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The State of the Ministry
Having worked here for eight years, I ponder whether our ministry is reaching its potential. Let me tell you why I believe the answer is no and how we can improve (hint: it's not related to your pocket book). The answer lies in people, more the people who we're reaching than the ones on our staff, and mostly the TV viewers we'll never hear from. The reason Uncle Sam allows us to be an organization that receives tax-deductible donations is that we are to provide the public with religious television programs and newsletters. Assuming that we're on track with God's will in terms of content, the ongoing challenge is to impact increasing portions of the public at large while staying afloat. This is where you come in. The TV programs are already being produced and the newsletters written, so it costs little to print that extra newsletter, and it's no expense whatsoever if a new viewer tunes into Zola Levitt Presents. More than dollars, we need amplifiers — Christian soldiers enthusiastic enough to say, "Watch this videotape I made of Zola's program" or "Here, read this Levitt Letter's terrific article." At a recent board meeting, a director asked about our going into the red and exhausting a significant portion of what some might consider reserves. Fortunately, our objective is not to grow assets. Consequently, when we can make new programs and buy good airtimes without running aground, that's what we do. But then there's the no-man's-land we need your help to navigate, and that's the territory of new viewers. It seems unlikely that we'll find more TV time that we can afford. We certainly can't buy prime airtime. If the stations and networks would sell it to us, we couldn't pay what they'd charge. First of all, we don't harangue for funds enough for that; and secondly, our message, though it should, doesn't draw the viewership percentages to justify early evening broadcasts. The readers and thinkers that our message appeals to often have to be willing to ferret us out and use their VCRs to record our program to view later. We said "no thanks," by the way, to our supplier who offered to "copy protect" our videocassettes, because we'd rather have more people learning about the Bible than some extra sales revenue. Without beating a dead horse, let me ask that you share our TV program and newsletters with friends because that will help us survive and because the mission you're helping us with is to reach as many souls as possible. Perhaps you have a place for one or two of our 8-1/2" x 14" color posters, free for the asking, in your church, etc., announcing our TV broadcast times in your area. On the home front, we've sped up our computers with new motherboards, bought a slightly used copier, and added a rebuilt postage machine to our gizmo collection. Our computer people all have color computer screens now, and several of us are using digital pocket organizers. Our ministry "limo" (an '84 LTD station wagon) has had some aches and pains, but we're paying no collision insurance, and it quit depreciating years ago. Our television program won the Telly award again! That's quite a feat considering that this is a secular award and there were 9,000 applicants competing for it. Once again we thankfully acknowledge our Producer Ken Berg and his five loaves and two fish stewardship in the production department. Several months ago, FAM, our largest TV network, hit us with a 22% airtime increase. They're expanding, so there's more viewership to pay for, but our computer reports say our margins are narrowing. Will the onslaught of infomercials grind us down to the wee hours on small stations? Another favor request: if you haven't told us what stations/networks you view our program on, PLEASE DO! Station rate increases are sort of like pop tests with hard questions such as, "Are those viewers aware of your needs?" and "How much of your support comes from that area?" If a Christian TV station near you would like to carry our program, would you kindly suggest that their program manager contact Terry Irvine at Berg Productions, 14785 Preston Road #255, Dallas, TX 75240? Regarding bequests, they are a big help. Whether or not you intend to will anything to us or any charity, you're welcome to send for our free booklet Planning Your Christian Will. Having a will is a cornerstone of good stewardship. A written encapsulation of this ministry's accomplishments for the year can limp a little unless you've been there to witness the TV programs and listen to the music. Please be sure to tune in or tape our December programs. What a pleasure to create the timely Jerusalem 3000 series of thirteen programs. The Pilgrim's Journey, with nine programs, provides an armchair tour of the Holy Land. For both series we offer new music tapes with all their songs, and new half-hour music videos, sold separately. On our December tour, we'll get footage for Zola's archaeological series The Stones Cry Out. We've also had the honor of publishing the book Jerusalem: The Truth by Jerusalem Post executive editor David Bar Illan, who is the media advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Last but not least, The Works II: More of Zola Songs consists of eight more recent albums on four CDs. Zola's first eight albums are on four CDs entitled The Works: All of Zola's Songs, and if you order both sets at the same time, we're throwing in Living Waters, a stand-alone album on CD. If you buy nothing else from this ministry, please do yourself a favor and get three of our inexpensive study booklets: The Seven Feasts of Israel, The Miracle of Passover and A Christian Love Story, available on page 11. [Click here to enter our online store.]
