Terrorist group Hezbollah linked to 30 mosques/centers in Germany

Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

The intelligence agency for the northern German city-state of Hamburg revealed in a hair-raising report on Monday that 30 mosques and cultural centers in the Federal Republic have ties to the US-classified terrorist organization Hezbollah. “In Germany there are currently about 30 known cultural and mosque associations in which a clientele regularly meets that is close to Hezbollah or its ideology,” wrote the intelligence agency.

According to the 282-page intelligence document reviewed by The Jerusalem Post, “The collection of donations is one of the most important tasks of the associations” where Hezbollah operatives meet.The report notes “The associations are characterized by the effort to strengthen the bonds of the Lebanese living here [in Hamburg] with their homeland and to the organization.”The intelligence document raises tantalizing questions: How much money are German Hezbollah members sending to Lebanon to aid their organization in advancing terrorism and to wage war against Syrian civilians?The Post has previously reported on Hezbollah-controlled centers in the cities of Bremen and Münster along with other Hezbollah meeting places in the state of Lower Saxony. The Hamburg report shows a larger presence of Hezbollah locations than previously documented by German authorities.The report said that there are 30 Hezbollah supporters in Hamburg and a total of 1,050 Hezbollah supporters across Germany. Additional German intelligence data reviewed by the Postconfirm the presence of at least 1,050 Hezbollah operatives in Germany. The intelligence report addresses a wide range of security threats facing Hamburg.On Saturday, Israel’s ambassador to Germany Jeremy  Issacharoff wrote on Twitter: “Nasrallah threatens Israel and its civilians and Europe continues to distinguish between the political and military wing of Hizbollah. Nasrallah doesn’t! This EU policy compromises any concerted international resolve to combat terror in all its forms.”The ambassador was referring to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who threated to obliterate Israel in a speech.The US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, responded to Issacharoff’s tweet by stating: “Agree. Hizbollah is hunting for money in Europe. Ignoring them is what they want. Secret moneylaundering frontcompanies phonytransfers.”In addition to the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Israel and the Arab League have designated Hezbollah’s entire movement as a terrorist organization. In 2013, Germany and the European Union merely proscribed Hezbollah’s so-called military wing as a terrorist entity.The Post has learned that Ambassador Grenell raises in every meeting with German officials the need for Germany’s government to ban all of HezbollahGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has vehemently rejected a full ban of Hezbollah in Germany. Amid rising antisemitism in Germany, Hezbollah plays a role in stoking Jew-hatred and spreading its jihadi ideology.The chancellor snubbed her country’s Jewish community in May after the nearly 100,000-member Central Council of Jews in Germany asked her to outlaw Hezbollah.The president of the council, Dr. Josef Schuster, said at the time that “a full ban of Hezbollah’s organization has already happened in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.” He added, “Hezbollah is heavily financed by Iran, and poses, in its entirety, a threat to the entire world.”

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content.Click here>>

Source: The Jerusalem Post

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Terrorism • Hezbollah • Nazi Germany • The Jerusalem Post • Publication • Paywall • Journalism • Israel • Middle East • Jews • Germans • City-state • Hamburg • Terrorism • Hezbollah • German Empire • Mosque • Hezbollah • Ideology • The Jerusalem Post • Hezbollah • Lebanon • Hamburg • Espionage • Money • Germans • Hezbollah • Lebanon • Terrorism • Syria • Hezbollah • Bremen • Münster • Hezbollah • State (polity) • Lower Saxony • Hamburg • Hezbollah • Germany • Hezbollah • Hamburg • Hezbollah • German Empire • Germany • Hezbollah • Germany • Hamburg • Israel • Nazi Germany • Twitter • Hassan Nasrallah • Israel • Europe • Hezbollah • Hassan Nasrallah • European Union • International law • Terrorism • Ambassador • Hezbollah • Hassan Nasrallah • Israel • Germany • Richard Grenell • Twitter • Hezbollah • Europe • Canada • United Kingdom • Netherlands • Israel • Arab League • Hezbollah • Freedom of movement • Terrorism • Germany • European Union • Hezbollah • Terrorism • Ambassador • Official • Government • Chancellor • Angela Merkel • Ban Ki-moon • Hezbollah • Antisemitism • Hezbollah • Jews • Jihadism • Ideology • Chancellor • Jews • Central Council of Jews in Germany • Hezbollah • Josef Schuster • Ban Ki-moon • Hezbollah • Netherlands • United Kingdom • Hezbollah • Iran • The Jerusalem Post • Website •