Tomorrow's Pioneers
| Tomorrow's Pioneers | |
|---|---|
 Farfur, in an episode of the series, mimes carrying a rifle. | |
| Created by | Hazim Al-Sha'arawi[1] |
| Starring | Unknown as Farfur Unknown as Saraa Hazim Al-Sha'arawi as the moderator |
| Country of origin |  Palestinian National Authority |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes per episode |
| Original release | |
| Network | Al-Aqsa TV |
| Release | April 16, 2007 – present |
Tomorrow's Pioneers is a weekly Palestinian children's program on the official Hamas television station, Al-Aqsa TV. The show deals with Islamist traditions and lifestyles; some as innocuous as the importance of daily prayers and drinking milk to, according to the Palestinian Media Watch, more radical messages of indoctrinating the young viewers with teachings of Islamic supremacy, hatred of Israel and the United States, and support of 'resistance'.[2][3] The series debuted on April 16, 2007.[3]
Critics such as the Anti-Defamation League have stated[4] that the show promotes anti-American, anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic sentiment, although a producer of the show claims that the program is actually, "about Palestinian kids express[ing] their feeling[s] regarding what they witness."[5]
Israeli officials have denounced the program as incendiary and outrageous. The program is also opposed by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, which is controlled by Fatah.[6]
Characters
Farfur
The main character, Farfur (which translates into "butterfly"[3]), is a costume character mouse with a high-pitched voice. The Western media has pointed to Farfur as a blatant copy of a decades-old, American-created cartoon character Mickey Mouse.[7]
On the show, Farfur has stated such things as: "You and I are laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists" and "We will return the Islamic community to its former greatness, and liberate Jerusalem, God willing, liberate Iraq, God willing, and liberate all the countries of the Muslims invaded by the murderers."[7][8] He has also encouraged children to use an AK-47 and grenades on Israelis and Americans.[4] He simulates shooting the AK-47 and throwing the grenades.[3]
In the final episode of the show, Farfour is beaten to death by an Israeli who was trying to buy his land. Farfour calls the Israeli a "terrorist."
The use of cartoon-like mascots to promote violence on Palestinian television is not unprecedented. Other Palestinian children's programs have used the Mickey Mouse image to incite radical activities. A 1998 episode of the program The Children's Club on official Palestinian Authority television had a "Mickey Mouse"-type figure amidst children praising suicide attacks against Israelis.[4]
Saraa
Saraa is a young girl, who wears a hijab.
Episodes
- April 16, 2007: Farfur remarks to Saraa of the intention of, "[setting the] cornerstone for world leadership under Islamic leadership" with "our beloved children". He also teaches about the importance of prayer. Later on he states, "Yes, we, tomorrow's pioneers, will restore to this nation its glory, and we will liberate Al-Aqsa, with Allah's will, and we will liberate Iraq, with Allah's will, and we will liberate the Muslim countries, invaded by murderers."[9]
- April 23, 2007: Farfur sings about "answering" the Gaza Strip town of Rafah with AK-47s. Later, he sings "It is the time of death". Episode includes a call-in segment. Many of the calls contain anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments.[8] Farfur mentions George W. Bush, Ariel Sharon, Shaul Mofaz, Ehud Olmert, and Condoleezza Rice by name, exclaims that "we will win". He remarks after Sharon's name that, "Ah, Sharon is dead."[3]
- April 30, 2007: The hostess explains to Farfur that one must aspire to memorize the entire Quran... "Because we want to lead the world, so [therefore] we want to memorize the [entire] Quran."[9]
- May 11, 2007: Farfur prepares for and takes his year-end examinations. He cheats during the test and is asked why by an Al-Aqsa news reporter. His response is "Because the Jews destroyed my home and I left my books and notes under the rubble." He soon learns cheating is forbidden and fails the test. In response, he tells viewers, "I'm calling on all children to read more and more to prepare for exams because the Jews don't want us to learn."[10]
Responses
After attracting international attention for its Mickey Mouse-lookalike, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti suggested it was a "mistaken approach"[11], asking that it be taken off the air. Al-Aqsa board chairman Fathi Hamad replied that the station will neither pull the program, nor change the subject matter. "This campaign of criticism is part of a plan orchestrated by the West and the occupying power to attack Islam on the one hand and the Palestinian cause on the other."[12] An Al-Aqsa TV representative responded to Barghouti's statements, saying that the station will continue to air the show and that "Barghouti misunderstood the issue."[5] So far, only one episode aired since Barghouti's statements (the May 11 episode).
