Shara'a Simsim (Arabic: شارع سمسم) is a Palestinian educational television program for preschoolers based on the popular U.S. 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.
[4] 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.
20 episodes, each 15 minutes long, were aired on Palestinian channels three times a week, and largely included only the Palestinian-produced material.
The show, which was hosted by Haneen and Kareem, primarily consisted of animated segments which told stories from Palestinian and Palestinian-Israeli culture.
The show filmed live-action segments with Palestinians in professional careers, such as teachers, doctors, and business owners.
[3] In 2018 producer Daoud Kuttab wrote a book entitled Sesame Street, Palestine about the 1998 Israeli-Palestinian co-production.