Tomorrow's Pioneers

Tomorrow's Pioneers
Farfour mimes carrying an AK-47 in episode 103 of the series.
Created by	Hazim Al-Sha'arawi
Directed by	Fathi Hammad
Creative director	Samir Abu Muhssen
Presented by	Hazim Al-Sha'arawi
Starring	Saraa Barhoum Samir Abu Muhssen Mohammad Ramadan Hazim Al-Sha'arawi
Voices of	Samir Abu Muhssen (as Nahoul) Hazim Al-Sha'arawi (as Nahoul and Uncle Hazim) Mohammad Ramadan (as Assoud)
Country of origin	Palestine (Palestinian National Authority)
Original language	Arabic
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	15
Production
Producer	Samir Abu Muhssen
Production locations	Al-Aqsa TV Palestine
Editor	Hazim Al-Sha'arawi
Running time	60 minutes per episode
Original release
Network	Al-Aqsa TV
Release	April 13, 2007 – Present

Tomorrow's Pioneers (or The Pioneers of Tomorrow) is a children's program, broadcast since April 13, 2007 on the official Palestinian Hamas television station, Al-Aqsa TV. The show features young host Saraa Barhoum and her co-host, a large costumed animal as they discuss 'life in Palestine' and accept call-ins from children typically of age 9-13. While ostensibly a show about children's education presented in a format similar to such common western shows as Sesame Street or Barney & Friends, Tomorrow's Pioneers additionally contains Hamas-inspired themes of anti-Americanism, anti-Zionism, Islamic extremism, Islamic supremacism, Islamism, and jihadist proselytism.

The show, brought to wider attention by Palestinian Media Watch and MEMRI, deals with Islamic traditions and lifestyles, some as innocuous as the importance of daily prayers and drinking milk to more radical messages of Islamic supremacy, the loathing of Israel, the United States and the West, and indoctrination of the young viewers with teachings of "Resistance Jihad." According to Palestinian Media Watch, in furtherance of the show's anti-Israeli message two previous animal character co-hosts (the Mickey-Mouse-lookalike Farfour and Nahoul the bee) were used to "champion violence, promote hatred of Israel and preach about world Islamic supremacy." Both of these characters were later also, as the show described them, "martyred" in plot-lines either directly or implicitly blaming their deaths upon The Jews, Israel, Israelis, and/or what they believe to be Zionists.

Israeli officials and critics such as the Anti-Defamation League have denounced the program as incendiary and outrageous in content. The show's producer claimed, in response, that the program is "about Palestinian kids express[ing] their feeling[s] regarding what they witness." Al-Aqsa TV has also explained that "Al Aqsa TV's noble message ... aims to produce a believing generation that will bear the noble values and strive to spread goodness and justice in Palestine and the world."

Characters

Current Cast

Saraa Barhoum

Saraa Barhoum is an 11-year old girl in a hijab who hosts Tomorrow's Pioneers. In an August 2007 interview, Saraa said she wanted to be a doctor, and if not that, then a martyr. Her father is a university professor and her uncle, Fawzi Barhoom, is a Hamas spokesman.

Uncle Hazim

Hazim Al-Sha'arawi, the show's creator and moderator, has appeared in several episodes. The uncle of Farfour (Saraa's first co-host), Uncle Hazim (also rendered as Uncle Hazem) often plays the role of the disciplinarian when Farfour is bad. In episode 101 he chides Farfour for speaking in English and in episode 104 he holds Farfour initially responsible for cheating on his exam (it later turns out the Jews are responsible). It is not clear whether Uncle Hazim is the uncle of Nahoul and Assoud as well.

Assoud

Assoud on his debut episode.

Assoud (also rendered as Assud), a Bugs Bunny-like rabbit character whose name means lion was introduced after his brother, the previous co-host, Nahoul died of illness. In explaining why he is called Assoud (lion), when Arnoub (rabbit) would be more appropriate, Assoud explains that "A rabbit is a term for a bad person and coward. And I, Assoud, will finish off the Jews and eat them." Before Nahoul's death, Assoud lived in Lebanon; he returned "in order to return to the homeland and liberate it." Assoud has hinted in episode 113 that he will be replaced by a tiger when he is martyred.

Deceased

Farfour (April 2007-June 2007)

Farfour (also rendered as Farfur), a Mickey Mouse-like mouse, is a costumed character with a high-pitched voice who co-hosted Tomorrow's Pioneers with Saraa. His name comes from from a diminutive of fi'r which means "mouse" in Arabic.

