Mickey, Hitler or a close cousin? You decide.
Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 2:48 am
The only surviving child of Walt Disney has called Hamas "pure evil" for using Mickey Mouse to teach islamic radicalism to children. Diane Disney Miller said she was disgusted that a rip-off of her father's iconic cartoon character was being used on a new Hamas TV show to encourage Palestinian children to take up arms against Israel and America.
"Of course I feel personal about Mickey Mouse, but it could be Barney as well,'' Ms Miller, 73, told the New York Daily News.
"It's not just Mickey, it's indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil,'' said Ms Miller, who owns a winery in northern California.
"The world loves children and this is just going against the grain of humanity.''
The Daily News revealed this week that Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV station began running the new children's series in April.
Called Tomorrow's Pioneers, it features a life-size Mickey Mouse character named Farfur.
Farfur speaks in a high-pitched voice and wears a tuxedo with tails and a red bow tie. He tells children to drink their milk and pray, but also sings about kids arming themselves with AK-47s and striving for world domination under Islamic leadership.
The Disney Company had no comment but Ms Miller praised the New York Daily News for informing the public about the program.
"What we're dealing with here is pure evil and you can't ignore that,'' Ms Miller said.
"I'm awful glad you're doing something about it, writing about this and keeping it in the public eye as much as it can be.''
Hamas officials denied they were using the show to incite children against Jews.
"Our problem is not with the Jews,'' Yehia Moussa, a Hamas leader in the movement's Gaza Strip base, told The Associated Press.
"Our problem is with the (Israeli) occupation and the occupiers.''
But the show also got bad reviews from Hamas' political rival, the Fatah movement, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"I don't think it's professional or even humane to use children in such harsh political programs,'' said Basem Abu Sumaya, head of Fatah's Palestinian Broadcasting Corp, told The AP.
"Children's nationalist spirit must be developed differently.''
"Of course I feel personal about Mickey Mouse, but it could be Barney as well,'' Ms Miller, 73, told the New York Daily News.
"It's not just Mickey, it's indoctrinating children like this, teaching them to be evil,'' said Ms Miller, who owns a winery in northern California.
"The world loves children and this is just going against the grain of humanity.''
The Daily News revealed this week that Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV station began running the new children's series in April.
Called Tomorrow's Pioneers, it features a life-size Mickey Mouse character named Farfur.
Farfur speaks in a high-pitched voice and wears a tuxedo with tails and a red bow tie. He tells children to drink their milk and pray, but also sings about kids arming themselves with AK-47s and striving for world domination under Islamic leadership.
The Disney Company had no comment but Ms Miller praised the New York Daily News for informing the public about the program.
"What we're dealing with here is pure evil and you can't ignore that,'' Ms Miller said.
"I'm awful glad you're doing something about it, writing about this and keeping it in the public eye as much as it can be.''
Hamas officials denied they were using the show to incite children against Jews.
"Our problem is not with the Jews,'' Yehia Moussa, a Hamas leader in the movement's Gaza Strip base, told The Associated Press.
"Our problem is with the (Israeli) occupation and the occupiers.''
But the show also got bad reviews from Hamas' political rival, the Fatah movement, headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
"I don't think it's professional or even humane to use children in such harsh political programs,'' said Basem Abu Sumaya, head of Fatah's Palestinian Broadcasting Corp, told The AP.
"Children's nationalist spirit must be developed differently.''