Sesame Street, Palestine: Taking Sesame Street to the children of Palestine: Dao

<p><strong>Big Birds are rare in Palestine. </strong></p><p><strong>Daoud Kuttab knows. The ups and downs of producing a world-famous children's program quickly escalated into more than just teaching Elmo to speak Arabic like the new Palestinian characters, Kareem and Hanin. The executive producer of the Palestinian version of <em>Sesame Street</em> endured working under Israeli occupation, navigating through checkpoints and M15s, arrest, and personal tragedy. Animating hand puppets against a backdrop of the turbulent Palestinian-Israeli peace process drew him into exciting, tense times that made Cookie Monster's search for sweets seem like child's play. </strong></p><p><strong>After a surprise phone call from Children's Television Workshop, Daoud took the chance of lifetime to create a Palestinian coproduction of <em>Sesame Street</em>. From finding actors and puppeteers in a country starved of training to dealing with a community that considered the production too provocative, the early days were less than easy. A controversial crossover segment, where Palestinians and Israelis meet on screen on the same street, only added to the tension. Unable to film in Ramallah, the whole production--including Daoud's son and star of the show, Bishara--traveled with the Palestinian-made set to TV studios in Tel Aviv. They even had to smuggle in the lead puppeteer, Fadi al Ghol. Yet, days after the first episode aired, Daoud was arrested. </strong></p><p><strong>Journey into his unusual