On the show, Farfour has expressed radical views. He 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." In episode 103, he simulates shooting an AK-47 and throwing grenades.

In episode 105 (aired June 22, 2007), Farfour is beaten to death during an interrogation by an Israeli who was trying to buy the key and title to Tel Aviv when Farfour calls him a "terrorist." Farfour is replaced as co-host in episode 107 by Nahoul, his bumblebee cousin. The idea for the story arc involving Farfour's death came from Al-Sha'arawi.

Other Palestinian children's programs have allegedly used the Mickey Mouse image to incite radical activities. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 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.

The Disney corporation initially had no public statement on the use of Mickey Mouse's image in the Farfour character; Disney CEO Robert Iger later said, "We were appalled by the use of our character to disseminate that kind of message." He explained the initial quiet by saying, "I just didn't think it would have any effect... I think it should have been obvious how the company felt about the subject." [1]

Nahoul (July 2007-Feb 2008)

Nahoul (also rendered as Nahul or Nahool) is a costumed bumblebee character with a high-pitched voice who co-hosted Tomorrow's Pioneers with Saraa following Farfour's martyrdom during an Israeli interrogation. The decision to use a bee as the second host was explained by Hazim Al-Sha'arawi in an Al Jazeera interview as stemming from the fact that bees are serious, organized, and mentioned in the Holy Koran. When introduced on Friday, July 13, 2007, he promised "revenge upon the enemies of God, the murderers of the prophets," explaining "I want to continue in the path of Farfour - the path of Islam, of heroism, of martyrdom, of the mujahideen."

On the show, Nahoul has expressed radical views. He has stated such things as: "We will liberate Al-Aqsa from the filth of the criminal Jews," and "We will go on Jihad when we grow up." In episode 109, Nahoul visits the zoo where streaks of cruelty become apparent for the (first?) time. Nahoul states: "The cats here are asleep - the poor, wretched, imprisoned cats. I feel like abusing them. This cat is asleep. I feel like attacking it." Nahoul then proceeds to swing cats by their tails and throw them around their cage. Saraa later chides him for this.

In February 2008, it was revealed that Nahoul was very sick and in need of an operation. Although Nahoul and his parents travelled to Al-Arish they could not leave Gaza and effectuate the passage to Egypt for medical treatment. He dies, what the show calls "a martyr's death," in the arms of his parents. His brother was notably absent. Nahoul is replaced as co-host by Assoud, his rabbit brother.

Episodes

Due to political instability and regional conflict between Hamas and Fatah parties, the show has not maintained uninterrupted broadcasting. In June, 2007 during the Battle of Gaza, the Al-Aqsa TV station was taken over and shut down by Fatah gunmen. Most recently, in January 2008, Fatah members abducted several Al-Aqsa TV station crew members. Further complicating regular broadcast were controversies surrounding the show itself. Palestinian Information Minister, Mustafa Barghouti successfully lobbied to have the show shut down for a time although this ban was later lifted (see below). Factors such as these lead to broadcast dates often being irregular.

Note: The show is aired on Fridays and is re-broadcasted on Mondays.