We still have only a dozen employees and spend 70% of our revenue on TV airtime
and production and less than 15% on payroll. Printing and postage consume
most of the rest, and, as you may know, you're welcome any time to our audited
financial statements. It's with gratitude that I report to you what we're doing on
your behalf. Granted, we're God's servants, seeking His will, but seeing your faith
in us come to fruition is more fulfilling than I can describe.
[Click here for the previous article]
The Arab-Israeli Propaganda War
Reversal of Causality. The reality is that Israel is a very small Jewish country struggling to survive in a generally hostile environment of some 22 Arab nations spreading across northern Africa through the Arabian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf. For the most part, these Arab countries are inhospitable to anyone but Moslems, and Jews in particular are decidedly unwelcome. Furthermore, these same nations have instigated several wars to destroy Israel. Nevertheless, the Arab sympathizers have persuaded the world that Israel has caused the problems and has been the aggressor throughout the last half of this century. This was not a simple task; it required a monumental propaganda campaign, as Netanyahu describes:
But to create American opposition to an independent State of Israel that had many friends and admirers in Washington would require a much more sweeping, much more comprehensive campaign of disinformation than had ever been conceived by the British anti-Zionists. It would entail the fabrication of ancient historical rights to nullify those of the Jews; the obliteration from memory of Versailles, the League of Nations, and the Balfour Declaration; and a complete revision and rewriting of the Arab wars against the Jews following the establishment of Israel.
For this ambitious undertaking, the Arabs attacked Israel through every channel, at every gathering, from every platform. But none of these forums proved to be as effective as the most powerful of instruments available to the Arabs, an instrument of universal reach and appeal that at the time enjoyed not only respectability but reverence, and that therefore was trusted by many around the world — the United Nations. (pp. 82-83) Before this massive campaign began, Israel was seen by most people as David standing up against the massive Goliath of the Arab world, which was armed to the teeth by Soviet suppliers. After decades of propaganda, however, Israel is now seen as the Goliath, and the Arab Palestinians are considered to be David. What a corruption of the true state of affairs! Palestinian State — a Trojan Horse. The third leg of the Arab propaganda strategy was to push the idea of creating a new sovereign nation in the area, the State of Palestine, as a solution to the "Middle East problem." It would essentially cover the same area as what has come to be known as the West Bank (which is a propaganda term in itself). The rationale is that, since the Arab Palestinians and Israeli Jews could not live together in the same nation, the territory should be split up in such a way that each would have their own country. In some places around the world such a solution might be plausible, but in this case it is totally unrealistic because of the following;
Netanyahu's Peace PlanThe new Israeli Prime Minister's position is to allow the Palestinians to have self- rule in their various towns, but the overall country from the Golan Heights to the Jordan River would be under Israeli sovereignty and military control. This would allow the Palestinians to have a large degree of autonomy in their local affairs, while at the same time preserving the security of Israel. This is considerably different from the Peres plan, which essentially would have ceded control over the entire "West Bank" (Judea and Samaria) to the PLO, barred further Jewish settlement in that area, and trusted in the future goodwill of the PLO to help Israel maintain peace and security. Peres was also leaning heavily toward the idea of surrendering much of the Golan Heights to Syria, as well as working out some kind of shared use of Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and Palestine. From Netanyahu's margin of victory in the May 1996 election, it is apparent that the large majority of Israeli Jews believed that Peres' plans were far too risky for their security. They voted for Netanyahu's plans as being the best for their future, in spite of overwhelming pressure from the U.S. government, the United Nations, and the influence of the world media.
