He plays Terry Gross to terrorists

Aaron Klein's a long way from Rhawnhurst.

A well-known, hawkish Middle East correspondent and author based in Tel Aviv,  he's developed broadcast chops that will result in him being heard in his hometown starting Sunday at 7 p.m. on WNTP/990-AM.

The two-hour show, "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio," is just that, his investigative work, buttressed by interviews with politicians and terrorists.

Real terrorists, but more of that in a moment.

"His global perspective, live from Tel Aviv, is about as far outside the Beltway as you can get," says WNTP Programming/Marketing Manager
 Mark Daniels.

I first wrote about the 35-year-old Klein in 2008, after the publication of his book, "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadis Reveal Their Global Plans —  to a Jew."

The story seemed implausible, that a Jewish kid from Philadelphia's Northeast hooked up with terrorists. But it was true, and still is. He's kind of like Terry Gross, but with a much tighter focus — terrorism and the Middle East.

One thing has changed. In the past Klein would meet with jihadis on their own turf. He felt the risk was minimal because he was dealing with terrorists who knew and who provided safe passage, but so did the Wall Street Journal's Daniel Pearl, who was captured and beheaded in 2002. Unlike Pearl, Klein is not married.

He moved to Israel as a reporter in 2005, motivated by Israel's decision to evacuate the Jewish communities in Gaza, a strip along the coastline. "I was concerned the threats of the Gaza evacuation were not being accurately reported," he says.

He reported from the "Palestinian communities inside Gaza and interviewed Hamas about their intentions to take over the territory and use it as a rocket launch site once Israel withdraws." That came to pass.

Even though he "never faced a specific threat from a terrorist organization," Klein now does his interviews by phone or a video link and not in person.

The radio show has been on in New York since 2011, broadcast from a Tel Aviv studio (where the show starts at 2 a.m.), and listeners can call in from around the country. It's a very highly rated weekend show given greater reach because of the Internet.

One of his regular guests, not exactly Ba-Ba-Booey, is Mahmoud al-Zahari, the chief of the terrorist group Hamas that runs Gaza.

Simple question: Why have him on?

"I respect the fact that Hamas is very direct, they answer about their goals and intentions," he says. "They don't disguise their agenda, their refusal to ever make peace, their anti-westernism. They're proud of it."

Klein does the radio show — and everything he does — to "educate the American audience on terrorism and the Middle East and the real goals and ideologies of these organizations," he says.

"It's one thing for me to lecture about terrorism, it's another thing to hear it from the horse's mouth."

In addition to Hamas, he has interviewed leaders of the Palestinian Authority and al Qaeda.

"They respect that I ask them direct questions," he says, adding "they don't like the New York Times and CNN because they whitewash their goals."

Klein says Hamas regards the Times as "Zionist propaganda," which is hard to imagine, give the paper's anti-Israel tilt.

Most of his guests speak English, when they don't he uses his own translator. Klein has studied Arabic and wishes he could speak it because "it is the language of the Middle East," but hasn't had time to learn it.

Before letting Klein go, I asked him about current events, starting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing Congress next month at the invitation of Speaker John Boehner.

Klein says he didn't think it was the "best decision" on Netanyahu's part, but "I would believe Netanyahu is smart enough to understand exactly what he's doing, and the fallout and the ramifications."

The way it plays out, "people want to frame this as he was invited by Republicans," even though "Democrats have expressed concerns about Iran," which will be the focus of Netanyahu's remarks.

"I am concerned about how Obama has been turning this into an insult," says Klein, who is no fan of his president. Klein remains an American citizen and has not claimed Israeli citizenship, which he could.

"I'm a reporter based in the Middle East, and don't want to be seen as too close to one side," he tells me with a straight face. He is one-sided.

He throws in a sly dig about Obama is accused making end runs around Congress and then gets miffed when Congress makes an end run around him.

Finally, I ask Klein to name the greatest terror threats facing the United States and Israel, and without pause he says, "Iran and its surrogates — Hezbollah and some like al Qaeda that have been linked to Iran."

Iran and terror are inseparable and that's probably what Netanyahu is going to tell Congress, whether Obama likes it or not.

When we think "nuclear threat," Klein says, "we think  of missiles being launched at Israel, but all it take is a smaller suitcase nuke and put on a freighter off the coast of Florida or the northern coast off D.C." to take out the power grid along the East Coast, he warns.

"Iran has this capability already, very likely," he says.

Alarmist? Yes.

Possible? Also yes.