Palestinian Sesame Street Ails Without US Funds It's quiet time on Palestinian Sesame Street. The iconic children's program, known as "Sharaa Simsim" in Arabic, has been put on hold for the 2012 season because of a funding freeze by the U.S. Congress. Sharaa Simsim is one of many U.S.-funded Palestinian programs suffering after Congress froze the transfer of nearly $200 million to the U.S. Agency for International Development in October. The suspension aimed to punish the Palestinians for appealing to the United Nations for statehood. The funding suspension - affecting hospitals, education, and government ministries that all rely on American aid - is breeding resentment and frustration in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, even among the most progressive organizations. In the Ramallah offices of Sharaa Simsim on Thursday, the writing workshop room was empty and the set was closed. "If we had funding, we would be writing scripts, we would be reviewing scripts, we would be hiring filmmakers to produce the videos," said executive producer Daoud Kuttab. Even as the freeze put Palestinian Sesame Street on hold, the State Department is investing $750,000 in the Israeli version of the show, which is now filming its newest season with an emphasis on teaching children the value of fairness. Danny Labin, an executive at the Israeli TV channel that co-produces Israeli Sesame Street, call the funding halt to the Palestinian show "extremely unfortunate." "Young children, whether Israeli or Palestinian, who are in need of educational tools to foster diversity appreciation and to prepare for life in a pluralistic society, should not be penalized or held accountable to the politics and political leadership, over which they have no control," Labin said. Sharaa Simsim, the Palestinian show, debuted in 1996 and has produced five seasons since, with long intermissions for fundraising. It has promoted a message of peace and tolerance that Israeli critics say is often missing from Palestinian airwaves. The main characters Haneen, a red-headed orange muppet, and the green rooster Kareem have became household names for Palestinian children. Sharaa Simsim is one of about two dozen international shows produced by the Sesame Workshop Staff, the parent company of the American show. Others are aired in Israel, Egypt, Russia and South Africa. In each country, the New York-based Sesame Street staff consults with the local production teams to create a unique cast and content. Kuttab said production takes months. At the beginning of each season, Palestinian educators and child psychologists work with the Education Ministry to craft themes and curriculum. Then writers draft the episodes, with occasional review from New York. Filmed in Ramallah and airing on Palestinian national television, each 20-minute episode is half Palestinian content and half American footage. Sharaa Simsim was supposed to begin this process in October, but Kuttab said the show won't be able to air in 2012. "Every month we are behind schedule it actually means two or three months down the line," he said. If we don't do the curriculum workshop we can't do the scriptwriting. If we don't do the scriptwriting we can't do the filming, and there are actors who have their own schedules. From 2008-2011, USAID gave $2.5 million to the program, covering nearly the entire budget, Kuttab said.