Militants suspend show with character urging Palestinian kids to fight Israel
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Hamas militants have suspended a TV program that featured a Mickey Mouse lookalike urging Palestinian children to fight Israel and work for global Islamic domination, the Palestinian information minister said Wednesday.
Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti said the character — a giant black-and-white rodent with a high-pitched voice — represented a “mistaken approach” to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation.
He said that the program was pulled from Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV at his ministry’s request and “placed under review.”
The character, named “Farfour,” or “butterfly,” but unmistakably a copy of the Disney character, preached against the U.S. and Israel each Friday on the show called “Tomorrow’s Pioneers.”
“You and I are laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists,” Farfour squeaked on a recent episode. “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.”
Children called in to the show, many singing Hamas anthems about fighting Israel.
A spokeswoman for Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney Co. did not return phone calls seeking comment, and the Gaza TV station had no comment.
more here
Thanks to J m HofMarN for this highlight of childrens programming.
I actually watched the video on youtube the other day. I laughed my ass off... I can't wait for the DVD.
EDIT: If they hate america so much, why do they steal ideas (like iconic figures such as mickey mouse) from them?
This post has been edited by barend: 09 May 2007 - 11:33 PM