Foreign Ministry: Egyptian TV show predicting end of Israel ‘unacceptable’
The Foreign Ministry called it “unfortunate and totally unacceptable, especially between countries that have a peace agreement between them for the past 41 years.”
By LAHAV HARKOVA screenshot of the trailer for the Egyptian television series, The End, which depicts Israel after the Jews 'moved back to Europe'(photo credit: YOUTUBE SCREENSHOT)
An Egyptian television series depicting a future in which Israel was destroyed by Arab states is unacceptable, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.The first episode of the Ramadan drama titled The End, features a scene of children in a classroom in the year 2120 learning about "the war to liberate Jerusalem.""America was the central supporter of the Zionist state," a teacher says, while a holographic map of the US appears in the front of the classroom. "When the time came for the Arab states to get rid of their sworn enemy, a war broke out that was named the war to liberate Jerusalem."The teacher added that "the war ended quickly and brought about the destruction of the Zionist State of Israel less than 100 years after its establishment."According to the teacher, "most of the Jews in Israel ran away and returned to their countries of origin in Europe."Most Jews in Israel are Mizrahi, meaning they are of Middle Eastern or North African – not European – origin.The Foreign Ministry took umbrage with the show’s content, calling it “unfortunate and totally unacceptable, especially between countries that have a peace agreement between them for the past 41 years.”Throughout the Arab world, but especially in Egypt, television dramas tend to premiere during Ramadan – which began on Thursday – and air one episode per night throughout the holy month. They tend to enjoy high ratings and are thought to be culturally influential.The TV show was aired on ON, a private television channel, but was authorized by the Egyptian government’s censor. Its first episode was originally posted on YouTube, but was later removed.The show "The End," or "El Nehayeh" in Arabic, is a dystopian drama starring Ahmed El Sherif as a computer engineer living in a world dominated by cyborg clones.Synergy, the production company behind "The End," is Egypt's largest and has strong government connections.In 2010, then-deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon summoned the Turkish ambassador to register a complaint about a Turkish television series depicting Mossad agents kidnapping babies.At the time, Ayalon tweeted that "this is an intolerable situation which endangers the Jewish community, the Israel envoys and tourists coming to Turkey."Ayalon also seated Turkey's then-ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol on a lower chair than his own, which was seen as an attempt to humiliate him.The incident turned into an ongoing diplomatic spat between Jerusalem and Ankara.
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