#	Title	Original airdate
101	"Farfour Is Caught Speaking English"	April 13, 2007
Farfour and Saraa discuss the reclamation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque with Sanabel, a call-in guest. Farfour explains to Sanabel that "we will annihilate the Jews." Farfour and Saraa next speak with Hadil, another call-in guest, to whom Saraa explains that "the day Islam rules the world there will be justice, love, and peace, and all the people will love one another. That is history." She then discusses the goals of fasting, praying, reciting the Koran, and studying and speaking in classic Arabic. Later on in the episode, Farfour is caught speaking English by Uncle Hazim and is chastized. Saraa explains to Farfour that he must have pride in his Arabic language and that the Moslem culture is a dominant force in the world. Farfour tells Saraa of his intention to, "[set the] cornerstone for world leadership under Islamic leadership" with "our beloved children" and Saraa responds that the show shall act as a "nucleus" for the reunification of Gaza, Jerusalem, and Ramallah into one Palestine. Farfour 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." Uncle Hazim speaks of the murders of children and clarifies, "not just the Palestinian child, but also the Iraqi child, as you can see they kill and slaughter the children and the women. Whoever followed the news yesterday could see the fetus and its mother... I'm sure you saw that, Saraa." Saraa acknowledges that she had and that it was very moving. Uncle Hazim continues "they are doing it in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in Palestine and a while ago they were doing it in Lebanon."
102	"Farfour Vs. Bush, Olmert, & Condoleeza"	April 20, 2007
Farfour reacts negatively to a song sung by call-in guest, Esraa (12). Esraa used the word "surrender" in her song and Saraa explains that they don't want to surrender, they want to win. Farfour agrees, stating: "We will win Bush! We will win, Sharon! Ah, Sharon's dead. We will win Mofaz! Mofaz left. We will win, Olmert! We will win! We will win, Condoleeza! [sic]"
103	"Farfour and the AK-47"	April 27, 2007
During a song about "answering" the Gaza Strip town of Rafah with AK-47s sung by call-in guest, Harwa (11), Farfour enacts the song in pantomime. Later, a second call-in guest, Muhammad (12) sings "Oh Jerusalem, it is the time of death". The hostess explains to Farfour 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."
104	"Farfour Is Caught Cheating"	May 11, 2007
Farfour prepares for and takes his year-end examinations. He cheats by using a cheat sheet during the test and is asked why by Uncle Hazim. His excuse 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. Uncle Hazim asks, "don't you want to be like the Khawrizmi and Al-Razi and Ibn Sina?" Farfour admits that he "would like to be Hassan al Banna, Rantissi and Ahmed Yassin." Uncle Hazim suggests that "we want to be scientists or Jaber Ben Hayam". 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." Uncle Hazim then explains to the audience that Islam has provided security for the world saying: "Ask history, and ask the Jews did they ever live in a time period better than the one they live under Islam. And ask the Christians how their security was assured in the churches and monasteries. Once we were. Do you remember Andalus?"
105	"Farfour and the Jew"	June 22, 2007
Farfour's grandfather explains to Farfour the history of the land. Tel Aviv, he explains, is the Jewish name for the land that was originally called Tel Al-Rabi and the Jews renamed it after occupying it in 1948. Farfour's grandfather gives Farfour the key and documents to the land and then he dies. Farfour exclaims "Grandpa entrusted me with this great trust but I don't know how to liberate this land from the filth of the criminal plundering Jews who killed my Grandpa and everybody." Farfour is then taken to an interrogation where he is "beaten to death by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land" because Farfour had called him a "despicable terrorist." The episode has what seems to be an editorial mistake as a brief flash of a "Farfour in prison" sign is shown immediately prior to Saraa explaining that "Farfour was martyred while defending his land, the land of his fathers and forefathers. He was martyred at the hand of the criminals, the murderers, the murderers of innocent children who killed Iman Hijo, Muhammad Al-Duro, and many others." (see [2]).
106	"Saraa and The Hadith"	July 6, 2007
Shahad (9), a call-in guest shares this quotation from the Hadith: "The Prophet said: The Hour will not take place until you fight the Jews... and the rock and the tree will say: Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and fight him!"
107	"Nahoul Descends"	July 13, 2007
Nahoul, bumblebee cousin of the deceased mouse Farfour, takes up the original character's path of martyrdom and his position as co-host. He tells Saraa "I want to continue in the path of Farfour - the path of Islam, of heroism, of martyrdom, of the mujahideen." He also explains his intentions to liberate Al-Aqsa from the impurity of the enemies of Allah.
108	"Nahoul's Rant"	July 20, 2007
Nahoul lectures to the audience that "we will liberate Al-Aqsa from the filth of the criminal Jews." Sabah (13), a call-in guest, shares aspirations to become a journalist to which Nahoul asks "to photograph the Jews when they are killing Farfour and the little children?" Later, Izz Al-Din from Ramallah calls in and Nahoul suggests that "we will go on Jihad when we grow up."
109	"Nahoul's Big Day Out"	August 10, 2007
Nahoul and Saraa discuss the occupation of Al-Aqsa. Nahoul suggests that "Al-Aqsa is very sad. Al-Aqsa is being held prisoner and is besieged by the criminal murderers of children. We must arise in order to take revenge upon the criminal Jews, the occupying Zionists." Nahoul then instructs the audience how to get ahold of the key to Al-Aqsa just as Saladin had done when he liberated it. This key, Nahoul explains is achieved through morning prayer, blood, sacrifice, pain, martyrs, and endurance. Saraa then suggests they examine what Nahoul has been doing recently. In a flashback sequence we see Nahoul visiting the Gaza Zoo. He enters a cage of domestic cats and spotting a sleeping cat, he approaches it saying: "the cats here are asleep - the poor, wretched, imprisoned cats. I feel like abusing them. This cat is asleep. I feel like attacking it." After doing just this, Nahoul find another cat which he lifts by its tail and neck skin, and then kicks. He finds the second cat again, swinging it by its tail. All of these actions are accompanied by the merry laughter of children. He exits the cage "before someone can find [him]". He then finds the lions' cage, and throws stones and sand at the male and female animals, enraging them within their tight quarters. Nahoul then waves his rear in front of the cage, teasing the female to bat at it, though just beyond range. Back in the studio, Saraa comments "there are many among our beloved children, who do the same as Nahoul." She then tells the audience and Nahoul that such behavor is "terrible". Saraa shares a story from the Hadith in which "a woman went to hell because she locked up a cat without feeding it or letting it eat on its own."
110	"Nahoul & Saraa's Feast of the Sacrifice Extravaganza"	December 21, 2007
It is The Feast of the Sacrifice and Saraa specially sings for the audience and an Al-Aqsa news reporter a version of the song originally sung by Harwa in episode 103 about "liberat[ing] [Palestine] from Tiberias to Anaba". Saraa has backup vocals from a male choir. Saraa sings that "we liberated Gaza by force not by Oslo or by Taba." She continues that "Rafah sings, and the Kalashnikov replies." The songs ends with Saraa singing "Oh Gaza, the first stone (of the Intifada) where we celebrated our victory - raise your sail for the sailors your lighthouse illuminate the sea of blood." When the song is finished she joins Nahoul who is outside with a neck tie and a party hat on. Saraa asks Nahoul whether he would like to give holiday greetings for the Feast of the Sacrifice, but Nahoul exclaims: "Should I convey greetings to my brother who was martyred in the First Intifada, at the hands of the Zionist Jews? To my second brother who was martyred in the Second Intifada? To my aunt who was martyred because of the siege, or to her orphans? My mother who suffers from diabetes or my father who suffers from hepatitis C? Who should I convey greetings to Saraa? You're rubbing salt on my wounds." Hadil, a call-in guest discusses the sacrifice of a calf that their family made and then Yaquin (13), from Gaza calls in and Nahoul laughs at her, unable to remember her name. Nahoul's voice is considerably lower-pitched in this episode and it is probable that his part is performed by a different actor than normally.
111	"Assoud Arrives"	February 1, 2008
Nahoul is deathly ill. His parents explain that they tried to bring him "to Al-Arish, but we couldn't get [Nahoul] to Egypt to have an operation." They then cry that "all the children of Palestine are dying without treatment." After Nahoul dies, the audience is introduced to his brother, a rabbit named Assoud. When Assoud asks where Nahoul is, the parents at first pretend that he has gone on a walk at night and will be back shortly, but then they finally tell Assoud that "your brother Nahoul died a martyr's death." Assoud is heartbroken and determines to take up Nahoul's path just as Nahoul had taken up Farfour's. Travelling to Al-Aqsa TV headquarters, Assoud declares to the audience that "I come from the diaspora carrying the Key of Return. Allah willing, we will use this key to liberate our Al-Aqsa Mosque." Saraa greets Assoud and explains to the audience that he will now be the new co-host. Assoud asks Saraa "we are all martyrdom-seekers are we not, Saraa?" and Saraa replies "Of course we are," to which Assoud responds "we will liberate Al-Aqsa from the filth of those Zionists." Assoud introduces the concept that the viewers compose the "soldiers of the Pioneers of Tomorrow" and the show ends with Assoud's famous declaration: "I, Assoud, will get rid of the Jews, Allah willing, and I will eat them up, Allah willing, right?" to which Saraa optimistically replies "Allah willing."
112	"Assoud's Tale"	February 8, 2008
Assoud the rabbit says he sneaked in from Egypt when the Gaza fence was breached. He and Saraa discuss retaking Tel Aviv, which they say was originally Tel-Rabia. The show ended with a song that declared: "We will never recognize Israel, until we liberate our homeland from the Zionist filth."
113	"Assoud Vs. Denmark"	February 15, 2008
