A children's television programme in Palestine allegedly promoted anti-Jewish violence and glorified martyrdom, The NY Post has claimed.
Tomorrow's Pioneers aired on Hamas-owned Al-Aqsa TV every Friday between 2007 and 2009. The show featured costumed animal characters, including a Mickey Mouse lookalike named Farfour, allegedly encouraging children to "kill" Israelis, fight for Islamic world domination, and "liberate Jerusalem from the murderers."
Farfour was later shown being beaten to death by Israeli soldiers on the show and replaced by other characters.
In one episode, a rabbit character allegedly told viewers, "I will finish off the Jews and eat them."
"It's a constant stream of horrific propaganda that is almost impossible for a child to break out of," Mia Bloom, Professor of Communication and Middle East studies at Georgia State University, told The NYP.
"The kids grow up thinking that every Israeli should be killed because every Israeli is bad and evil."
The show featured child host Saraa Barhoum and Farfour, performing skits and speaking with young callers about life in Palestine.
Episodes also showed children wishing to die as martyrs, with songs praising sacrifice. Ms Bloom called the show "a form of child abuse" and "long-term manipulation," saying it helped shape the mindset of some fighters involved in the 2023 October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
Ms Bloom compared the indoctrination to tactics used by groups like the Taliban and ISIS, warning it created "a preparedness to justify violence and to choose violence over other options."
In 2009, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi requested the show be suspended for review after complaints from Israeli watchdog groups drew international attention. Despite this, the programme aired as scheduled.
Fathi Hammad, chairman of Al-Aqsa TV, defended it at the time, saying, "It does not violate any moral or professional standard," and said the content would not change.
