Americans Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Al Jazeera’s Anti-American Propaganda

Fishkill, NY – (8/26/13) – New York State Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor (R,C,I – Fishkill), a Marine Corps veteran of Iraq, is calling on Verizon, Comcast, DirecTV and Dish Network to drop the notoriously anti-American, anti-Semitic and misogynistic Al Jazeera from their basic cable packages. Lalor is calling for a boycott of the television providers if they do not drop Al Jazeera by September 11. Lalor will be holding press conferences later this week.

“Al Jazeera is the anti-American, anti-Semitic, misogynistic propaganda wing of a foreign government,” said Lalor. “The network has celebrated brutal terrorists and ‘reported’ as fact anti-Semitic 9/11 truther conspiracy theories. American TV viewers shouldn’t have to subsidize Al Jazeera through a part of their basic cable bill. As a veteran who served in Iraq and a New Yorker I’m outraged that my television provider is charging me to have this propaganda piped into my home. These television providers need to drop Al Jazeera from their basic cable packages. If they don’t, I’ll be proud to lead a boycott until they do. I’ll also encourage municipalities to revoke the monopolies the companies currently enjoy.”

Lalor’s letter to the executives at the television providers can be found here. Al Jazeera America began broadcasting on August 20. Al Jazeera purchased Current TV, co-founded by Al Gore, to use as a distribution network.

Lalor continued, “To be clear, this is not a First Amendment issue. The free press clause of the First Amendment does not protect foreign powers who wish to broadcast propaganda into our country and our homes. Moreover, at this time my constituents and I are not objecting to the existence of the channel. We object to Al Jazeera America’s inclusion as a basic cable channel that subscribers are forced to pay for and receive rather than as an a la carte channel that can be added to a basic package.”

Al Jazeera is owned by the Arab dictatorship of Qatar and has a well-earned reputation for promoting anti-American and anti-Semitic propaganda. The network threw a birthday party for terrorist Samir Kuntar, celebrating him as a “pan-Arab hero.” Kuntar murdered an Israeli father and his 4-year-old daughter in their home. The Israeli family’s mother accidentally suffocated their toddler son as she tried to muffle his cries while hiding from Kuntar. Al Jazeera paid for fireworks to celebrate Kuntar’s release from prison. In the days after September 11, Al Jazeera reported as fact that Jewish Americans had been told not to come to work at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Lalor added, “I realize that Qatar allows the US to conduct operations within its borders. However, according to leaked cables and multiple reports, Qatar’s record of counter-terrorism efforts was the “worst in the region.” According to the New York Times, Qatar is ‘hesitant to act against known terrorists out of concern for appearing to be aligned with the U.S. and provoking reprisals.’ Why should cable subscribers be forced to purchase a network owned by a foreign government that at best appeases Islamic terrorists?”

(Press release from the Office of Assemblyman Kieran Lalor)