Assoud rails against the Danish Jyllands-Posten cartoonists responsible for the Prophet Muhammad cartoons following their reprinting. He and Saraa discuss redeeming the Prophet Muhammad "with [their] souls, [their] blood, and [their] hearts" with Amani, a call-in guest. They warn the cartoonists that "Allah shall pay them back for their mockery." Assoud asks "Do you boycott Israeli and Danish products?" and Saraa instructs Amani that "all of [them] will definitely boycott Danish products and even before that, [they] will boycott Isaeli products." Amani ends with an exhortation that "Allah curse those infidels, who have gone astray," stating, "We, the soldiers of the Pioneers of Tomorrow apologize to you beloved Messenger of Allah. Denmark has spoken heresy." Assoud adds that "the American cowboys have spoken heresy as well." Amani begins to say "our brothers, the Americans, have affronted the Prophet Muhammad..." before Assoud interrupts saying "They are not our brothers, they are criminals." Amani asks for clarification and Assoud expalins that "they are infidels, not our brothers." Saraa asks Assoud "how did these Danes have the audacity to affront the Messenger of Allah?" and Assoud suggests that "maybe [the reason is] because the Arabs and Muslims keep silent." Saraa further suggests that "it's because the West has seen that we've moved away from the religion of Allah, and from the Sunna of our Prophet Muhammad." She then issues a warning: "I say to them: You haven't seen anything yet. Allah willing, the soldiers of the Pioneers of Tomorrow will redeem the Prophet Muhammad with all that they possess and even with their blood, Assoud." Assoud, in turn, warns that "if they do it again, Saraa, we will kill them, right? ... I will bite them and eat them up." to which Saraa replies "Yes. Allah willing." Later in the discussion, to settle any doubts in the viewers, Saraa suggests that "Assoud, we are not terrorists. ... We want all of Palestine to be ours. We are not terrorists ... They say we are terrorists merely because we want this but of course, we are not terrorists ... They are the terrorists. Allah willing we will regain the cities under Zionist occupation such as Jaffe, Haifa, Acre, Ashdod, the village of Hoj and all the Palestinian cities. ... and then we'll go to Iraq. All the borders will be opened between Egypt and us. There will be no barriers. And the same goes for Jordan and Saudi Arabia." They then discuss martydom and Assoud suggests that "Allah willing, when I am martyred, a tiger will take my place..." He asks Saraa, "who will host this show if you are martyred? Will 100,000 Saraas take your place? We'll take them from among the Pioneers of Tomorrow, Allah willing." Saraa responds "Allah willing. There are thousands of soldiers of the Pioneers of Tomorrow." Assoud expounds on the idea that "Martyrdom for the sake of Allah is what we hope for, right?" and Saraa agrees. Returning to the topic of the cartoons, Saraa and Assoud discuss the cartoonists responsible (specifically portraying an image of Kurt Westergaard) with Tasnim, a call-in guest. Tasnim expresses his opinion that "[Westergaard] [is] a criminal... I say to him, and to all of them, that no matter how much they try to hide him, we will manage to kill him, to assassinate him." Sarra expresses her support for this, saying "Allah willing. I pray that Allah makes the earth swallow him up." Assoud adds a final barb, shouting "you criminal, you lowlife, you scum of the earth." Assoud then reitterates that "we will liberate Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Zionists' filth."
114	"Assoud's History Lesson"	May 9, 2008
Assoud visits his surviving grandfather (the first having been killed in episode 105) who explains to Assoud the history of the cities in Palestine. In answer to Assoud's questions about where the family had originally lived, Assoud's grandfather tells Assoud that they lived in Tel Al-Rabi'. Assoud tells the old man that "there's no such place called Tel Al-Rabi'." and Assoud inquires if he has "gone senile." Assoud's grandfather is very angry and exclaims that "My head still works just fine. Are you trying to confuse me? I'm not senile yet. I have documents and proof." The grandfather explains that "the Zionists and Jews Hebraicized the name to 'Tel Aviv.'" He goes on to say that "It has been Tel Al-Rabi' for generations, on the land of Palestine, right next to Yafa ... from the days of the British and even before." As proof the grandfather offers papers, documents, and land deeds covering the lands, fields, trees, and houses and claims that "I can even show you the key." The grandfather questions where the names currently in use had come from and suggests that "The name Tel Al-Rabi' has been forged by the Jews and Hebraicized to "Tel Aviv." They invented all these names. 'Ashdod' is, in fact, Isdud. 'Ashkelon' is, in fact, Al-Majdal. Al-Sab' is called 'Beer Sheva'! ... Yafa, Al-Lydd, Al-Ramla, Al-Sab', -they changed all these names and Hebraicized them." He concludes that "it's all a lie these are all pseudonyms" and this prompts Assoud to apologise that "it's not our fault. It's the fault of the school curricula."
115	"Assoud Steals"	July 11, 2008
Assoud is tempted to steal "one or two bills" from his father's "stash," but is smitten with conscience. Satan then arrives and promises Assoud that "nobody would see you or know about this." Assoud relents and takes two bills despite Satan's recommendation to take three. Later, a call-in guest chides Assoud for his theft, explaining that his actions had "caused problems between [his] parents." The guest goes on to explain that "stealing leads to Hell," and then quotes the Prophet Muhammad in the Koran as having stated that "if my daughter Fatima had stolen, I would have chopped off her hand." Assoud is told that "If you were in Saudi Arabia now, they would chop off your hand." Saraa takes notes and discusses Assoud's punishment with call-in guests, Asmaa and Nur, who in deference to the Koran agree that Assoud's hand should be cut off. Assoud begs for mercy. On Assoud's request for clarification, Nur opines that if Saraa were to steal her hand should not be cut off, that he never stole so much as a shekel even as a child, and that if Assoud has repented and promised never to do it again then his hand should remain attached. Saraa offers as a compromise that "if we don't chop off his hand, maybe we should chop off his ear." Assoud again begs for mercy as Saraa smiles at the camera.

