Nassur, a puppet bear, debuted last month on the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV children’s show, Tomorrow’s Pioneers. Nassur promised children viewers he would “join the ranks of the Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades” and “be a Jihad fighter…to defend the children of Palestine.” See the video here.
Hamas controls many media outlets, all used to demonize Israel and the Jewish people, encourage “martyrs,” and to legitimize “resistance.” Indeed, al-Aqsa TV has been so effective that Fatah, Hamas’ political rival, recently announced it would establish a competing TV station in Cairo and Ramallah, as well as a radio station, website, and newspaper.
Fatah’s new station, however, will not mitigate the deleterious effects of al-Aqsa TV. The JPC has stressed the growing dangers of this channel in the past. The best way to counter Hamas’ propaganda, as recommended in the pages of the Wall Street Journal by Mark Dubowitz and Roberta Bonazzi, may be to pressure global satellite firms – Saudi-based Arabsat and French-based Eutelsat – to yank the channel off the air.
