5] Based on past experience, it is reasonable to assume that the movie will be distributed to Turkish communities in countries abroad, such as Germany.^[6]

The movie claims to expose the “human drama” of “Palestine” to the Turkish audience. In reality, it indoctrinates the viewer with a false narrative of Israeli soldiers deliberately killing innocent sea-faring passengers, exploiting the Mavi Marmara affair to defame Israel as killing innocent Palestinians and representing the Turks as coming to their aid in the “struggle” against Israel. It integrates authentic clips from the IDF takeover of the ship in which the passengers are seen sitting in the main lounge, among them sheikh Ra’ed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

The plot deals with a Turkish agent who sets out to take revenge on a cruel Israeli general named Moshe Ben-Eliezer, who planned and executed the attack on the Mavi Marmara (the part is played by a Turkish actor who wears an eye-patch, reminiscent of Moshe Dayan). The trailer begins with the Israeli commander ordering the Mavi Marmara to stop, and when it refuses, IDF soldiers board the ship and attack the passengers, who try to defend themselves. Later, the Turkish agent and his comrades are sent to “Palestine” to exact revenge from the Israeli commander. The movie shows “Israeli soldiers” shooting handcuffed Palestinian prisoners. In the final scene, not even the Israeli general’s cruelty and the advanced technological means he has at his disposal can save him from the avenging Turks.^[7]

From the trailer: An Israeli soldier points a gun at passengers aboard the Mavi Marmara (YouTube.com)

Previous anti-Israeli series produced by the same company

Pana Film, which produced “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine,” also produced the TV series and first movie bearing the same name. They are all anti-Israeli and on occasion anti-Semitic and anti-American and have been shown in Turkey and other countries for seven years. It also produced the anti-Israeli series “Separation” (see below). Pana Film has been making movies for 23 years. In the past the Turkish government banned a TV series called “Valley of the Wolves” which dealt with the relations between Turkey and the Kurds. On the other hand, the Turkish authorities did not ban series and movies with the same title which included strong anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish and anti-American incitement.

The “Valley of the Wolves” series, first broadcast in Turkey in 2003, had very high ratings and caused a public uproar. Various groups in Turkey, among them educators, were outraged by the excessive violence portrayed, which included scenes of torture. In 2007 the first episode of another series, this one called “Valley of the Wolves: Terrorism,” was aired. The series dealt with stories of Turkish espionage against Kurdish organizations in Turkey. Following outrage from viewers unused to seeing that particularly sensitive subject on television, the series was shelved by the authorities after the first episode.^[8]

In 2006 the movie spinoff “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq” was produced. It dealt with the Americans fighting in Iraq and represented the United States as carrying out atrocities against Iraqi civilians. The movie, which was shot in Syria, cost $10 million, making it the most expensive movie ever produced in Turkish history. It was a box-office hit in Turkey, where it has been estimated that four million people saw it.

Poster for "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq"

One of the characters in the movie was a Jewish doctor who harvested kidneys from Iraqi war casualties and sent them to Tel Aviv, New York and London for transplant into Jewish patients. “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq” was shown in other countries and was particularly popular in the Turkish community in Germany. Because of its severe criticism of the United States army in Iraq and of its anti-Semitic contents, it was taken off the screens in America and was severely criticized in Germany (although it continued to be shown).^[9]

From "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq (Picture's website). Gary Busey plays a greedy Jewish doctor who trades in the kidneys of Iraqi war casualties.

Reporters from Arab TV channels, including Al Jazeera, reported on the filming of the movie. “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq” was a big success in Middle Eastern countries. That film racked up 4.2 million ticket sales in Turkey as well as accusations of rampant anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine,” which portrays the suffering of the Palestinians, is also expected to draw huge interest from Middle Eastern countries. Following the 2006 movie, the characters in the movie have been welcomed as heroes in the Middle Eastern countries they go to. (Today’s Zalman, 15 August 2010)

