[pittsburgh gop guy]

I hope it works!

[Hank Rearden]

Yeah, this'll work.

Hope they put Miss Piggy in Arab Moo costumes, like a burqua. That'll fix 'em.

[JerseyHighlander]

So is the gay muppet Jewish or Muslim?

/somebody had to do it...

[jz638]

Does anyone remember the "mad bomber" muppet from the pre-PC days?

[richmwill]

Oh, I can see this working.

"Elmo Says- Killing is baaaddd. Elmo no be friends with suicide bomber, they are not nice boys and girls".

[Redcloak]

When will they come out with the "Detonate Me" Elmo dolls?

[packing heat]

"My children don't completely appreciate the point of the characters -- they don't differentiate between the Jewish and Arab characters."

I think that's kinda what they're getting at here. They don't want your kids to see a difference in people. You see, that's a good thing.

[lonewacko_dot_com]

[nutmeg]

read later bump

[lorrainer]

Hans Blix is a figure already
well known in the Middle East....

[GeronL]

I'm not sure why this is Breaking News instead of Breaking Wind ... but the chances of puppets bringing peace anywhere but a kindergarten is awfully slim.

[sissyjane]

BREAKING NEWS??!!

[SWake]

Funny, but the version of this story that was in the International Jerusalem Post this week tells a somewhat different story. www.jpost.com does not put stories from the international version on the web (at least not where I can find them).

Anyhow, in the 19 March, 2004 edition of the International Jerusalem Post, there is a two page story (pp 24-25) about how Sesame Street has been introduced into Israel. It is produced by three separate production companies, one for Jordanian TV, one for the Palestinian Authority TV, and one for Israeli TV.

Speaking of the Israeli version, "'We wanted an Arab Israeli child to be proud of [his/her] family, culture, and heritage shown on the screen. A Jewish child sometimes lives a few miles away [from an Arab child] and has no glimpse into his house. We want to demystify, reduce stereotypes,' says Alona Abt, executive director at the Israeli HOP-TV children's channel, where Sesame Stories airs on weekends."

The version produced and broadcast by Israeli TV shows characters from several cultures (especially Jewish and Arab). "But the Israeli segments do regularly introduce sympathetic Arabic-speaking children and adults in animation and live action segments. A principal human character is Ibtisam, a creative, energetic art student who is good friends with her Jewish neighbor, Tzahi, an inventor and craftsman.

"In the opening segment of the season when Ibtisam comes to borrow glue from Tzahi, and sprinkles the conversation with Arabic words, Tzahi's two red and orange Muppet assistants - Brosh and Noah, who had just had a fight, learn through humor, and listing to Tzahi and Ibtisam, that friends can have differences and still remain close."

OK so far. This looks pretty much like the version reported by Yahoo, doesn't it? Well, do you think there are Jewish characters on the PA or Jordanian versions?

"Even so, they are convinced that they are planting the seeds for children to 'open sesame' to one another - even if the shows are separate and asymmetrical, with the Palestinian and Jordanian shows opting not to include Jewish characters."

"Shari Rosenfeld, the US-based project manager for Sesame Stories, told the Post that having a child with a kippa (yarmulke) on the Palestinian program, for example, would be considered provocative to Palestinians at this time.

"'A kippa seems for Palestinians highly associated with the image of settlers,' she says. '[The show] has to be something acceptable to children and parents and not be inflammatory in any way.'

"The reverse situation - an Arabic garment shown on the Israeli program - wouldn't necessarily be a parallel, she says."

So, as usual, Israel is going the "extra mile" trying to be nice to the Arabs, and the Arabs are not only not reciprocating, but are making extra effort to continue the problems.

[lowbridge]

[NYC GOP Chick]

The Top 10 Reasons Sesame Street Never Caught On With The Palestinians
By Laurence Simon & John Hawkins

10) People couldn't understand why Snuffleupagus didn't have any humps.

9) Grover was stoned to death after someone claimed he was a spy for the Mossad.

8) Bert and Ernie defile Islam with their obvious homosexual perversity.

7) Palestinian Grouch rumored to have sold his trash to Jews. Killed as a collaborator!

6) Cookie Monster spent too much time eating cookies and not enough time teaching kids how to make molotov cocktails to throw at tanks.

5) The Tickle Me Elmo dolls didn't come with the popular "suicide bomber accessory kit."

4) Big Bird captured and eaten by Hizbollah terrorists.

3) Linda and Maria refused to wear their burkahs.

2) Kermit the Frog was live on the scene with a Muppet News Flash, but was then beaten by Hamas extremists for airing unfavorable coverage of Jihadist killers.

1) Lessons of friendship and understanding took valuable time away from suicide bomber pre-school homework.