Under Israeli law, proselytizing to persons under 18 years of age is forbidden unless consent is given by a parent.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Despite an Israeli law forbidding proselytizing to persons under 18 years of age, a prominent worldwide Protestant TV program was given permission to air, and at least some of its programming smacks of missionary type activity.

Shelanu TV, a Hebrew-language broadcast of GOD TV, aired its first episode in Israel on April 27 after signing a seven-year contract with HOT Cable, the largest cable network in Israel.

“God has opened up a miraculous doorway for GOD TV… by sharing the good news of Yeshua (Jesus), including powerful real-life testimonies of Israelis who have come to know Yeshua as Messiah,” GOD TV’s website stated.

“We want Jewish viewers to embrace the fact that Jesus is theirs. He is not a foreigner, an intruder, or imposter. He is their Jewish Messiah, born in Israel, raised as a Jew,” it said.

Under Israeli law, proselytizing to persons’ under 18 years of age is forbidden unless consent is given by a parent.

Haaretz reached out on Monday to Asher Biton, the chairman of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, for comment as to why the council approved HOT’s deal with the Protestant TV channel if it violates Israeli law.

According to Haaretz, Biton said he did not know that GOD TV planned to engage in missionary activities.

“According to our regulations, it is fine to broadcast religious programming,” he said, “but it is forbidden to broadcast content that has the potential to influence viewers in an undue fashion, and most certainly young and impressionable viewers.”

Biton said he would revoke the channel’s license if the council found that its content is breaking the law or intends to break it.

GOD TV’a programming primarily caters to youth in over 200 countries around the world.

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“Certainly, if we were doing something sneaky, we would not have announced it to the world,” said GOD TV regional director Ron Cantor.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Shelanu TV, a Hebrew-language broadcast of GOD TV, was threatened on Tuesday with being shut down if it violates the law of proselytizing to people under 18 years of age.

“We will not allow any missionary channel to operate in the State of Israel at any time and in any situation,” said Communications Minister Dudi Amsalem.

GOD TV aired its first episode in Israel on April 27, after signing a seven-year contract with HOT Cable, the largest cable network in Israel. Its missionary programming primarily caters to youth in over 200 countries around the world.

Although GOD TV’s license to operate came from Israel’s Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, a sovereign body not beholden to the Ministry of Communication, Amsalem nonetheless pressured the council to launch an immediate investigation into the matter.

“As soon as I heard about the incident, I asked the council’s chairman to launch a comprehensive investigation to determine that no channel is violating the terms of its license, and if indeed this channel is engaged in missionary activities, it will be taken down immediately,” Amsalem said.

Haaretz reached out to GOD TV regional director Ron Cantor for comment, to which he replied that GOD TV has been completely honest and transparent about the nature of its programming to both HOT and the broadcasting council.

“We are not ashamed of who we are and what we believe,” Cantor said. “We were told many times that laws have changed and there was no issue with our programming.”

“Certainly, if we were doing something sneaky, we would not have announced it to the world,” he added.

Haaretz also reached out to HOT for comment, to which a spokeswoman for the cable service provider replied that GOD TV received its license from the broadcasting council lawfully and cooperated fully with all parties during the process.

Under Israeli law, proselytizing to people under 18 years of age is forbidden unless consent is given by a parent.

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