In 2007 a new series was broadcast, this one called “Valley of the Wolves: Trap,” which is still being aired. In January 2010 the series depicted Israeli Mossad agents and representatives as abducting Turkish babies to convert them to Judaism. The Turkish security forces were shown raiding the Israeli embassy, and after a hard-fought battle succeeding in rescuing an abducted Turkish child. In the dramatic final scene the Israeli ambassador puts a gun to the head of the Turkish nanny, who is holding a frightened child, and threatens to kill her. Without blinking, the Turkish officer shoots the ambassador between the eyes, his blood spraying an Israeli flag hung in the background.^[10]

The “Valley of the Wolves” franchise has enjoyed tremendous success in Turkey. The title evokes mythological images from a story beloved by nationalists of a lone wolf that guided Turks out of a Central Asian valley where they had been trapped by enemies. (Today’s Zaman, 15 August 2010)

From the final scene of "Valley of the Wolves: Trap:" The Israeli ambassador threatens to kill the Turkish nanny. Polat Alemdar shoots him and his blood sprays the Israeli flag. Note: (11)

Pana Film also produced an anti-Israeli series called “Separation.” It was broadcast on TRT1, the national Turkish television channel in October 2009 during prime time. The series is about a love story in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead. In one scene an Israeli soldier deliberately shoots an innocent Palestinian girl in the chest at close range, and she falls bleeding to the ground. The first episode is another example of the one-sided propaganda which shows Israeli soldiers abusing Palestinians. One of them is portrayed kicking a Palestinian, and others are seen beating innocent civilians. In the background there are pictures of tanks, explosions, children throwing rocks and corpses lying everywhere. In addition, there is a scene in which Palestinians face an IDF firing squad.^[12]

From the series "Separation:" Palestinians face a firing squad of Israeli soldiers.

Notes:

[1] Trailer: Yazete.com. The Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak, affiliated with the regime, also posted the trailer on its website.

[2] Here’s an example: fupa.com. The game is categorized in… “Online Education”.

[3] For further information see the December 15, 2010 article, “IHH leader Bülent Yildirim: U.S. is ruled by Zionism”.

[4] Muhammed Necati Şaşmaz (a.k.a. Polat Alemdar & Murad Alamdar) was born in Elazığ in 1971. He finished his education in Canada. His real profession is on tourism. He had lived in U.S.A for six years. In 2001 he came to Turkey to visit his family for a short while.  Date of his return ticket was 11th September of 2001 coincidentally. Because of the september 11th attacks the plane that was carrying him had to return back to Turkey. These events made his family nervous so they leaned on him not to go back U.S.A again and he decided to stay in Turkey. This decision was the turning point of his life. After this he started his own business in Turkey and open an insurance agency in Ankara. After a short time he had a job interview with Osman Sınav a famous movie maker. He expected that Osman Sınav was offered him to be a scenarist of one of his production. However, surprisingly he met with an offer that set him down for leading role of a TV series. After a month he accepted the offer. Acting Polat Alemdar in Kurtlar Vadisi one of the most famous TV series of Turkey was the offer. His movies and TV series can be listed as Kurtlar Vadisi, Kurtlar Vadisi Irak (Valley Of The Wolves in Iraq), Kurtlar Vadisi Terör, Kurtlar Vadisi Pusu and he acted the same character in all of them. In all these movie he plays a secret agent whose mission is to collapse the mafia is working for state-within-a-state. Polat’s behaviours, statements became very popular in a short time and the character became an idol among the young people in Turkey. The fact that nowadays it is very common to see people who act, wear and talk like Polat Alemdar. Polat Alemdar is also very popular among Arabic and Middle East Countries and Coloumbia, he is know as “Murad Alamdar” in translated series. The series crashes ratings , and his popularity is in a rapid increase. He is definitely a hero in Middle East. (Source: Do You Know Turkey?).

[5] The kv-filistin.com website announced the delay on November 5, 2010.

[6] nrg.co.il and Turkiye Ve Hayata Dair.

[7] Turkiye Ve Hayata Dair and Valley of the Wolves.

[8] http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,07340,L-3832848,00.html

[9] Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, Germany: anti-semitic Turkish film cheered with cries of Allah is great, http://www.omedia.co.il/Show_Article.asp?DynamicContentID=1205&MenuID=735

[10] nrg.co.il.

[11] Kurtlar Vadisi Filistin Fragman [Official HD Fan Made Trailer].

[12] ynet.co.il.