‘Martyred’ Mouse Gets the Ax
The latest victim of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an oversized tuxedo-wearing mouse whose favorite pastimes included teaching basic reading, playing with his friends and trying to bring about a worldwide Islamist revolution.
Farfur, the creepy Mickey Mouse look-alike that is the star of the Palestinian children’s program “Tomorrow’s Pioneers,” was killed off during the show’s final episode, broadcast last Friday. The squeaky-voiced mouse was shown being interrogated by an actor playing an Israeli investigator. The investigator demands Farfur hand over the deed to his land. “No! We will not sell our lands to terrorists!” Farfur declares before the Israeli beats him to death.
According to the organization Palestinian Media Watch, the Palestinian channel al-Aqsa finally chose to cancel the program in response to an international outcry that erupted when translated clips of the show began appearing in May. Among the show’s many critics was Diane Disney Miller, the only surviving daughter of Walt Disney. She called Farfur “pure evil.”
In May, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti demanded the show’s cancellation, but al-Aqsa TV, which is affiliated with Hamas, refused to comply until now.
Clips of some of Farfur’s most infamous moments are available on the popular video Web site YouTube. In many of the scenes, he incites violence against Jews and advocates the creation of a worldwide Islamist state based out of “all of Palestine.” He also encourages children to call in and sing violent songs about the destruction of Israel. In one of the strangest clips, Farfur is caught cheating on a test and claims he only did so because “the Jews destroyed our home.”
But the creators of “Tomorrow’s Pioneers” saved some of the most disturbing material for the series finale. Toward the end of the episode, Saraa, the young hijab-clad hostess of the show, declares: “Yes, our children friends, we lost our dearest friend, Farfur. Farfur turned into a martyr while protecting his land. He turned into a martyr at the hands of the criminals, and murderers.”
All this begs the question: Do martyred mice go to heaven?
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
