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WMJI's John Lanigan finds magic in Israel

By ARLENE FINE Staff Reporter

	Recording a live broadcast at The Jerusalem Post Studio are, from left, Dayan Gross, Chip Kullik, John Lanigan, Marcy Oster and Jim Meltzer

As John Lanigan was about to board his El- Al flight to Israel on Dec. 15, his wife Sandy said, "Don't get killed n and have a nice show."

He handily accomplished both requests.

Lanigan spent six intense days in Israel, where he toured the country and met with an impressive array of local officials, Cleveland natives who made aliyah, media and entertainment celebrities, medical professionals, and victims of terrorist attacks. Many of these encounters were broadcast live for Cleveland area audiences.

"I can't say enough good things about the experience,' says Lanigan during a lunch interview in Cleveland with the CJN. 'I have to thank Michael Bennett from the Jewish Community Federation and my dear friend and fellow Israeli traveler Jim Meltzer (CJN board member and former regional vice president of Clear Channel Radio) for making all this possible."

The trip was so powerful and intense that it took Lanigan, WMJI's News Director Chip Kullik and Meltzer a full four days to recover once they got back to Cleveland. In Israel the group was on the go everyday from 7 in the morning until 10 at night.

Lanigan was approached about visiting Israel three years ago as part of the America's Voices in Israel program. This is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing Americans with accurate information and insight into the Middle East. The program is aimed at individuals of immense influence and reach within the community. Lanigan, a well-known, highly-rated Cleveland area broadcaster, fit the bill.

"I did not go with any preconceived notions about Israel or the Palestinians,' says the Bay Village resident. 'I wanted to get a complete picture of both sides. I never once worried about my personal safety, and I never had reason to do so."

An admitted "lapsed" Irish Catholic who grew up in Nebraska, Lanigan says he has always been drawn to the Jewish religion.

The VIP tour included Lanigan's personal request to visit Bethlehem. But his Jewish guide Yossi Kalmanovich, well known to many Clevelanders, did not enter the Palestinian enclave.

At the gates of the city, Lanigan hired a guide who refused payment. Instead, he asked Lanigan to frequent the gift shops in Bethlehem Square at the end of the tour. Lanigan did so, he says, to the tune of $6,000 where he purchased religious icons for his collection and jewelry for family members.

The experience was bittersweet for Lanigan. "Here I am in the holy city of Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, the week before Christmas, and I expected it to be overflowing with tourists and pilgrims; instead I encountered a ghost town,' he explains. 'The Arabs living there were so poor and destitute. I'm convinced these people do not want to blow up other human beings. They just want a chance to live with dignity and provide for their families."

As Lanigan entered Israeli museums, malls, government buildings and fine restaurants, he was "wanded' by security agents. 'It felt like I was going to a Cavs game," he quips.

Included in Lanigan's tour was a visit to Kibbutz Merav where former Clevelander Yitz Feiganbaum greeted him. From its beginning the kibbutz had employed Arab workers from the village below to tend the dairy farm and make its highly profitable candles.

Several years ago, an Arab youth from the village killed an Israeli child from the kibbutz. That horrific incident instantly severed relations between the two communities. Arab workers were banned, and the kibbutzniks built a fort-like fence around their property, arming themselves with M16 rifles.

"They now employ kids from Taiwan to work their dairy farm, and the candle factory is closed,' says Lanigan. 'My question is, why punish an entire village because of the atrocious acts of just one individual?"

Lanigan was impressed, he said, by the number of Cleveland philanthropists and Cleveland-sponsored programs throughout Israel. From Beit She'an to the Hadassah Ein-Karem Hospital, where he made a special visit to a multi-lingual children's library funded by the Cleveland Chapter of Hadassah, the generosity of the Cleveland Jewish community was vividly apparent.

He was also happily surprised at the number of former Clevelanders he met, including CJN Israeli correspondent Marcy Oster, who had been fans of his show.

One such fan is Dr. Yashay Wexler, head of pediatrics at Hadassah Har Hazofim Hospital,who agreed to be interviewed by Lanigan as long as he wasn' t part of Lanigan's infamous "Knuckleheads in the News."

During his twelve hours of live broadcasts from the Jewish state, Lanigan interviewed a number of impressive Israelis. Among them was Ethiopian-born musician Idan Raichel, whom Lanigan predicts will be an international superstar within a few years. But it was his meeting with Professor Avi Rivkind, head of the trauma department of Hadassah Ein-Karem Hospital, that drew the broadcaster's highest accolades.

"This guy has redefined the treatment of trauma,' says Lanigan, whose son is a paramedic. 'I learned there are three kinds of trauma: impact, penetration, and blast trauma caused by suicide bombers. Professor Rivkind has developed a phenomenal method to treat blast trauma and has been known to revive these victims who had just been sealed in body bags. This is the doctor I want on my team."

Being able to accompany Lanigan, Kullik, and Dayan Gross from the Federation was a trip of a lifetime, says Meltzer, who left his position at Clear Channel Communications two weeks prior to the trip. "Any Jew's first trip to Israel is memorable,' he says. 'But the itinerary and the people we met surpassed my expectations. And how fortunate we were to share this experience with Cleveland listeners back home in a way that no other medium can do."

The customized mission clearly gave Lanigan greater insight into the Arab/Israeli conflict. "I came back with a broader understanding of both sides,' says Lanigan. 'I recognized and sympathized with the plight of the poverty-stricken Arabs. And after visiting Yad Vashem, I understand the mindset of the Israelis who will never again be led blindly into a shower, only to be suffocated with poison gas. I understand what Never Again means to the Jewish people."

© 2006 Cleveland Jewish News
Jan. 19, 2006

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