Other Issues in the BookSome other issues that Netanyahu develops in the book are
What American Christians Can DoIn the face of these momentous developments on the world scene, the average American Christian might wonder what, if anything, he can do about the situation. Netanyahu emphasizes that Western governments in general, and the U.S. in particular, could use their diplomatic muscle to press for the democratization of the Arab countries. The U.S. has done this all over the world, with impressive results in South America, Asia and Russia. For some unexplained reason, though, the U.S. has never strongly leaned on the Arab countries to democratize their governments. Even Kuwait, which we rescued at great cost from the clutches of Iraq, has an essentially undemocratic government. It would be much harder for Israel to make any kind of lasting peace with Arab dictatorships than it would be if they were genuine democracies. We can encourage our government to promote the democratization of Arab countries, as it has with other countries around the world. In addition, American Christians should realize the position of Israel in the context of biblical prophecy. The coming of Christ for His own (the Rapture) is imminent, and could happen at any moment. He may come soon, or He could delay the Rapture for a while more. Either way, Israel will become ever more central as the stage is set for the Tribulation and the Second Coming of the Messiah to reign over Israel and the world. Also, in spite of considerable opposition, the revived church of Jewish believers in Christ is growing stronger in Israel and more vocal with every passing day. We need to pray for the true and secure peace of Israel (which may be imperfect now, but will fully come with the Lord's return), and do what we can to encourage the struggling saints in Jerusalem and Israel as much as possible.
This is the final article in this series.
Dear Friends, Recently, I had an incidence of my heartbeat racing at 150 beats per minute. Most people once in a while experience such an anomaly, and it is generally harmless; but in a man of my age with six bypasses in his heart, the racing can be dangerous. I called 911 and some courteous young firemen attended me very skillfully and raced me to a local emergency room where, after one hour, they were able to bring the beat to normal. I stayed overnight for observation, but everything seemed fine. A few days later, I had a stress test and did very well — better than I did 20 years ago! The doctor then advised that I have the electrical problem in the heart corrected. I recently underwent that procedure, which involved a five-hour probing with a catheter in my heart, and it was a complete success. At this point, I am fine. But I'm more than fine. The doctor was ecstatic about my condition and indicated that, bypasses or no, I was in great shape and need to increase my exercise considerably (and get the extra weight off — thanks for your many letters). I am now undergoing that process and looking forward to many more years of service to the Lord and to you. And that brings me to my reason for telling this story. I sincerely want to thank you for all of your intercessory prayers over these many years. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that those prayers made a profound difference. Bypasses normally serve well for about 10 years, and mine have gone 14. Those who experience heart trouble in their early 40s are usually retired at my age or have gone on to whatever their reward might be. At the very least, heart patients 14 years after a major bypass operation are invariably told to take it easy. But because of your prayers, I was told the opposite and I feel fine! I just don't know how to thank you, other than giving my energies to being your messenger in Israel, on television, in the music recording studio and the book publishing house, and wherever the Lord might direct this ministry. Thank you, thank you, thank you! By way of service, we are definitely undertaking the taping of a new location series in Israel. It has a working title of The Stones Cry Out and will feature various archaeological sites in the Holy Land which our film crew will visit during our Hanukkah/ Christmas Tour. There are many exciting archaeological discoveries taking place, and we think these programs will both inform and bless you. Some of the places we plan to present are Hazor, Megiddo, Petra, Jerusalem, Qumran, and Sepphoris, where our Lord may have attended school when He was a child. This is a monumental undertaking, and we ask for your help in getting it off the ground. Like most ministries, we rely heavily on the year-end giving of our supporters. You will have the maximum tax advantage for your money if your check is mailed before January 1. We appreciate whatever help the Lord leads you to give. Our Christmas Tour will be in Israel by the time you receive this newsletter. We are now looking ahead to our Spring 1997 Tour. The Basic Tour, which covers the main biblical sites in Israel, will be May 5 - 14. The Grand Tour will be April 29 to May 14 and will include the Acropolis and Mars Hill in Athens, as well as Corinth, Ephesus, and a cruise to the Greek islands of Mykonos, Rhodes and Patmos. Please call Cynthia at (214) 696-9760 or our answering service at 1-800-WONDERS (966-3377) to request a brochure.
May the Lord bless you this holiday season.