73-year-old Diane Disney Miller, Mickey Mouse creator Walt Disney's last surviving child, commented to the press that, "What we're dealing with here is pure evil and you can't ignore that. It's not just Mickey," that she objects to, "it's indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil. The world loves children, and this is just going against the grain of humanity."[13]
Translation controversy
Several commentators have pointed out translation errors in the transcript of the show provided to news agencies by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).[14] Arab staff at CNN said they had found "massive problems" with it.[15] Brian Whitaker, the Middle East editor for the UK Guardian newspaper, wrote in a blog for the newspaper that in the translation of the video, showing Farfur eliciting political comments from a young girl called "Sanabel", the MEMRI transcript misrepresents the segment, by attributing a sentence said by Farfur, ("I'll shoot"), to the child, and ignoring the child's statement ("I'm going to draw a picture").[15]
Whitaker further criticized MEMRI's translation bias. He and others contested that a statement uttered by the same child, ("We're going to [or want to] resist"), has been given a more aggressive interpretation by MEMRI as ("We want to fight").[14] Also, where MEMRI translates the girl as saying the highly controversial remark ("We will annihilate the Jews"), Whitaker and others, including Arabic speakers used by CNN, insist that based on careful listening to the low quality video clip, the girl is variously interpreted as saying, ("The Jews will shoot us") or ("The Jews are shooting us")[15] or ("The Jews are killing us.")[16]
MEMRI defends their translation of the show, Yigal Carmon, founder and President of MEMRI declared, "Yes, we stand by the translation by the very words, by the context, by the syntax, and every measure of the translation."[16]
References
- ^ Marcus, I. & Crook, B. "Islamic Rule Benefits Christians and Jews: Hamas Mickey Mouse Creator", Palestinian Media Watch, 2007-05-14, Retrieved on 2007-05-17
- ^ Stahl, Julie., "Hamas Uses Mickey Mouse to Push Islamic Supremacy", CNSNews.com, 2007-05-07, Retrieved on 2007-05-15
- ^ a b c d e CGH/AP, "Hamas Mickey Mouse Teaches Jihad", Der Spiegel online, 2007-05-09, Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
- ^ a b c Press Release, "Mickey Mouse Knockoff On Hamas TV Used To Indoctrinate Children Into Culture Of Hate", Anti-Defamation League press center, 2007-05-09, Retrieved on 2007-05-16.
- ^ a b Shubert, Atika. "Hamas kids TV show with militant mouse to air Friday", CNN.com, 2007-05-15, Retrieved on 2007-05-18
- ^ AP, "Mickey Mouse Lookalike Back on Hamas TV", New York Times, 2007-05-11, Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
- ^ a b Hadid, Diaa. AP, "Hamas 'Mickey Mouse' wants Islam takeover", Yahoo.com news, 2007-05-08, Retrieved on 2007-05-14
- ^ a b "'Mickey Mouse' promotes jihad", World Net Daily, 2007-05-07, Retrieved on 2007-05-14
- ^ a b Marcus, I. & Crook, B. "Hamas Steals Mickey Mouse Image, Teaches Hate, Islamic Supremacy to Children". News Blaze.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Hamas Mickey is back on TV", Kuwait Times online, 2007-05-12, Retrieved on 2007-05-18
- ^ AP., "Hamas 'Mickey Mouse' pulled off air", MSNBC.com, 2007-05-10, Retrieved on 2007-05-14
- ^ AFP, "Hamas TV refuses to axe copycat Mickey Mouse", Yahoo.com news, 2007-05-10, Retrieved on 2007-05-14
- ^ "Disney condemns Hamas Mickey Mouse", ITN.com, 2007-05-09, Retrieved on 2007-05-14
- ^ a b clip #1442: "A Mickey Mouse Character on Hamas TV Teaches Children about Islamic Rule of the World", MEMRI TV monitor project transcript, 2007-04-13, Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
- ^ a b c Whitaker, Brian., "Arabic under fire", Guardian.co.uk, 2007-05-15, Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
- ^ a b "Paula Zahn Now" TV show transcript, CNN transcripts, aired 2007-05-08, Retrieved 2007-05-28.
External links
- "Hamas May Revise Jihad-Promoting 'Mickey Mouse' Program", Julie Stahl, CNSNews.com, May 09, 2007
- "Hamas 'Mickey Mouse' wants Islam takeover", Diaa Hadid, Associated Press, May 8, 2007.
- "Hamas kids TV show with militant mouse to air Friday", Atika Shubert, CNN.com, May 15, 2007.
- "A Mickey Mouse Character on Hamas TV Teaches Children about Islamic Rule of the World", MEMRI TV Monitor Project transcript, MEMRI, April 13, 2007.
- [1] June 29 Jerusalem Post article describing the final episode featuring "Farfur".