The call to block the Lebanese “Al-Mayadeen” channel was approved by a vote in the Knesset. The “Al-Mayadeen” channel is a channel of the Hezbollah terrorist organization operating in Lebanon. Already at the beginning of the war, closure orders were issued for the channel, but recently the channel’s reporters returned to broadcasting throughout the country. Now, the issue came up for a vote, in which the closure orders were approved by the government, this after the Prime Minister and the political echelon approved the move.
Al-Mayadeen is a satellite TV channel that appeals to the general Arab audience. The channel, whose name in Arabic means “The Square Channel”, began its broadcasts on June 11, 2012 from Lebanon. Al-Mayadeen is considered to have ties to the Hezbollah organization, and its stated goal is to be an alternative to the leading Arab media networks such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya. The latter are supported by Arab-Sunni countries from the Persian Gulf region, while al-Mayadeen offers a different perspective on regional and world events.
Israel is fighting a war on many fronts and the media front is of great importance. Anti-Israel propaganda is spread from terror organizations through various media outlets. It is often accepted as truth and can result in mainstream media accepting the propaganda as fact, violent protests and international condemnation of Israel based on lies.
