Germany Bans Al-Manar

World | Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 9:39:28 am PST

The Hezbollah propaganda channel Al-Manar has finally been banned in Germany.

BERLIN – Germany’s Interior Ministry has banned Hezbollah’s television station on grounds that it violates the country’s constitution, a spokesman said Friday.

Interior Ministry spokesman Markus Beyer said Al-Manar television programming was forbidden under Article 9 of Germany’s constitution, which says that organizations cannot operate with the purpose of violating “international understanding.”

The Associated Press’ description of the bloodthirsty antisemitic content of Al-Manar is typically weak.

Beyer was not more specific on why the ban was instituted, but Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television is known to be staunchly anti-Israel and frequently broadcasts footage of Hezbollah fighters.

Here’s an example from MEMRI TV, featuring some “staunchly anti-Israel” Holocaust denial from Hezbollah’s “spiritual leader,” Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadhlallah.