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.
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.
Mon, Apr 29, 7:00 PM
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