JINSA: Stop funding al-Hurrah

The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs called on the U.S. Congress to stop funding an Arabic-language broadcaster. The Al-Hurrah network, formed in February 2004, receives $70 million in U.S. tax money. JINSA National Chairman Mark Broxmeyer criticized al-Hurrah’s news director, Larry Register, for allowing members of Hamas to join a panel interviewing top Hamas and Hezbollah officials and covering rallies that are anti-Israeli or anti-American in nature. “When al-Hurrah was created, the goal was to deliver public diplomacy throughout the Arab world and provide a competitive alternative to al-Jazeera,” Broxmeyer said in a statement. “Allowing this network to be converted into a platform for radical terrorists is unacceptable and Congress must not tolerate it.” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the appearance of Hamas and Hezbollah officials on the station is necessary to maintain al-Hurrah’s credibility. Register, a former CNN newsman, assumed control of the broadcaster nine months ago because it had virtually no profile in the Arab world.