CATM Applauds Jordan for Removing Terrorist TV Series

Washington, D.C. (10/28/05) – The Coalition Against Terrorist Media (CATM) applauded the Jordanian government for pulling from broadcast an infamous anti-Semitic television program that has become staple fare for terrorists seeking to incite hatred and violence.

"Al-Shatat" (The Diaspora) is a 29-part television series depicting a 19th century anti-Semitic forgery accusing Jews of having a secret plot for world domination. Its false and hateful content includes a scene depicting the murder of a Christian child so that his blood can be used to make food for the Jewish holiday of Passover. The program was earlier aired by al-Manar, the television station of the terrorist group Hezbollah.

"While CATM remains focused on stopping al-Manar’s support for terrorism, we also are working to remove hateful content from the world-wide airwaves that is meant to spur terrorism and violence," said Mark Dubowitz, chief operating officer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, the Washington-based policy institute that organized CATM. "Fighting incitement to terrorism and violence requires a unified front. We will continue to work with our many allies, Muslims, Christians, Jews and anyone else concerned about the hijacking of global airwaves by purveyors of hate and incitement."

Based on its experience in its campaign against al-Manar, CATM worked closely with its allies to successfully bring the issue before King Abdullah of Jordan.

CATM has been instrumental in removing Hezbollah’s al-Manar television from seven global satellite providers. As a result, al-Manar is no longer available in North America, Central America, South America, Australia, Asia, and much of Africa. Al-Manar is still broadcast to the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa by ARABSAT, based in Saudi Arabia, and Nilesat, which is majority-owned by the government of Egypt.

For more information on the Coalition Against Terrorist Media or the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, please visit www.stopterroristmedia.org or www.defenddemocracy.org.

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