Twitter
Advertisement

Hamas TV refuses to axe copycat Mickey Mouse

Al-Aqsa TV defied Israel and the Palestinian govt by refusing to axe a controversial children's cartoon in which a Mickey Mouse lookalike calls for resistance.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

GAZA CITY: A Hamas-run television station defied Israel and the Palestinian government on Thursday by refusing to axe a controversial children's cartoon in which a Mickey Mouse lookalike calls for resistance.   

"Al-Aqsa TV refuses this pressure and refuses to cull its programme or alter any of its content," said Fathi Hamad, chairman of the Al-Aqsa Television board in Gaza City, lashing out at Israeli and Western "interference".   

"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," he said.   

"We have our own ways to educate our children and any criticism of this approach is shocking interference in our internal affairs," said Hamad.   

The cartoon -- called "Tomorrow's Pioneers" -- seeks to educate Palestinian children to stand up for their nation and their rights, especially the right of return, said Hamad, slamming a "violation on freedom of journalism".   

In the programme, the Mickey Mouse look-alike named Farfur and a little girl urge resistance against Israel and the United States -- along with stressing the importance of daily prayers and drinking milk.   

A senior official working for Al-Aqsa said the cartoon would air as normal this Friday in defiance of a request from information minister Mustafa Barghuti to shelve the programme.   

"The programme will continue and it will be broadcast tomorrow at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT). Mustafa Barghuti misunderstood the issue," said the official on condition of anonymity.   

Earlier, the information ministry in the West Bank city of Ramallah had said the "politically-oriented children's television programme" was withdrawn by Al-Aqsa following a request to do so by the ministry.   

Barghuti said the programme adopted a "mistaken approach" to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation and that it was wrong to use children's programmes to convey political messages.   

The programme drew strong protests from Israel and Jewish groups.   

"Hamas television is producing and broadcasting a children's programme in which a Mickey Mouse look-alike character indoctrinates Palestinian children to violence, hatred and murder," Israel's foreign ministry said.   

"The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority has deliberately created a culture of hatred that encourages Palestinian children to take an active role in violent activities," it added.   

The US-based Anti-Defamation League similarly accused the station of promoting a message of radical Islam, anti-Semitism and hatred of the West.   

"When you take a Mickey Mouse-like character and deliberately use it to promote an ideology of hatred, obviously it's going to have an impact on children and their thinking," said Abraham Foxman, ADL national director.   

"For all of their attempts to appear more moderate, Hamas is still willing to indoctrinate children into their culture of hate," added Foxman.   

Hamas is the senior partner in the Palestinian national unity government and blacklisted as a terrorist organisation in the West.   

The Islamist movement controls a television and radio network both called Al-Aqsa, the Arabic name for Jerusalem, and it has also just launched a newspaper.

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement