‘Jihadi Mickey Mouse’: Hamas children’s show in 2007 urged martyrdom and violence

Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV began broadcasting a children’s program called Pioneers of Tomorrow in 2007, which featured a recurring character named Farfour – a jihadi mouse closely resembling Mickey Mouse.

“Experts say the program helped cultivate a generation of extremist fighters,” Ynet News reported.

“Farfour taught children to aspire to die as martyrs and dominate the world under Islam, demonstrating how to throw grenades and fire weapons.”

In the final episode of the show, Farfour is “martyred” by an Israeli who kills him for refusing to sell him a document proving that Farfour’s family owns Tel Aviv.

“We’re not the kind of people who sell their land to terrorists,” Farfour exclaimed, before being beaten to death by the Israeli character.

The show’s 10-year-old host, Saraa, then announces that Farfour was “martyred at the hand of the criminals, the murderers, the murderers of innocent children.”

Another character in the show, a rabbit named Assoud, promises in one episode to “finish off the Jews and eat them.”

In another episode, a young girl says she wants to become a police officer like her uncle.

The girl hosting the episode says that part of a police officer’s job is to “shoot Jews.”

“I will shoot the Jews,” the young girl responds.

“All of them?” the host asks, after which the young girl replies, “Yes.”

MEMRI – the organization that translated these scenes from the show in order to show the violent ideology being taught to many children in Gaza – also reported on a 2022 episode of the show.

Speaking about the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a young girl in the episode said that we “must not allow the Jews to destroy it.”

Later on, a man in a puppet costume says that “we must also know that the criminal Jews are plotting, and they are digging tunnels under the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” in order to destroy it and rebuild the Jewish Temple.

“They want to build the false Solomon's Temple, as you said,” a young boy responds.

“I want to stress that this is not true. It never existed, and it will never be built, as long as we, Palestine, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are here.”

In January 2024, the Israel Defense Forces published evidence showing that Hamas indoctrinates children in Gaza and incites them to participate in acts of terrorism.