Jordanian cartoon promotes tolerance

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- A Jordanian media firm hopes its new TV cartoon series can achieve what politicians have failed to do so far: bridge the cultural divide between East and West.
It sounds like a tall order, but the Rubicon firm -- named after the river Caesar crossed to establish the Roman Empire -- is armed with an equally mighty motto: "to embark on a mission from which one cannot turn back."
Even more important is that the cartoon, called "Ben and Izzy" and aimed at 8- to 11-year-olds, has royal backing from Jordan's media savvy rulers, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, who have made it their goal to promote tolerance.
Rania will showcase Jordan's first TV cartoon export in New York on May 8 at a black-tie dinner she's hosting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
American media "royalty," like Barbara Walters and Katie Couric, are expected to be on hand.
"Ben and Izzy has all the right ingredients," Rania told The Associated Press. "It uses the fun medium of a children's cartoon, promotes important intercultural understanding and educates our children as well."
"It's all about partnership. This isn't about East telling West, or West telling East, but rather East and West putting their heads together and figuring out what's best for us both," she added.
Randa Ayoubi, Rubicon's 43-year-old director, said she believed its innovative program featuring the sometimes rocky relationship between two 11-year-old boys -- one American, one Arab -- will appeal to youngsters and adults alike in her native Amman, Albuquerque, N.M., and beyond.
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