After being cut off because of lack of funds, “Sesame Street” is returning to TV in Israel and the Palestinian territories. It’s been more than a decade since the original versions were taken off the air, but now they are back and the timing couldn’t be better.
Show producers say much like the version which airs in the United States, the Mideast version is designed to enhance educational content for kids. Using “puppet regimes,” the show employs universal themes such as promoting peace, diversity… oh, and the importance of brushing your teeth.
In Israel “Sesame Street” is called “Rechov Sumsum,” and for the first time it features a Muppet of Arab origin. The new addition is named Mahboub, a Muppet that speaks both Hebrew and Arabic.
The Israeli version also includes human actors from Russia and Ethiopia, places that have faced opposition from some Israelis. If you watch even a few minutes of news each day (or pick up a newspaper), you know that the relationship between Israel’s Jewish and Arab communities is strained (to put it mildly). Arabs have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens—-something show producers are hoping to change.
Executives from the Sesame Workshop, the New York based nonprofit organization in charge of all “Sesame Street” programming shown worldwide, says the goal behind the controversial hiring comes down to “respect and tolerance.” Producers say they hope to make strides in countering society’s negative influences, especially since studies show children as young as three-years-old can begin to demonstrate prejudice.
“They’re not born with this,” show producers told reporters at a recent ceremony celebrating the show’s relaunching. “They’re learning it from their parents, from the community, from friends.”
In Palestine “Sesame Street” is known as “Shara’a Simsim” and seeks to offer positive role models to boys in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
One more bit of “Sesame Street” trivia—–the show was launched in the United States in the late 1960’s and is currently broadcast in more than 120 countries.
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