A new board game for children called "Reaching Jerusalem" was recently launched in Gaza, created by a Gazan media producer who works at the Hamas Interior Ministry and aimed at "strengthening children's military culture and love of jihad." The game is a version of Snakes and Ladders in which the players' objective is to reach Jerusalem. The "ladders" that bring the players closer to the finish line are tunnels and Hamas-manufactured rockets, such as R160, M75 and S55 rockets, whereas the "snakes" that hinder their progress are IDF tanks and helicopters. The board is sprinkled with illustrations of Hamas fighters lying in wait for the enemy, attacking, and crawling through tunnels, as well as photos of cities inside Israel, such as Tiberias, Ashdod, Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramlah and Safed, where Palestinians lived before the founding of Israel and where many of them demand to return.
The board of the "Reaching Jerusalem" game (image: Facebook.com/MaAmriti, April 4, 2017)
The Game's Creator: The Purpose Of The Game Is To Strengthen Children's Love Of Jihad, Instill Value Of Right Of Return
As mentioned, the game was created by a Gazan media producer, Muhammad Ramadan Al-Amriti, who works at the Hamas Interior Ministry. Al-Amriti, who is also the director of the Shams production company, has produced and directed several videos glorifying Hamas and its military activity. He said that the purpose of the game is to instill values of patriotism, courage and adherence to national principles, and strengthen the value of return among the children of Palestinian refugees.
Muhammad Ramadan Al-Amriti (image: Facebook.com/MaAmriti, April 3, 2017)
Al-Amriti wrote on his Facebook page: "The game 'Reaching Jerusalem' is an important component in the correct upbringing [of our children] in the near future... We created this game so that children do not forget their cities of origin and in order to establish [these cities] in their consciousness, and also in order to strengthen the children's military culture and love of jihad. The goal of the game... is to teach children the names of the occupied Palestinian villages and cities, so that [our] youngsters know that return to the homeland will be achieved only through resistance and jihad."
According to Al-Amriti, another purpose of the game is to help produce future leaders and decision-makers raised on the principles of the Islamic faith.[1] He stated that 10,000 copies of the game have already been made, soon to be available in stores.[2]
Children playing the game (image: Palsawa.com, April 4, 2017)
