Russian “oligarch” and Jewish philanthropist Alexander Mashkevich announced on Wednesday his intention to found a Jewish version of Al-Jazeera.
"Every day and every hour people get negative information about Israel," Mashkevich said at the Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal conference in Washington D.C. "Therefore, the most important thing is to represent Israel on an international level, with real information."
RELATED:Moscow’s Jewish elite raise funds, campaign for IsraelStellar Startups: The merits of hi-tech hasbaraKutcher talks Twitter, ‘hasbara’ at Tel Aviv expoMashkevich plans to found an international, professional news station as
a response to unreliable reports on Israel. He says the station will
not be a source of propaganda, but will tell the truth.
"I think this idea should be implemented. I already spoke about it
several years ago with Israeli government officials and with influential
people in the Jewish world, and everyone agrees that such a channel is
necessary," he said.
Mashkevich, a native of Kyrgyzstan who became a billionaire through
investments in Kazakhstan during perestroika, admitted that founding
such a channel would not be simple, because of its high costs, but said
that he plans to officially present it in Israel in a few months.
There is a lot of interest in the news channel, the billionaire said, all that's missing is a name.