S Arabia TV dramas invite scrutiny of Israel ties

RIYADH: Two Ramazan television dramas on a Saudi-controlled network have stirred controversy as they test public perceptions of quietly warming relations between the Gulf kingdom and Israel. Arab states including Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic ties with Israel, but both sides are pursuing what one think tank calls a “tepid dance” to furtively build relations on the basis of shared animosity towards Iran. Now, two taboo-busting series during the holy fasting month — the peak television season — have fuelled speculation that Riyadh is trying to openly normalise closer ties with the Jewish state. In another controversial scene, one of the Saudi characters justifies establishing trade ties with Israel, arguing that Palestinians are the real “enemy” for insulting the kingdom “day and night” despite decades of financial support. Another show called “Umm Haroun”, or the mother of Haroun, portrays a Jewish community in a village in Kuwait during the 1940s. Social media imploded with scathing criticism of the shows, with multiple Twitter users saying their aim was to promote “normalisation with Israel”. The shows are produced by the influential Arab satellite network MBC, effectively under Saudi government control after its founder — media mogul Waleed al-Ibrahim — was detained with other elite businessmen at Riyadh´s Ritz-Carlton hotel in a 2017 anti-corruption campaign. They stand in contrast to “The End”, a popular Egyptian sci-fi drama that provoked fury in Israel after it predicted the collapse of the Jewish state. MBC said its shows were among the most popular during Ramazan, garnering top ratings. “The Middle East has been stereotyped for decades as a region of fear, bloodshed, hatred, extremism,” MBC spokesman Mazen Hayek told AFP.