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Mickey look-a-like may be ready to hang up his whiskers.
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| By israelinsider staff May 9, 2007 |
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Hamas may not be much impressed by threats from Israel, and certainly not Mahmoud Abbas and his scarecrow Fatah. But angering Disney apparently strikes fear into the terror group.
After publications around the world, this one being among the first, highlighted the antics of Farfur, the terror-celebrating rodent who stars in Hamas' al-Aqsa TV, word got back to the Disney family about the abuse of their beloved and copyright-protected Mickey and they were none too pleased.
Watch excerpts courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.
Farfur, squeaking shrilly to a child co-host, instructs Palestinian kids that Islam will "dominate the world," and sang songs celebrating automatic assault rifles and teaching that war and deaths on behalf of Allah were the ultimate goals in life.
The only surviving daughter of the Disney dynasty was outraged. "Of course I feel personal about Mickey Mouse, but it could be Barney as well," Diane Disney Miller was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying.
"It's not just Mickey, 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," she added.
"What we're dealing with here is pure evil and you can't ignore that," Miller said.
Hamas officials denied they were using the show to incite children against Jews. "Our problem is not with the Jews," said Yehia Moussa, a Hamas leader in the movement's Gaza Strip base. "Our problem is with the [Israeli] occupation and the occupiers."
The show also came under fire from Hamas' terror rival, the Fatah. The Daily News quoted Basem Abu Sumaya, head of the Fatah-owned Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, as saying: "I don't think it's professional or even humane to use children in such harsh political programs. Children's nationalist spirit must be developed differently."
Fatah prefers sponsoring military camps with real rifles, not just televised ones.
Bye, Bye, Military Mouse!
Farfur is apparently is headed for the can, most likely following threats from the Disney media empire, known to be zealously protective of its famous and beloved mouse.
Farfur's show has been pulled from Hamas' television station for review, the Palestinian information minister said Wednesday.
Mustafa Barghouti said the use of the cartoon character in such a role represented a mistaken approach to the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation. "I demanded that Hamas suspend the program and they have withdrawn it, because it was wrong to use a program directed at children to convey political messages," he said.
The claim is ludicrous, as the Palestinian official TV station is saturated with just such violent and political messages for children.
In the statement, Barghouti said his ministry would continue to ensure freedom of expression and freedom of the press, but addded that, "Any media outlet that breaks Palestinian broadcasting law will be penalized by the Information Ministry."
Barghouti complained that the story continued to receive attention by some American television stations even after it was resolved. |
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