Production values

Tomorrows Pioneers is characterized by substandard production values, examples of which include:

• The character-actors are not capable of making their characters look natural as they are often holding on the head of the character with their hands. There is frequent reversal of the left and right gloves of characters such as Farfour (see photograph at top).
• Poor editing in episode 105 shows a sign reporting Farfour's incarceration just prior to Saraa's announcement that he has been martyred.
• The use of a thick rope tied around Nahoul's waist to give him the appearance of flight, the filming of the edges of the set, and the filming of a member of the backstage crew behind one of the sets in episode 107.
• The zoom function is used in combination with a bluescreen in episode 110 with disorienting results. This episode also features a different actor very obviously replacing the previous actor for Nahoul. The two actors have different voices and personality traits.

Responses

After attracting international attention for its Mickey Mouse-lookalike, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti stated it was a "mistaken approach" and that the program was pulled from Hamas-affiliated Al-Aqsa TV and placed under review at his ministry’s request.

Al-Aqsa TV 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." 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." In a later interview with Al-Aqsa TV, Hamad explained that "the vicious campaign that is being waged by the enemies, and especially the Zionist enemy and American imperialism, is not new. It comes from the framework of the vicious campaign against our Palestinian people as an addition to the siege placed on our people. Therefore, we are not surprised by this. They want the Palestinian people to renounce its Islamic religion and belief. In response, we say that whenever our Palestinian people resorted to its religion, Allah supported it. Therefore, we will not renounce our faith and our belief, and we will move forward for the sake of Allah. We are holding to this religion because it is the secret of our victory. They try, as much as they can... Not just by waging their attack on the religion in this context, in order to prevent the Islamic upbringing of Palestinian children, but they also want this people to renounce all its Islamic foundation. They are the ones who called to remove the Jihad verses that appear in the Palestinian school curricula. Therefore, we cannot accept this."

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."

Several months later Hamas television again made use of Disney characters, this time in a five-minute cartoon attacking Fatah. The clip depicted the competing movement and its former local leader Mohammed Dahlan as corrupt and anti-Islamic rats, while portraying Hamas as confident lion based on the Simba character from the 1994 film The Lion King. While Hamas TV executive Hazam Sharawi said the clip was pulled for revising, including removal of the Dahlan depiction, he said there were no plans to remove reference to The Lion King.

Translation controversy

Several commentators, such as CNN's Arabic department, have claimed there are translation errors in the transcript of the April 13 show (2007) provided by MEMRI. Brian Whitaker, the Middle East editor for the Guardian newspaper (UK), wrote in a blog for the newspaper that in the translation of the video, showing Farfour eliciting political comments from a young girl named Sanabel, the MEMRI transcript misrepresents the segment, by attributing a sentence said by Farfour, ("I'll shoot"), to the child, and ignoring the child's statement ("I'm going to draw a picture").

Whitaker further criticized MEMRI's translation. 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"). 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[are] shoot[ing at] us" or "The Jews are killing us."

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."

Parodies

Tomorrow's Pioneers was featured on the July 19, 2007 edition of The Daily Show. The episode included a scene from a fictional Israeli analogue to the show called "Dr. Bagelman's Hour of Hate" and a parody of PBS fund drive segments in which a masked gunman says that programs like Tomorrow's Pioneers depend on the "fanatical support" of "viewers like you."

See also

• Pioneer movement
• Child suicide bombers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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.
• June 29 Jerusalem Post article describing the final episode featuring "Farfour".
• "Hamas TV show kills militant mouse character", AP, CNN.com, June 29, 2007.
• "Jihad TV for kids", Mirror, 24/09/2007.