Christian broadcaster taken off air for evangelizing to Israeli public

An evangelical broadcaster was taken off the air in Israel recently. The reason? Israeli regulators claim the channel hid its missionary intent when it applied for a broadcasting license.

GOD TV was informed by Asher Biton, chairman of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, that they would have seven days to stop broadcasting last month.

The US-based broadcaster had just been approved for a new Shelanu channel, reports Christianity Today.

In his decision, Biton says the channel appeals to Jews with Christian content. He claims this is not in accordance with its original license request, which he says stated it was a "station targeting the Christian population."

On May 22, Shelanu announced that its satellite provider, HOT, had stopped broadcasting the channel entirely. Without a public apology, Shelanu plans to sue Biton.

"In a free and democratic society such as Israel, we would have received approval for our new license, and if not, we would have won in court," said Ron Cantor, Shelanu's Israel spokesman.

"The only thing that could have stopped our channel from being aired was if HOT broke our relationship."

The channel says the broadcaster's current license "stated unequivocally" it would air in the Hebrew language; most Christians in Israel speak Arabic.

Shelanu disagrees with the allegations.

A copy of its original application and approval, the broadcaster says it is "a Christian religion channel broadcasting Christian content ... for the audience of Israeli viewers."

It also states it will broadcast such content in both Hebrew and English. The agreement did not state the channel was only for Christian viewership.

The approval agreed the channel would be intended for a general Israeli viewing audience, not limiting the channel to those of Christian faith.

"Maybe there was some confusion in his understanding of Shelanu," Cantor says, "but to say that we tricked him into broadcasting content that is not allowed under our license is simply not true."

According to Cantor, the Shelanu channel is 70 per cent produced by Israelis.

A Shelanu board member, Avi Mizachi, says the channel should be free to broadcast content of their community.

"It is absurd that anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist content is broadcast freely every day on cable television in Israel, and a pro-Israel Zionist channel like ours is under investigation," Mizachi says.

However, GOD TV CEO Ward Simpson suggested in an online video, which has been since removed, that the channel had a goal of evangelizing those of Jewish belief.

"God has supernaturally opened the door for us to take the gospel of Jesus into the homes and lives and hearts of his Jewish people,” Simpson says in the removed video.

A video posted after features Simpson apologizing for any offense taken to his first message and states the channel will apply with regulations.

Israeli law protects freedom of religion and allows for evangelism as long as minors are not targeted and there is no form of monetary gain promised.

GOD TV began in the UK in 1995 and now says it broadcasts to an audience of 300 million households around the world.

"We are hurt and devastated that our country's leaders would act against us," Cantor says. "But at the same, we are happy they put pressure on HOT to drop us rather than to take the unprecedented, anti-democratic move of stripping the Messianic Jewish and Christian Arab communities of their freedoms of speech and expression."

Shelanu now plans to go online.

"As Israelis who love our country and know the laws, we will not be silenced," Cantor says.