Shara'a Simsim

Production history

Children's Television Workshop proposed a joint Israeli-Palestinian Sesame Street co-production in 1994. Production began in 1995, with separate Israeli and Palestinian teams based in Tel Aviv and Ramallah respectively, each signing individual deals with Children's Television Workshop. The $4 million series was financed by Israel Educational Television, Al-Quds Educational Television, and foreign donors. The show nearly faced cancellation during production due to pressures from both sides against cooperation; several Palestinian team members left in May 1996 after Benjamin Netanyahu's election.

Both teams agreed beforehand to avoid political issues, soldiers, flags, other nationalist symbols, and religious locations or holidays. This agreement was tested when a script featured Palestinian Olympic runner Majed Abu Marajil saying he represented the "Palestinian state"; the segment was never filmed because Marajil could not travel to Tel Aviv. The co-production aired 60 full episodes starting 1 April 1998. Israeli broadcasts included all Palestinian-produced material, while Palestinian broadcasts largely included only their own material.

After the co-production dissolved, Palestine began Hikayat Simsim in late 2002, hosted by Haneen and Kareem, featuring animated segments from Palestinian and Palestinian-Israeli culture. USAID retracted funding in 2006 after Hamas won Palestinian elections, but production continued with reduced funding, resulting in a smaller season.

Content

The series teaches colors, literacy, numeracy, and vocabulary. The character Kareem served as a healthy role model for Palestinian boys. Live-action segments showed Palestinians in professional careers such as teachers, doctors, and business owners.

The 1998 show had two separate street scenes: an Israeli street with an ice cream shop on a boardwalk near the Mediterranean, and a Palestinian street centered on a family grocery store near a spring with Jerusalem in the background. Characters visited each other but did not share mutual spaces; crossover segments focused on tolerance and respect, challenging stereotypes through activities like eating hummus and falafel together or counting in each other's language. The 2007 iteration continued avoiding direct political references.