Hamas' Farfur Killed Off
Hamas TV Station's Mickey Mouse Clone Beaten to Death in Finale
Jul 1, 2007
(Source: news.bbc.co.uk)
In the final episode of Hamas' television series Tomorrow's Pioneers, the show's host was depicted being beaten to death by an Israeli.
“Yes, our friends, we lost our dearest friend, Farfur," said the show's co-host, a 12-year-old girl named Saraa'. "Farfur turned to a Martyr while protecting his land. He turned into a Martyr at the hands of the criminals, and murderers. The murderers of the innocent children."
Tomorrow's Pioneers, a children's show which aired every Friday afternoon on the Hamas-owned Al-Aqsa TV, was heavily criticized both for its host, which resembled Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, and for inciting racist hatred among Palestinian children.
“We are setting with you the cornerstone for world leadership under Islamic leadership. Isn’t it so, Saraa’?” Farfur said to Saraa', in an episode that aired on April 16th.
In another episode, Farfur and Saraa' nodded approvingly as a child barely old enough to speak vowed: "We will annihilate the Jews. I will commit martyrdom."
Diane Disney-Miller, Walt Disney's only surviving child, denounced the show as "pure evil" while Samir Zakkout, of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program said it contributed to the glorification of violence that fueled the civil war in the Gaza Strip.
"There's been a collapse of values," he said. "If I can kill my enemy, I can kill my brother."
The show even offended Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti. He announced on May 9th that he had convinced Al-Aqsa TV to pull the show, saying "it was wrong to use a program directed at children to convey political messages."
However, the Hamas television station reneged on that agreement, showing a new episode two days later, while Palestinians fought and killed each other in the streets of Gaza. Tomorrow's Pioneers was kept off the air during the civil war but the final episode aired last Friday. A representative of Al-Aqsa TV had informed the Associated Press that they were canceling Tomorrow's Pioneers in order to make way for new shows.
In the finale, which aired on Friday, June 29th, an actor portraying an Israeli agent attempts to buy Farfur's land, which the costumed mouse had inherited from his grandfather.
“Sit down, Farfur," says the Israeli agent. "Farfur, we want to buy the land, we will give you a lot of money. You will get a lot of money, and we will take the documents.”
“No!" Farfur wails. "We will not sell our lands to terrorists!”
“Farfur!" The interrogator starts beating the character. "Farfur! Hand me the documents. Farfur! Hand me the documents, Farfur!”
Farfur replies: “I am not handing them to criminals, to terrorists!”
“You call us terrorists, Farfur?" The Israeli beats Farfur again. "Take this! Take this! Take this! Take this!”
The rest of the beating occurs off-screen.
Later on, Saraa' took calls from viewers, including a 3-year-old girl named Shaimaa’.
"You saw that the Jews let Farfur die as a Martyr," Saraa' says. "What do you want to say to the Jews?”
“We don’t like the Jews because they are dogs!" Shaimaa' responds. "We will fight them!”
“No, the Jews are good, oh Shaimaa’," the 12-year-old co-host says sarcastically. "The Jews are our friends, and we play with them, isn’t it so?”
Shaimaa’: “They killed Farfur!”
“That’s right, oh Shaimaa’," Saraa' says. "The Jews are criminals and enemies, we must expel them from our land.”
Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook of Palestinian Media Watch said this allowed Hamas to end the show, and its controversy, while still inflaming hatred against Jews.
"Without apparent regard for the sensitivities of their child viewers," they said, "the show’s creators killed off the character in a particularly violent way that allowed them to continue the show’s rabidly anti-Israel messages."
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