Pro-Palestinian children's T-shirts featuring Aussie cartoon character Bluey cause uproar as BBC demands the clothes be withdrawn from sale
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Australian cartoon Bluey has been embroiled in a heated controversy after an 'unauthorized' website used his image to sell pro-Palestinian merchandise.
The stickers and children's T-shirts show the cast of Bluey wearing Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs and waving a Palestinian flag under a banner that reads 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! '.
Many Israelis view the rallying cry as an “anti-Semitic” slogan calling for the eradication of the Jewish state.
The 'Freedom Fighter Bluey' items were for sale on the Free Palestine Printing website but have since been removed following a furious complaint from the BBC, which owns the worldwide commercial and broadcast rights to the TV programme.
The stickers and children's T-shirts show the cast of Bluey wearing Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs and waving a Palestinian flag under a banner that reads 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! '
The 'Freedom Fighter Bluey' items were for sale on the Free Palestine Printing website but have since been removed following a furious complaint from the BBC, which owns the worldwide commercial and broadcast rights to the TV programme.
“This is an unlicensed seller and a counterfeit product,” a spokesperson for BBC Studios told The Australian on Monday.
'BBC Studios strongly disapproves of any unauthorized use of Bluey and our brand protection team is taking appropriate action.'
According to the website, “100 percent of all proceeds go to supporting Palestine.”
Australia's Jewish community, along with civil rights groups, have denounced the website, accusing it of trying to “co-opt young people and turn them against their Jewish friends.”
“These agents of division are corrupting the hearts and minds of our children and exploiting a beloved Australian children's icon that represents kindness, fun and innocence for their twisted, ugly cause,” Anti-Defamation Commission Dvir Abramovich said.
“Jewish parents are already concerned about the safety of their children, and in a climate of escalating anti-Semitism and growing rhetoric of intolerance and radicalization, such vicious methods only fuel the flames of division and fuel hostility toward one group .'
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Free Palestine Printing for comment.