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In Turkey, Orthodox drama ‘Shtisel’ is being adapted for a Muslim audience
ISTANBUL (JTA) — “Shtisel,” a TV series about haredi Orthodox Jews that became an international phenomenon after Netflix picked it up in 2018, is getting a Muslim makeover for Turkish audiences, according to Turkish media.
A new show titled “Ömer” has begun production and will premiere sometime in 2023 on Turkey’s STAR TV, Turkish media reported.
Not much is known about the show’s plot. A trailer depicts the protagonist Ömer, played by Selahattin Paşali, standing at the precipice of a mosque and seemingly stuck between the calls of an imam on one side and a woman — with uncovered hair — on the other, as the Islamic call to prayer, also sung by Paşali, sounds in the background.
Star TV has unveiled a first look at its upcoming drama, “Ömer.”
The OGM Pictures-produced series is reportedly based on the award-winning series “Shtisel,” which followed a religious family as they reckon with love, loss and the doldrums of daily life.
— Dizilah (@dizilah) December 23, 2022
In Islam, women are required to cover their hair in public, so the images suggest that the main theme of the show could involve Ömer choosing between religious tradition and secularism. That was not one of the central tensions in “Shtisel,” which debuted on Israeli TV in 2014 and was widely praised for depicting the everyday lives of characters based in Jerusalem’s haredi community.
Nonetheless, Paşali’s character is being compared to Michael Aloni’s character, Akiva in “Shtisel,” and an imam character is being compared to the patriarch of the Shtisel family, Shulem.
The series’ female lead, Gökçe Bahadir, may be recognized by some Jewish and Israeli audiences: Last year, she starred in the hit Turkish Netflix series “The Club” (“Kulüp”), which follows a Sephardic-Jewish family through the political turmoil of 1940s and 1950s Istanbul.
Turkish shows, often referred to by the Turkish term, “dizis,” have long been as popular in Israel as they are elsewhere in the Middle East. One show, “The Bride of Istanbul” (“Istanbullu Gelin”) — which was directed by the same director as “the Club,” Zeynep Gunay Tan, and produced by the same production company as “Ömer” — grew a passionate Israeli fanbase in 2018, according to Haaretz.
Over 600,000 Israelis visited Turkey this past summer, a record high, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Last year, it was reported that an American version of “Shtisel,” to be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan, was in the works.
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Israeli Military Says It ‘Took Out’ Iran’s Caspian Sea Naval Capabilities
Illustrative: A group of Iranian Navy ships. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Israel carried out strikes targeting the Iranian navy in the Caspian Sea for the first time on Wednesday, an Israeli military spokesperson said on Thursday, telling reporters that Iran’s naval capabilities in the inland sea had been largely disabled.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said the Air Force had struck dozens of targets, including missile boats, a corvette, a shipyard used to build and repair vessels, and a command center.
“We have been able to take out their navy capabilities in the Caspian Sea,” he said in an online briefing with reporters.
“That is a systematic strike on all levels of their naval capabilities in the Caspian Sea.”
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US Approves Billions in Arms Sales to Middle East Countries
Smoke billows from Jebel Ali port after an Iranian attack, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Alfik
The US State Department on Thursday approved potential arms sales to three Middle East countries worth more than $16.5 billion as the war with Iran intensifies.
The State Department approved the potential sale of missiles, drones, radar systems, and F-16 munitions and upgrades to the United Arab Emirates for a combined total of more than $8.4 billion, it said in statements.
Also approved were possible sales of lower-tier air and missile defense sensor radars to Kuwait for an estimated cost of $8 billion and aircraft and munitions support to Jordan for an estimated cost of $70.5 million.
The sales follow Iran’s attacks on energy infrastructure in response to Israeli attacks on its gas facilities, which marked the biggest escalation of the nearly three-week war, causing gas prices to surge and oil prices to rise further.
The State Department said the principal contractors in the sales will include RTX Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
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Two Men Appear in UK Court Accused of Spying on Israeli Embassy, Jewish Targets for Iran
Director General of MI5 Ken McCallum delivers the annual Director General’s Speech at Thames House, the headquarters of the UK’s Security Service, in London, Britain, Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Brady/Pool via REUTERS
Two men appeared in a London court on Thursday accused of being tasked by Iran to carry out hostile surveillance on the Israeli Embassy, Britain’s oldest synagogue, and other Jewish targets.
Nematollah Shahsavani, 40, a dual Iranian-British national, and Alireza Farasati, an Iranian national, 22, are accused of being involved in gathering information and undertaking reconnaissance of targets given to them by Iranian spy services over five weeks last summer.
As such, the alleged activities pre-dated the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran which began on Feb. 28.
Prosecutor Louise Attrill told London’s Westminster Magistrates Court that devices seized from the two men had contained a list of targets.
These included the Israeli Embassy, the Israeli Consulate, London’s Bevis Marks Synagogue, a Jewish community center, and the Community Security Trust, a charity which provides security advice for the country’s Jews.
Attrill said the evidence suggested Shahsavani, who had traveled to Iran last April and was stopped under counter-terrorism powers when he returned to Britain in August, had been given instructions by Iranian intelligence services, and he had tasked Farasati to carry out the surveillance.
The men did not enter a plea and were remanded in custody until their next hearing at London’s Old Bailey Court on April 17. Farasati’s lawyer Alphege Bell said his client was “no religious fanatic.”
British lawmakers and the domestic spy agency MI5 have long warned of threats posed by Iran, with accusations that Tehran was behind more than 20 suspected kidnap and assassination plots.
Iran has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying they are part of a campaign against it by hostile Western powers.
Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator of Britain’s counter-terrorism police, said she hoped the investigation would reassure Jewish communities that police would act on any threats to their safety.