WATCH VIDEO: Don’t miss the gorgeous, provocative new movie, ‘Route 60: The Biblical Highway,’ in 1,600 US theaters on Sept 18 & 19
Amb. David Friedman tells me the world is trying to erase the biblical history of Judea & Samaria by calling it the ‘West Bank’
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Why would an Orthodox Jew from New York City team up with an Evangelical Christian from Kansas to make a movie about the most controversial yet consequential sites in all of the Holy Land?
What’s more, why would this Orthodox Jew join forces with Trinity Broadcasting Company (TBN) – the most-watched Christian TV network in the United States – to make such a film?
And why release it during the most sacred season on the Jewish calendar?
To get answers, and find out more about his new movie – Route 60: The Biblical Highway – on Monday I interviewed David Friedman, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Israel during the Trump-Pence administration.
Friedman was at the TBN studios in Manhattan while I was in the TBN studios here in Jerusalem.
Here’s our conversation. Please watch it and share it on social media.
Once you’ve watched it, please order tickets for you and your family and friends and take them to see the film.
It’s in 1,600 movie theaters across the U.S. – but only next week, specifically on Sept. 18 and 19.
You can learn more about the film – and enter your zip code to find a theater playing it near you, and even buy tickets – by going to www.Route60.movie.
A BEAUTIFUL, RICH, AND EVOCATIVE FILM ABOUT THE BIBLE’S MOST IMPORTANT SITES
As I wrote last week, I recently had the opportunity to watch an advanced screener and I absolutely loved it.
It is a beautiful, rich and evocative documentary film – masterfully shot in some locations rarely seen by the public – that explores the extraordinary and miraculous biblical history of Israel from Nazareth in the north – to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the center – to Hebron and Beersheva in the south.
What’s more, without being purposefully provocative or political, the film documents how the territory that much of the world calls the “West Bank” and the “Palestinian Authority” is in fact the territory known in the Bible as Judea and Samaria.
Friedman, who originally had the idea for the film, notes throughout the movie that some of the Bible’s most important and memorable stories took place in villages and cities that today so much of the world claims to have no connection to Jews or Israel at all.
“AN HISTORIC, SACRED LINK TO THE ROOTS OF JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY”
“Carving through the heart of the Promised Land is the biblical spine of Israel, sometimes referred to as the Path of the Patriarchs and officially designated as Route 60,” note the filmmakers.
“A highway of deep historical significance while often the scene of unrest and violence, this 146-mile road of asphalt and concrete begins in Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab city, and ends in Beersheba, one of Israel’s high-tech centers,” they note. “Running north to south, Route 60 connects ancient Israel with modern Israel, Jews and Christians with Muslims, and Israelis with Palestinians.”
“This trek is far more than a two-lane highway,” Pompeo and Friedman contend. “It is an historic, sacred link to the roots of Judaism and Christianity and the stories of the Old and New Testaments.”
They call the highway a “sacred road, treading the very ground Abraham, Jacob, King David, and Jesus once walked” and urge viewers to come “discover the history, witness the healing, and realize the hope along Route 60, the Biblical Highway.”
RED CARPET PREMIERE TO BE HELD AT THE MUSEUM OF THE BIBLE
Last night, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., hosted a red carpet premiere of the film.
Friedman and Pompeo and their TBN colleagues – including Matt Crouch, the president of TBN – welcomed hundreds of VIP guests and shared why they wanted to make the film and why they wanted to work together on it.
“We’re excited for the upcoming premiere of ROUTE 60 in theaters across America,” said Crouch, who was in Israel last week. “The powerful story of this legendary highway is unforgettable. During the shooting, we were given incredible access to locations throughout Israel that aren't open to travelers on a traditional tour of the land. It was a unique and memorable experience, and we can't wait to share it with viewers.”
A Nobel Prize nominee and National Security Medal recipient for his efforts in helping secure the historic Abraham Accords, Friedman is the best-selling author of Sledgehammer: How Breaking with the Past Brought Peace to the Middle East, which ALL ISRAEL NEWS named a “must-read” and our Book Club recommendation for February 2022.
Mike Pompeo served as both U.S. secretary of state and director of the Central Intelligence Agency under President Donald Trump and as a four-term U.S. pepresentative for the Fourth District of Kansas.
He is the author of the New York Times best-seller, Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love, which ALL ISRAEL NEWS called a “riveting, spy thriller-esque memoir” that we named our Book Club recommendation exactly one year later in February 2023.
TBN is the world’s largest and most-watched faith and family broadcaster, and the network that produces THE ROSENBERG REPORT, seen at 9 p.m. EST on Thursday nights and again at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday nights.
With over 30 global networks and streaming platforms, TBN reaches more than 175 nations with inspirational programming 24 hours a day in 17 languages.
As the world’s most influential non-profit broadcaster, TBN has led the way in expanding the impact of faith-based television across the earth through the creation of innovative content designed to reach all demographics.
ALL ISRAEL NEWS published its first story on the film on June 12.
Joel C. Rosenberg is the editor-in-chief of ALL ISRAEL NEWS and ALL ARAB NEWS and the President and CEO of Near East Media. A New York Times best-selling author, Middle East analyst, and Evangelical leader, he lives in Jerusalem with his wife and sons.
