October 2000 Personal Letter

Dear Friends,

Israel is the first nation to be attacked by the world media.

Propagandists of all sorts have used radio, television, newspapers, etc., for political reasons and, of course, they still do; but seldom has an entire country been attacked on all fronts by virtually all media. As one of the world’s most peaceful democracies and most successful enterprises, Israel should not have to be portrayed as a war-torn, beleaguered, desperate, dangerous place. It’s simply not the truth.

The subject came to my mind because of the Firestone tire situation. A letter to The Dallas Morning News was entitled “Media Creates Hysteria Over Tire Recall,” and I think you understand the issue. The writer, employed by a fleet leasing company that has over 300,000 vehicles on lease, took the position that Firestone couldn’t help itself at the moment because of the “hysteria” caused by the media over the problems with its tires. He did not rule on the case, and neither will I, but he simply said the media is no help to anybody with their trumpeting of dramatic statistics and their constant overstatements.

While I’m not sure about the tire situation, as a media worker of some 30 years’ experience, including books, radio, television, and newsletters, I’m aware of the simple power of the written word or the broadcast. When used properly, such as to dispassionately cover legitimate news events or election campaigns or even the weather, the media is useful to society and is, indeed, one of the strong points of a democracy. A free press is essential to sensible, day-to-day living. So many people in the world are suffering without one, as in Red China, North Korea, Cuba, and the Arab countries.

Counting in massive Red China and the others, we realize that one third to one half of all the people in the world are receiving “managed news.”

And sometimes that includes our country, as well. On certain subjects, we get distorted messages. Obviously, the reports of robberies and fires and assaults on the local evening news waste everybody’s time and contribute very little to our lives. But my subject is the Holy Land. And my personal problem with the media is that they invariably favor the Arab position over the Israeli.

This is easy to explain. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating—a great deal of advertising space on American media is purchased by petro-dollar products, such as oil and gasoline, plastics, cosmetics, etc. Any business naturally wants to cater to its better customers, and so the Arabs, important oil suppliers, get almost a free ride, and very few media people see the Jewish side of things. Add to that the conventional anti-Semitism found throughout the world, and you have a real bias against Israel.

But here is the Biblical side of things! God promised Israel to His friend, Abraham, and to his seed through Isaac and Jacob as an “everlasting covenant,” and that’s all there is to that. There can be no violation at any time by anyone without serious consequences. When Anwar Sadat received the conquered territories in Egypt in the Camp David Accords in the late ’70s, he was actually taking a part of Israel God had promised to the Chosen People (“…from the river of Egypt,” Gen. 15:18). He was assassinated. When Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel gave part of the land—also promised to the Jews, of course—to Arafat and his henchmen, he, too, was assassinated.

The Biblical principle here is that we cannot change the borders of the Promised Land. It is not an ordinary land. It is God’s country. We change its borders at peril of extinction. Ask any Babylonian, Persian, Greek, or Roman, if you can find one in the world. All of those mighty empires changed the borders of Israel, and they are all extinct!

In the future, the whole world will attempt to change the borders of Israel in the fiasco called Armageddon, and that will mark the end of God’s patience. The King will return, and the land will be restored as promised in the Scripture given above. And no one on Earth will ever change it again. Jerusalem will never be a divided city, not in the 1,000-year Kingdom and not even in eternity, when it will appear as the New Jerusalem and be with us forever and ever.

But meanwhile, the media goes on cutting and slashing at a land which is modern, beautiful, and running like a watch, constantly decimating it in print and in electronic reports. Our newsletter publishes writers who take the other view, simply because the Jewish side of things is so seldom presented in print, or in the other media. But as far as I’m concerned, loving Israel is one of the most holy, Godly, and spiritual pursuits that can happen in a Christian life. It is my heart and soul, and I give myself to it completely. And in the Kingdom to come, I will be ready to reside there along with the rest of the Church, because I paid fitting attention to it in this life.

We continue to offer tours to Israel to one and all, and I think this is simply the best way to prove a point. If you possibly can take the time and can afford a trip, then by all means, that’s the way to know Israel and to love her. I’m sorry that the land is so far away from us, and the trip is necessarily costly. But after all, this is one of the reasons the psalmist said not to leave Israel: “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Ps. 137:4).

We are offering our Hanukkah/Christmas Tour at a less expensive rate this year, so perhaps this is the time for you to join us. Our Deluxe Tour of Israel (December 11–21) will visit all the major Biblical sites, as always. And our Grand Tour, with the extension to Petra and Eilat (December 11–25), gives you the unique opportunity to spend Christmas Eve in the Shepherds’ Fields of Bethlehem and Christmas Day with your family at home!

On the Deluxe Tour, you will travel to Megiddo (where you can see the future battlefield of Armageddon), Mt. Carmel, Nazareth, the Western Wall, the Mt. of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room of the Last Supper, the Garden Tomb, Masada, and the Dead Sea. You will see the beauty of the Golan Heights, the original Dead Sea Scrolls, and the caves of Qumran where the scrolls were discovered. You will take a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem and enjoy a fascinating archaeological seminar that explains the history of the city through the ages. You will visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum, and pay tribute to the more than six million Jews who lost their lives to the Nazis. You will derive great pleasure shopping the marketplaces, eating delicious and hearty meals, and seeing the wondrous beauty that is Israel.

On our Grand Tour, you will stay at a luxurious resort hotel in Eilat on the Red Sea, from where you will travel to Petra, the ancient city carved directly out of the red mountains of Jordan. Call Tony or Becky at 214-696-9760 during office hours for more information, or call 1-800-WONDERS any time for a full-color brochure. [or click here for an online request form]. I hope you have the opportunity to join us.

And please, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Your messenger,

P.S. We are post-producing our new, eight-program television series “Age of Terror.” It features my interviews with converted Palestinian terrorist Walid Shoebat. How better to wake up the Church to the realities of the era we approach! Please help us make ends meet as we invest in creating this series that will enlighten Christian and secular viewers alike. Thanks.