Move over MTV. See you later Christina and Justin. Israel's hot new music television channel, Music 24, just launched from Tel Aviv. There's no Real World, or Made, or TRL. It's just the way MTV started out: 24 hours of music, seven days a week. Israel is at long last standing up as an independent nation with a musical flavor of its own. Is it a success? We asked our 15-year-old Israeli correspondent Hovav Katz to watch and weigh in, and here's his response: "It was a matter of time until somebody would form this channel. And thank God, that time is now."

Music 24 hit cable this month, ironically kicking off with Ramin Fortis' 1970s punk hit "Get Off My TV Screen". Throughout the day, there's a compilation of programs including The Hits Machine (the newest video clips and greatest hits) and Give me a Shlager (80's, 90's and new video clips), mixed with rare video clips, classics, and the wildest videos. The plan so far is Israeli music only: soft music in the morning, nostalgia at night, and rare and alternative music late-night/early morning. You won't see any Carson Daly-like hosts (or any at all for that matter) on this channel, due to a limited lack of funds.

Together with some sizzling new tracks there are over 1,500 clips to broadcast, including old archives never shown on TV. These "new video clips help me keep up with what's new in my country" says Katz. Music 24 will make up for all those years when Israel got neglected by MTV and VH1. Guy Behar, CEO, explains, "Only in Israel have artists become accustomed to having a career and selling albums without television. In the rest of the world, there's nothing like that." Behar says that his job is also to promote artists without the benefit of support from recording companies. If he hears a song that gets him going, he'll actually call the artist and suggest that he or she produce a clip. This channel takes the unique path of not limiting itself to popular music, but appealing to all Israeli music lovers– from Middle Eastern and trance to rock and alternative.

Music 24 is starting small with only 13 permanent employees, although many more would like to hop on the bandwagon. But before the station can even think about more staff, it has a big-time obligation to prove itself to the public. Adding to the pressure is the fact that they beat out three other competitors also vying for air space with cable channel propositions to win its spot on television screens nationwide.

Although many are rooting for Music 24's success, not everyone is welcoming Behar's operation with open arms. For instance, one critic, Gal Ohovski, worries that Music 24 is closing itself off from a broader musical appeal by only broadcasting Israeli artists. He says that excluding non-Israelis "smacks of provincialism."

Maybe that's true, but here's the flip side: Music 24 is able to offer loyalty to the locals, which is what larger music corporations may boast of in theory but never seem to execute. The station is really out there to represent Israel's music, which means standing behind even the younger artists testing the waters of the music biz.

According to Katz, "This new channel is on its way to the top, and it will stay on the air for a long time. The way to look at the Israeli world of music should be 'Before' and 'After' the launch of Music 24."

Lindsey Silken is the Editor-in-Chief of JVibe.