

Regulators in the Middle East have booted an evangelical broadcaster off the air. The offense? Spreading Christian content to the country’s citizens. The abrupt dismissal didn’t happen in Iraq or Saudi Arabia. It occurred in one of evangelical America’s most loved locales: Israel.
Beliefs about the modern state of Israel and the Israel of the Bible differ widely. But all evangelical Christians believe salvation comes only through Jesus Christ and that the Bible commands the faithful to “tell all nations.” At the same time, Christians understand that many Jews strongly object to efforts to convert them to Christianity. For many evangelicals, these competing realities clash.
Despite this conflict, evangelical Christians are some of Israel’s biggest supporters. A 2013 Pew Research Study indicates that American evangelicals support the modern nation of Israel more strongly than American Jews do!
Recently, Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council made it clear that so-called GOD TV was not welcome in Israel. Chairman Asher Biton gave the group seven days to stop broadcasting its “Shelanu” station. (“Shelanu” is Hebrew for “Ours.” It refers to the fact that Jesus, or Yeshua, was also a Hebrew.)
Council regulators say the channel hid its missionary agenda when it applied for a license. They say Shelanu called itself a “station targeting the Christian population.” Instead, Biton says, “The channel appeals to Jews with Christian content.” And that’s a big no-no.
GOD TV says its license is clear: It would broadcast in Hebrew—not the Arabic of most Holy Land Christians—to the Israeli public. Station representatives believe that fact made their intent obvious.
But in a video message, GOD TV CEO Ward Simpson suggested the real aim was to convince Jews to accept Jesus as their Messiah. The message was later taken down, and Simpson apologized. He says if given another chance, GOD TV will comply with all regulations.
Ron Cantor, Shelanu’s Israeli spokesman, says the station will reapply for a license. The station’s management hopes the council will approve the request and prevent “a severe diplomatic incident with hundreds of millions of pro-Israel evangelical Christians worldwide.”
Freedom of religion is enshrined in Israeli law. Evangelizing is allowed as long as activities don’t target minors or involve economic pressure. The Shelanu station does neither. Still, the station is closed.
Israel welcomes evangelicals’ tourism, political clout, and financial support. But the current situation suggests that what it won’t tolerate is their Jesus.
1st Comment
Wow! I hope that they can continue doing this! Paul wrote many letters concerning the clash between Christians and Jews and Gentiles, etc. That is cool that they film right outside of Jerusalem!
I DON’T LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS.....
The fact that the guy apologized for broadcasting the truth makes me a bit skeptical. I’m wondering what he meant by that. And it’s sad that they’re not allowed to broadcast Christian content to Jews/Hebrews.
THIS DOSEN’T SOUND GOOD
This is super weird. I still can’t figure out why he apologized was really weird. The devil didn’t like that they were preaching the Gospel to people, so he used those people to cancel the show. I have a saying that is so true.
WHEN THE LORD STARTS BLESSING, THE DEVIL STARTS MESSING
4th comment P.S. This is Caro
I like that saying Ruby!
@Ruby
Yesss!! I like that one to!! Where did you hear it at? JW
God TV?
I've never heard of that before, but it does sound interesting.
yea our worl today will find
yea our worl today will find anything that they canot explain dan demolish it
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?Why?
Why???? Why did evangilists have to be banned for SHARING JESUS' WORDS??? That should not be illegal. We should be free to believe
in what (and who) we believe in! Listen to that NewsBoys song, We Believe, and that will emphasize my point.