05.03.2025 13:51
The Israeli army opened a Turkish account on the X platform. The first post from the verified account was a video in Turkish. According to reports in the Israeli press, Arye Shalicar, the former head of the European desk who has started to serve as the Turkish spokesperson for the newly opened X account of the Israeli army, turned out to be a former gang leader.
The Times of Israel, one of the largest news sites in Israel, announced to its readers that Shalicar, who has started to act as a spokesperson for the army in Turkish, is a former gang member, under the headline "Former gangster speaking on behalf of the Israeli army."
THEY OPENED A TURKISH ACCOUNT
The Israeli army opened a new account on the X social media site under the name "IDF Turkish" to make posts in Turkish. The announcement of the account was made by Shalicar, an Iranian-born Israeli who grew up in Germany and previously acted as a spokesperson for the Israeli army.
THEY LOWERCASE THE 'T' IN TURKEY
In the shared video, while Shalicar was speaking in Turkish, it was noted that the 'T' in Turkey was written in lowercase in the subtitles.
"I GOT INVOLVED IN CRIME"
In a news article published by The Times of Israel in 2013, while mentioning Shalicar's youth in Germany, it was reported that he said, "I got involved in crime, I became part of gang life. All kinds of things. Generally, things that gangs do. If you write these, people can understand."
The article stated that Shalicar was the founder of a gang called "Berlin Crime" and noted that he secretly studied from his gang friends due to the disapproval of education in his environment.
HE EVEN ENGAGED IN DRUG TRAFFICKING
In a portrait article by the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel, it was reported that Shalicar "rose to gang leadership in the criminal world of Berlin, stabbed one person involved in his gang, and dealt with drug trafficking."
The article noted that Shalicar "never left home without his gun, knife, and club" when he was 17 years old.
It was stated that while speaking about Israel, Shalicar referred to the so-called "promised lands" and described himself as "deeply Zionist."