Shara'a Simsim () is a Palestinian educational television program for preschoolers based on the popular American children's show Sesame Street. The series began airing in 1998 as a joint program with the Israeli version of Sesame Street, Rechov Sumsum, as a way to promote coexistence between Israeli-Jews and Israeli-Arabs.

Production history

1998–2002: Bilingual program with Israel

In 1994 Children's Television Workshop, the American production company behind Sesame Street, proposed the idea of a joint Israeli-Palestinian Sesame Street co-production.

Production on the series began in 1995. Two separate Israeli and Palestinian teams were formed, with their own producers and writers; the Israeli team was based in Tel Aviv, and the Palestinian team in Ramallah. The series cost $4 million and was financed by multiple groups, including Israel Educational Television, Al-Quds Educational Television, and foreign donors. The show was nearly cancelled while in production, due to pressures from both sides against cooperation.

Both the Israeli and Palestinian teams agreed prior to production that the show would not cover political issues, nor would they include imagery of soldiers, flags (or other symbols of nationalism), or religious locations and holidays.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which had partially funded the show, retracted their funding in 2006 after Hamas won Palestinian elections. Production did continue with reduced funding from other organizations, resulting in a smaller season.

Production on a new revamped version of the show, again titled Shara'a Simsim began in December 2006 and continued through January 2007. The new episodes begain airing in May 2007 on ten channels of the Ma'an Network. The show combined original segments, which were filmed in Ramallah, with dubbed American segments. The show received US$2.5 million in funding from USAID between 2008 and 2011.

Production in 2012 for the show's sixth season was put on hold due to cancelled funding from USAID, and the show's muppets were sent to New York for repairs.

Characters

Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim

Muppets

  • Dafi (Irit Shilo) – Haneen's best friend; a three-year-old purple Israeli monster
  • Kareem (Rajai Sandouka) – a seven-year-old punctual green rooster who showcases pride in his Palestinian culture

The 1998 show featured two separate street scenes, one for the Israeli characters and one for the Palestinian characters.