More Media MalevolenceOn November 10, the Dallas Morning News ran a front-page story by Geneive Abdo that centered on how Israel is supposedly creating obstacles in the current "peace" negotiations by refusing to relinquish its claim to Jerusalem. The article contained some of the most slanted reporting we've seen. Joni Arden, an Israeli citizen who has been helping out in our Dallas office, wrote a response to counter a few of the distortions in Ms. Abdo's article. Although the Morning News received several letters criticizing the Abdo article, the editors chose to print only one — five short paragraphs to counteract the lies of an almost full-page story. We are running Joni's article here to present the information that the Morning News ignored, and to give you an example of how you can respond when your local news media choose to disguise lies as factual reporting. I am writing in response to a November 10 article by Geneive Abdo dealing with the current dispute between Israelis and Palestinians over Jerusalem, and how those opposing claims to the city are supposedly holding up the peace process. Ms. Abdo is based in Cairo, Egypt. I would like to present another perspective, as an Israeli citizen who has lived in Jerusalem for over a decade and has experienced this conflict as a part of daily life. Ms. Abdo writes as if the issue of Jerusalem is suddenly now being raised to hinder the prospect of peace. In her scenario, the Israelis are the ones causing the problem, oppressing their Arab neighbors and depriving them of what is theirs. Her article is filled with slanted writing and half-truths and untruths, and the picture that emerges is unrecognizable to anyone who is familiar with the real situation in Israel. The question of who owns Jerusalem — is this really something new? This was and is the same problem that the peace talks encountered from day one. It is portrayed now as the major difficulty on the path to peace, but actually the peace process has always centered around Jerusalem. The one who owns Jerusalem, owns Israel. The negotiators of the Oslo agreements knew very well that the two sides could never agree on Jerusalem, and that is why the issue was left to be dealt with last. If it had been put first on the agenda, no other peace agreements and concessions could ever have been reached. The leaders knew the main obstacles to peace from the outset. To highlight them now as if they are new, and as if Israel is the one creating the problem, is totally irresponsible writing. Ms. Abdo's article contains the usual misinformation and misrepresentations presented by Palestinian supporters. One obvious example is the archaeological tunnel opened in September, which she said borders the al-Aqsa Mosque. This tunnel, as you can see by your own newspaper's illustration, does not border the mosque and, in fact, leads away from it. And it is not an "architectural alteration," as she put it. Unblocking one end of a tunnel that existed before the birth of Christ is not an "alteration." Another slanted statement concerns the Orient House, which Ms. Abdo describes as the Palestinian Authority headquarters that Israeli officials have threatened to destroy. She does not mention that the Orient House has been operating illegally, and that the Oslo accord did not allow for the PA to establish any official residence in Jerusalem. She also gave the impression earlier in the article that the Oslo agreement established eastern Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, which is again not true. Ms. Abdo implies that Jewish settlers have been flooding the eastern sector of Jerusalem. "In 1967 virtually no Israeli residents were in the east," she writes. Why? Because it was ruled by Transjordan (Jordan today) and Jewish people were forbidden to live there. Naturally the number of Jews increased after 1967, since the area had become part of Israel. And 30,000 housing units in 30 years is not excessive. This tactic of obscuring the truth tends to confuse the situation. Ms. Abdo states, "The conflict over competing claims to Jerusalem among Jews, Moslems, and Christians dates back 3,000 years." Oh, really? The Jewish claim certainly dates back 3,000 years, but Christianity came much later, and Islam even later than that. There are fully 16 centuries between King David, who made Jerusalem the Jewish capital, and the birth of Mohammed. The true attitude of the Palestinians is summed up in the statement of Sheikh Hasan Tahboub: "We are the owners of this city. It was ours for hundreds of years. We don't seek war, but we are prepared to take it back by any means." These are not the words of someone seeking peace, of someone willing to negotiate. If the city was theirs for hundreds of years, why did they never make it their capital? If it was so important to them, why was their administrative center in Ramla? The Arabs never tried to make it the capital of anything until they attacked Israel in 1967, thereby allowing Israel to reunite Jerusalem and once again govern the land from its historic center, just as King David had 3,000 years before. David claimed it not only as his "fortress of Zion," as Ms. Abdo put it, but as his capital, his administrative center, his home, and the focal point of his entire nation. Has Jerusalem ever been this to any other people but the Jewish people? Ms. Abdo writes from the point of view of those who want to undermine Israel and its ancient claim to its homeland. Because of the lack of balanced reporting in the Western media, I am very much afraid that few people are hearing and understanding the real story of what is happening in the Middle East. I would encourage your newspaper to examine its coverage of this strategic region and strive to do what all journalists claim to do: present the facts, without bias and not following anyone else's agenda.
Joni Arden is an Israeli citizen who has lived in the Jerusalem area for ten
years. She is a licensed tour guide who has assisted with many of Zola's Israel
tours, and has appeared on several Zola Levitt Presents programs. After spending
a few months in Dallas to help with our tour department, she is returning to Israel
in December.
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Copyright © 1996 by Zola Levitt Ministries, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All rights reserved. Brief passages may be quoted in reviews or other article. For all other use, please get our written approval.
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