WHY?

In this blog you can listen to and read about our

newborn program, This Week In Jerusalem—
TWIJ, produced by Zion Public Radio,
an educational nonprofit.

But why? Why this program?
Does TWIJ have a right to life?

I propose 10 reasons why it does. What do you think?

1. Virtually all U.S. news, opinion-shows and other Western media talk about Israel. None of them focus on listening to her. As a result we've all but forgotten that news about Israel involves real people, real families.
   

   TWIJ believes it is impossible to see anyone's humanity without listening to them. That's why our commitment is to hear and understand what Israelis have to say.



2. From Fox to PBS to Britain's BBC, Western news revolves around the question, "What is in our country's best interest?"
   

   TWIJ gives Israelis a platform to address topics centered on the question, "How do these issues affect the men, women and children of Israel?"



3. Secular news, talk-shows and religious programming align themselves with various opinions about Israel.
   

   In contrast, TWIJ's top priority is building a relationship with the people of Israel by hearing what they have to say: the kind of relationship that makes allowance for very different convictions.
   
   Yes, we encounter conflicting beliefs. When we differ, those differences matter. And yes, we too have strong convictions (in case you haven't noticed☺). But take note: near the top is this one: listening to our neighbor is a moral obligation, not a moral compromise.
   



4. Mainstream secular media is rabidly PC. And today's PC is that Israel is morally responsible for Radical Islam's murderous rage. This conviction is so pervasive in the news that Israel's right to exist is regarded dubious. What the Washington Post calls Britain's New Anti-Semitism is taking root in the U.S. too.
   

   TWIJ explicitly affirms Israel's right to exist, no less than the USA or any other country, as a fully sovereign nation under G-d.
   
   

5. Radical Islam is spending petro-billions to sell its spin to Western News consumers. It...
   
   
• ...underwrites its own networks: like Iran's super-slick and scary IRIB, along with the "respectable" Al Jezerra through whom all Radical Islamic terror groups funnel threats and claims;


• ...trains and sends polished lobbyists to Washington, DC loaded with money; and


• ...educates and bankroles what might be called, Media Reps At-Large—like the super-smooth Adel al-Jubeir. Click his name; trust me, you'll recognize this guy.

TWIJ is like Tom Thumb going against these Goliaths. But we're willing. All we need, relative to them, is a slingshot and some stones (also known as Resources☺).



6. Articulate opponents of Israel get tons of air time and print space in the Western press. And the opinions they express, no matter how inconsistent or factually wrong, are enhanced by a tone, an atmosphere, of credibility.
   

   TWIJ provides a desperately needed counter-balance, broadcasting the opinions of patriotic Israelis—including a wide variety of pros and cons about all kinds of issues.
   
   

7. From the White House to the United Nations and even to the Knesset, Israel's existence and policies are measured against the shifty, blurry standards of global sensibilities. Call it the All-Arguments-Have-Equal-Moral-Merit point of view.
   

   TWIJ regards this perspective as logically absurd, and its self-righteous expressions, hypocritical. Every program we produce assumes that Israel's existence, policies and future, are measured against independent standards that never change: universal moral laws revealed in the Bible—the only holy book among all the world's religions that explicitly endows a Specific People with a Specific Land.
   
   

8. In the West and at best, Jewish people—especially citizens of Israel—are regarded odd.
   

   TWIJ looks at the Bible and concludes that all Jewish people are G-d's people in a unique way: they are the apple of his eye.
   
   

9. More often than not, Western politicians and newsmakers see their cultures' survival relative to appeasing Radical Islam. No wonder they insist that Israel make concessions to her publicly sworn enemies.
   

   TWIJ regards Israel's existence as fundamental to the West's survival. Sacrificing Israel, all at once or piece by piece, is nothing less than cutting off one's own legs in order to cure a headache.



10. Western culture takes its existence for granted, independent of the past.
    

    TWIJ recognizes that Western culture owes its existence to Israel's history and culture. And not only to Israel's past-history, but also to her current and future history.
    
    That's why, after listening to Israel, TWIJ encourages it audience to act: for our own sake, doing everything we can to ensure Israel's prosperity.
    

Does This Week In Jerusalem fill a need? Does it have a right to life? Should it grow and thrive? These 10 reasons compel us to answer, ...Yes.

But when it comes to TWIJ, it really does take a village—a community of people who share our values and our vision.

Are you part of this village, this community? If so, no matter who you are, TWIJ's viability and growth depend on your encouragement. And participation.

Share the dream. Join the team.
Become a Charter Member of Zion Public Radio.

Brian

This Week In Jerusalem is a production of ZION PUBLIC RADIO,
an educational 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofit organization
incorporated in the State of Texas